Aren’t minions so much fun? Whether you love to wade through and down a swarm of them or wickedly craft that same swarm to test the mettle of your party in fast-paced combat, minions are an absolute blast.
This begins a new series of custom created minions I use in my games, with both engaging tactics and lore for you to use in your game tonight! More minions: you know you want ’em!
Chillvenom Seawasp: Lore
Chillvenom seawasps originally spawned in the Astral Sea’s Nine Hells as a swarm of hellwasp devils (see MM3). These particular hellwasps, when exposing themselves to the world’s harsh Frostfell lands and its frozen seas, evolved, mutated and weakened into less intelligent creatures, losing some strength, size, and the ability to speak over time, becoming much more similar to the world’s monstrous vermin in the process.
Their still unusually high intelligence for otherwise vermin-like creatures ensures that they still sow wickedness and destruction. They seem to enjoy the company of pirates and other seafaring creatures who are often up to no good. They are often found in cold and frigid climates, serving as a combination of deadly guardian and clever, exotic pet to a variety of creatures, most often elemental or aquatic in nature, though they seem to have developed a special affinity for the hardy minotaur, frost giants and and storm giants of the brutal Frostfell.
Chillvenom seawasps are also found roaming the world on their own, flying rapidly from place to place, torturing and killing for pleasure and appeasing a bit of their devilish heritage and wanderlust on the way. Wise masters send chillvenom seawasps on dangerous scouting missions across frozen tundra, into snow-capped mountains, and over storm-tossed waters – the latter a favored environ for these flying hellions, whether aboard war ships or simply gliding through the spray atop bitterly cold seas.
Chillvenom Seawasp: Tactics
Chillvenom Seawasps use their awesome mobility to their advantage; they fly quickly into flanking positions at every opportunity, confident that even even if their crippling stinger poison and sword talon strikes don’t supress or kill their enemy, that any wasp’s individual death and subsequent venom spray will help bring down the prey for either their swarm or their wicked masters – who smartly try to keep their distance from their prized devilish insectoid pets.
Art & Imagery
I found this wonderful image matching my vision of the Chillvenom Seawasp over on fineartamerica.com.
Feast your eyes on the Blue-tailed Wasp by Ward Smith, and then have a swarm of these beautiful-but-deadly creatures feast on the party tonight!
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Kilsek
I always had a problem with humanoid minions… even minions of most monsters seemed more game mechanic than realistic. However, swarms of insect-like minions are a great idea! Scenes of the Dark Crystal with some necessary added gore are playing in my head now…
Welcome to Leonine Roar, ConstableBrew and thanks for your comment!
Insectoid or vermin-like creatures definitely lend themselves well to “minion swarms” in 4e – whether you use only minions, actual swarm monster types, or both.
I’ve tried them all, and if I’m starved for time, then I skip the actual swarm type since it takes a while to whittle those down, especially with their innate damage reduction. To me, a cartload of minions are usually far more satisfying!