There's some house rules that I want to hammer out, but while I know what I want and how I want them to feel--I don't know how to make them work exactly. So yeah, figured I'd toss out a invite to some folks to contribute ideas to the 4.Grimcleaver system.
Challenge One: Making Sense of Minions
I gotta' admit. Minions play great. They make for awesome fast paced battles with loads of combatants. That said, I hate the kind of double-standard rule that gives guys 1 hp just so you can kill them with no reason or in game explanation. Call it rampant simulationism, cause it is. If something's gonna' have one hit point in one 'a my games there gonna' be a good reason.
So here's what I've been noodling. You know how there's this guideline that monsters five levels higher or lower than the party make for inappropriate challenges? Well what if fighting something five levels higher or lower than you were to confer "minion" status on the weaker creature? While a first level character is having to circle around a field trading arrows with a kobold, almost skewering him but watching him scamper out from under his blows--the sixth level guy has no such problems. He just runs through the brush, taking off limbs and heads as he goes. Likewise while the level 13 character can get into it with a blue dragon, getting knocked around by big paw swipes and getting his teeth chattered by nearby electrical discharges; the first level guy is just doomed. The dragon would vaporize him down to a pair of smoking boots the first time he hits.
I like this idea. There's this feeling that no matter how cool you are, you're just a minion to something else in the world. It also explains minion status in a satisfying way.
The problem: the whole virtue of minions is that they're frail, but they can still put up a fight. They still do decent damage. They still have decent armor class. The whole reason you shouldn't fight something five levels different from you is that it takes away EXACTLY those advantages. The higher guy always hits the lower guy and in turn for the most part can't be hit. Giving a minion all of these penalties simultaneously just ruins them. They go from fun to worthless pretty quick.
It's a fun idea, but I guess how do I get it to work?
Thing is, I don't know how monsters having levels is any less magical than monsters dieing in one hit. You don't seem to be explaining things in a simulationsist way, but in a fits-with-what-i-am-used-to way.
Your idea reminds me of an old (by now) MMORPG, called Dark Ages of Camelot. At least when it first came out, there was a hidden damage bonus that you received vs lower level opponents, and which higher level opponents received against you. If you were fighting far outside your level, you'd just steamroll your opposition (or get steamrolled, depending on who was the steamroller in the particular example).
The problem is this strongly deviates from 4E's assumption that minions are dangerous in large numbers. No matter how many low level guys I fought, I'd just walk through them. And no matter how many friends I got together, if we were all too low, the mobs would just ice us all.
I'm not sure how to resolve the two competing concepts you have here: 1) being X levels below a creature gives it the ability to kill you in one hit and 2) creatures killable in one hit are still dangerous in large numbers.
I'll try to think up something better to offer, but this feels like you're running up the escalator backwards.
Well what if fighting something five levels higher or lower than you were to confer "minion" status on the weaker creature?
The problem with this is that the lower level creature is not actually going to function in the same way a even level minion would. They won't have the To-hit and damage capabilities to really threaten the PC's. So you'd have to have to keep using regular minions, but I like your idea of higher level monsters and PC's just being able to massacure low level ones.
However, I would raise the number to 10, not five. It is possible for a organized party to take down, with luck and grit, a creature five levels above themselves. This is much much less true of a monster ten levels above the party.
This also works with the idea of the tiered levels of play. Creatures in the teir above you are literally out of you league, and can swat you like flies.
Thing is, I don't know how monsters having levels is any less magical than monsters dieing in one hit. You don't seem to be explaining things in a simulationsist way, but in a fits-with-what-i-am-used-to way.
ARRRGGGHHH!
Okay. I'll give up on getting help for the present and go back to explaining stuff.
Do you feel okay about fighting a rhino? Not with a .50 sniper rifle or nothin'--just out there sword and board with a rhino.
I'd argue that the rhino probably has some non-magical levels over you. In fact, probably enough that it would one shot you.
That said, you gotta' know that this kind of hit point system isn't how I normally roll at all. We do a hardcore ultra gritty game where folks get hit points by race (8 plus or minus Con modifier for humans) which NEVER go up. I'm not trying to protect my fragile gamist tendencies here. I'm trying to retread 4e so it works with my grim as dirt simulationist tendancies.
Miniony goodness
Minions have 1hp so that they are directly affected by powers that benefit this. Things like Temp HP add a buffer zone to minions and that makes them even more viscious.
I think its possible to scale up kobolds to be minion level no matter what level the party is. Your idea has some interesting points, but scale the minons a level or two lower than the pcs to represent this. On top of this give them a +1 or +2 bonus to attack depending on how many level lower they are.
Oh and if you want to be evil. Give each minion a healing surge like ability.
Other guys...yep, that pretty much reiterates the problem I'm having with it. I love how minions play but want to make it more like a status anyone can end up with, rather than a kind of "made to die" species or dramatic handwave.
The trouble is, minions as written work great--but only at your level. So the question remains, how does something be your level but, at the same time, suck.
Other guys...yep, that pretty much reiterates the problem I'm having with it. I love how minions play but want to make it more like a status anyone can end up with, rather than a kind of "made to die" species or dramatic handwave.
The trouble is, minions as written work great--but only at your level. So the question remains, how does something be your level but, at the same time, suck.
You could always give it some kind of minion bonus to hit and defenses (about +2 or 3 should be fine) while giving it some minion penalty on damage (-1 or 2 should be fine).
It's not very simulationist (at all!) but I think a monster 5 levels lower that dies in one hit would be pretty minion-y with those mods applied.
Your idea has some interesting points, but scale the minons a level or two lower than the pcs to represent this. On top of this give them a +1 or +2 bonus to attack depending on how many level lower they are.
I guess the trouble I have is that I don't want to create the illusion that minions are less tough than the characters (or vice versa) so much as I'd like the rules to demonstrate that minions are less tough than higher level creatures. Remember, if this system works as it should, PCs will get hit with the minion ray sometimes too!
Your idea has some interesting points, but scale the minons a level or two lower than the pcs to represent this. On top of this give them a +1 or +2 bonus to attack depending on how many level lower they are.I guess the trouble I have is that I don't want to create the illusion that minions are less tough than the characters (or vice versa) so much as I'd like the rules to demonstrate that minions are less tough than higher level creatures. Remember, if this system works as it should, PCs will get hit with the minion ray sometimes too!
Maybe you can create a template instead of modifing the Minion rules. Call them Henchmen. So a Kobold who was origionally level 6 would now be level 4 instead. This is kind of like the opposite of a solo or elite monster.
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Well, its really just a matter of storytelling, rather than rules. Maybe minions are just slightly less competent than their non-minion allies. Sure, they've trained enough to hit a target as well as the next guy, but in practice, when they face off against a skilled foe, they don't react fast enough to block the attack that knocks them unconscious, or they have a glass jaw, or he takes the hit and curls up into a ball.
Heck, these are minions. You could have him take the hit, stay conscious, say "screw you guys, I'm going home", and leave and the net effect is the same as if he died (you just have to remember to leave extra treasure for anything he left with and remember not to have him go tell the boss; the PCs defeated him and shouldn't be punished for doing their job).
Let me make sure I understand what you are trying to accomplish. Anyone can be a minion. Minions are easy to defeat. Minions should not have just one hit point.
Let me know if any of my basic assumptions are off.
Does being labeled a minion tie directly to level or does it depend on the story? A king might not be a higher level than the PCs, but they might qualify as minions against him.
The first thing that comes to mind is that damage and effects get some kind of multiplier. Every 3 levels higher = x2 effect or some such. This should apply to more than just damage to demonstrate that minions are not only easier to kill, they are easier to affect. Skills should be more effective, spell saves are more effective. This seems like a lot more book keeping for essentially the same as giving minions 1 hit point, but I thought I would throw it out there.
Hero System (yes, I am bring it up…again) has optional rules for mooks. You can have one, two or three hit mooks. Instead of counting hit points, you just count the number of times they get hit. Not as much book keeping and you can skip the one hit point issue. Again, just tossing that out there.
How about something completely off the wall. Minion Points. You have a number of Minion Points equal to your Level x [some number] + CHA bonus (just because I think CHA gets overlooked). You can spend a full round action and however many Minion Points you want to wipe out that many of minions. That may be too free form for a gritty game. Again, just tossing ideas around.
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Simply put, Minions are Mooks. They are a story element and you can treat them as such.
They're red shirts on Star Trek
They're the guys in "?" shirts that the Riddler sends to fall down around Batman. <POW!> <BAM!>
Many other games have Mook rules. Feng Shui has a rule that if you hit and damage a mook, you can choose to just incapacite him or outright kill him.
They're fodder. They're fun for your players to knock down in waves. Let them have their fun.
I'm not sure if this really fixes anything, but all a minion really is, is a creature that dies if they get hit and deals a fixed amount of damage. It would be pretty easy to stat virtually anything as a minion by removing extra attacks, giving them fixed damage, and giving them the 1 hit point clause.
Now, if you want, you could do this with the characters, too. A monster of 5 or more levels or higher can one-shot a PC: if the monster successfully damages the character, she is immediately reduced to 0 hit points. Now, this isnt as extreme as outright death, but still pretty hardcore, and might be what you are looking for. It requires no restatting for anyone involved: the player does not have to shuffle any numbers around for the duration of the encounter.
You could also declare, secretly, that the party deals a fixed amount of damage to the monster (the average amount). You could declare that against this guy, that they only do average damage, saving you the hassle of calculating it all yourself.
To make this less extreme for the players, you could make it so that every time they get hit by a monster far above their level, that they take hit point damage equal to their second wind value, or even their bloodied value. This would at least give them a chance of trying to retreat or something.
Finally, you could have attacks also inflict automatic conditions. For example, a lich hitting them could deal damage equal to their surge value in addition to also weakening the guy (whether its a save ends or until the end of the lich's next turn is your call).
Let me make sure I understand what you are trying to accomplish. Anyone can be a minion. Minions are easy to defeat. Minions should not have just one hit point.
Here's what a minion should be. It should be a status that any creature, PC or NPC, can gain when they are fighting stuff that's out of their depth. Examples include the teeming swarms of orc warriors that old vetran orc Kruug One-eye sends after the high level PCs to weaken them before he challenges them to battle.
It would also include the PCs, when facing the ancient wyrm red dragon Bhelzamor, the paladin standing before him to recuse him of his vile deeds before *pwhoosh* he's turned into an guy-shaped black burn mark on the floor of his lair.
In that regard they should act very much like 4e minions. They can still fight in a meaningful way. They hit pretty often, are missed pretty often, do midling to dink damage--but when the big guy lays the smack on them they go pop.
So yeah, anybody (PC or NPC) can be one, but only if they're really outclassed.
They shouldn't be super easy to defeat, still snarling and snapping with the best of them, but once you put the hit on them, they be dead.
I don't mind the single hit point. I just think there should be a reason for it. I don't think there's tribes of single point hobgoblins out there tripping over roots and dying. I don't thing lich vestiges have a single hit point, really. It's all relative. Stuff gets dropped to a single hit point in the face of a truly fearsome foe.
The trouble is, fearsome foes have high level and always hit you. So off we go to the races as far as what makes implimenting this hard. Things that are the same level as you should not make you a minion, nor should they be minions.
Things that should result in minion status are not meant to be fought in the first place, and are statted in ways that just crush you--they always hit and you can never hit them (which is frustratingly a lot less fun than fighting a minion, which is pretty fun, all things concidered) or are just crushed by you (which isn't any more fun really).
So you have a paradox. The things that can be minions, shouldn't be--the things that should induce minioness are unfightable in any satisfying way.
What about we flip the script, so to speak, and look at this from another angle.
A level 12 Minion might really be a level 7 Standard monster. But to 12th level characters, it is no more than a Minion, so it drops in one hit.
Again, to really get the effect you want, you're going to need to do something like give bonuses to hit and defense and penalties to damage in order to convert regular creatures to minions.
Jamming off Azigen's riff (and David Mark's too...but I was writing this while he was posting) for a minute, what about this?
A sliding scale, much like Elite or Solo monsters. A solo monster is level 4, say but is scaled to fill out a 4th level encounter all by his lonesome. So really he's effectively a 20th level monster (equivalent to 5 normal level 4 monsters in terms of the amount of fight they give a party).
Minions are scaled to be 1/4 their listed value, right? A level 4 minion is really about level 1 (since they have the fight of a single level one monster for purposes of encounter building).
So what say we call a pig a pig and say that if you're going to count someone as a minion, they get an effective +4 to level as though he were a monster--which affects to hit, AC and whatnot in exchange for only getting a single hitpoint and standardized damage.
So you get to fight that dragon the way minions fight you. You get to hit him, he sometimes misses you. When you hit him it's not impressive. When he hits you it's game over.
Just take the scaling rules of minions and algebra style add 4 to both sides.
So what would that do to an encounter?
The trouble is, minions as written work great--but only at your level. So the question remains, how does something be your level but, at the same time, suck.
Syphilis. Oh sorry, that was an inappropriate comment. Edit: magical syphilis.
TS
Will your players be fighting monsters that are well over their level and can one-shot them?
If so, that does sound grim indeed.
If not, can't you just say '-5 level makes you a minion' since it should never come up?
In an MMO they fix the math so if you fight outside of a certain range you get steamrolled or steamroll yourself. This is because there is no DM to control who the players fight. Why is this needed in a game with a DM?
I don't mind the single hit point. I just think there should be a reason for it. I don't think there's tribes of single point hobgoblins out there tripping over roots and dying. I don't thing lich vestiges have a single hit point, really. It's all relative. Stuff gets dropped to a single hit point in the face of a truly fearsome foe.
A minion does not have a single hp if it trips over a tree root, it only has a single hit point when it is being attacked by a player. The player is the truly fearsome foe. If you don't want the player to be truly fearsome, *poof* it is no longer a minion.
If so, that does sound grim indeed.
And then, suddenly, someone discovered to their horror why I'm not called Cutecuddleyhappycleaver.
But yeah. I mean I know I can play with rules. I mean...that's what I'm doing HERE. Playing with rules. There's a rule I happen to like, but it doesn't make sense in a simulationist way. So here I am trying to tweak the rule.
I try to avoid going *poof* too much about things. I'm a DM. I can do that. I get it. The thing is, if like me, you want consistancy and (dare I say) verisimilitude in a game you gotta' be able to sell your players on the why of things. If it happens just because *poof* I say so--what results is a schlock game that nobody takes very seriously. Least of all me.
I'm not really sure I understand what the issue here is. Minions only "exist" in relation to the PCs. If the PCs aren't fighting them, then it doesn't matter if the monsters are minions, normals, elite, solos, level 1, level 27 or what not.
If I understand it right, you like the way minions play in encounters, but don't like the way the "feel" in the game world? You want them to make sense in game, and not just be a gamist construct? Not sure it's completely possible, but I'll add my thoughts.
I gotta' admit. Minions play great. They make for awesome fast paced battles with loads of combatants. That said, I hate the kind of double-standard rule that gives guys 1 hp just so you can kill them with no reason or in game explanation. Call it rampant simulationism, cause it is. If something's gonna' have one hit point in one 'a my games there gonna' be a good reason.
This here seems to be your biggest problem. Hit points (even more so now in 4th) DON'T represent physical damage. The basically represent everything else, but actual damage. The only two attacks that actually do any physical damage is the one that makes you bloodied, and the one that drops you to 0. That's it. Everything else is luck, will to live, will to fight, resolve, little nicks and scratches, bruises etc.
The difference with minions is that they don't have this "buffer" of hitpoints (luck, will to fight etc), they are the "wusses" of the game world, and so the first successful "hit" on a minion instantly drops them to 0, ie takes them out of the fight. This can be because they are actually dropped dead (fighter crits, dealing 20+ damage), or the minion takes a scratch (OA from the wizard dealing 5 damage), and drops his weapon like a little girl and runs screaming for his mummy.
So there aren't hordes of minions walking around out there with only one hitpoint who are dying when they fall out of the window. But there are hordes of wuss creatures out there who turn tail and run at the first sign of any credible resistance.
So here's what I've been noodling. You know how there's this guideline that monsters five levels higher or lower than the party make for inappropriate challenges? Well what if fighting something five levels higher or lower than you were to confer "minion" status on the weaker creature? While a first level character is having to circle around a field trading arrows with a kobold, almost skewering him but watching him scamper out from under his blows--the sixth level guy has no such problems. He just runs through the brush, taking off limbs and heads as he goes. Likewise while the level 13 character can get into it with a blue dragon, getting knocked around by big paw swipes and getting his teeth chattered by nearby electrical discharges; the first level guy is just doomed. The dragon would vaporize him down to a pair of smoking boots the first time he hits.
The rules basically already do this. I think you are possibly misunderstanding a monsters "level". I'm sure you know that level =/= CR. But it's not just a changed and slightly modified CR. They have no relationship AT ALL. CR was supposed to represent how challenging a monster was. In 4th ed, level does not do this. All the level of a monster indicates is the approximate level PCs should be to fight it. If you want to know how much of a challenge a particular monster actually is, you need to look at it's XP value. That's what tells you how "tough" (or challenging) a monster is.
And when we look at XP values we see that the rules already do what you want them to do.
1st Level standard monster - 100 XP
9th Level minion - 100 XP
So, those monsters you fought at level 1, when you run into them again around level 9, they are now minions. Think of them like bullies. They can talk tough, and even dish it out, but they can't take it. As soon as someone stands up to them, they are out of there, or they just collapse in a heap on the floor.
So I suppose I'm saying the rules already support what you want to do. So I'm not sure what you need a houserule to actually do.
If you want something to be a minion, just give it 1 Hitpoint. Pow! Instant minion. Sure it's "level" stays the same, but as I said, level doesn't indicate how tough a monster is, that's what XP does, and that's why a minion has less XP than a "normal" monster.
Why is that such a problem? That I supose is the question I don't understand.
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I like the minions are mooks point.
Fact is, they are low-level ... uh ... minion. Kick arounds. But there are two ways to give 'em an edge:
1. Mob Template. Don't know how to do this in 4e, but 3rd edition had a real nice template for mobs that help with the mow-down atmosphere, but create a noteworthy threat.
2. Natural 20 = Hits. I think 4e already does this. You throw enough minion at a hero and he's bound to take a hit.
Alternatively, you could use minion like I did in one campaign. A mass of mook goblins surrounded the 15th level paladin - hindering his movement while squads of better positioned and better trained archers took turns plugging him with arrows. Heh. The paladin went down pretty darn fast. It was a surprise for all of us how useful those mooks turned out ... for the bad guys.
Grim you pose a nice problem here, one I don't really know how to tackle at the moment.
The only thing that comes to me, is using something similar to the 3E holy word.
In Holy word the target's difference in hit dice with yours made a difference to the effect.
Holy word table went like this:
HD Effect
Equal to caster level Deafened
Up to caster level –1 Blinded, deafened
Up to caster level –5 Paralyzed, blinded, deafened
Up to caster level –10 Killed, paralyzed, blinded, deafened
You could just keep even level minions for action flavor and then impose this rule for everyone else( even Pcs)
Target Effect
level –1 +2 to hit and dmg
level –3 Double damage
level –5 Killed
Apologies if this turns into a threadjack...!
I was planning on beefing up the minions rule by adding enemies that take more than one hit to kill. Call them Mooks, Henchmen, or whatever. Instead of having a zombie or orc that drops with a single hit, it'll take two or even three hits to drop (regardless of damage).
I think this would add an interesting new twist to the game. It also stays true to the spirit of the 4E ruleset by not adding too much math.
I'm not quite sure how to dole out XP for a 2-hit or 3-hit minion though. I'm also unsure of how many levels to grant them.
Any thoughts?
Apologies if this turns into a threadjack...!
I was planning on beefing up the minions rule by adding enemies that take more than one hit to kill. Call them Mooks, Henchmen, or whatever. Instead of having a zombie or orc that drops with a single hit, it'll take two or even three hits to drop (regardless of damage).
I think this would add an interesting new twist to the game. It also stays true to the spirit of the 4E ruleset by not adding too much math.
I'm not quite sure how to dole out XP for a 2-hit or 3-hit minion though. I'm also unsure of how many levels to grant them.
Any thoughts?
This was actually done in LOTR RPG. This way you can have a whole range of minions ( thugs-die after 2 hits,Toadies, die after 3 hits, etc)
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I've thought about improving the minions slightly. Essentially minions have 3 states: Alive, Bloodied, and Dead. Any damage moves them down a step, any heals move them up a step. In most appropriate-level-challenges this works fine.
In some ways, this makes minions BETTER than a standard creature in the sort of outside-appropriate-level way you are talking about.
Ex: An Epic dragon fires its breath at a group 5th level pc's and 5th level Orcs. Some of the Orcs are minions. In my variant, the PC's die due to the shear amount HP done (dropping them fully to negative-dead territory), Many Orcs are dead (dropping to zero HP) but the Orc Minions survive. Thats cheesy. In my own games I'll likely never throw something that far out of whack at the PCs. But the converse: Where the PCs are epic and they fight some 5th level orcs is a different story. They may drop the Orc Brute in one hit kills, but the minions might still stand (and bloodied)
I suppose, and this just occurred to me, minion within 5 levels of the PCs operates as I say: Three states. Anything 5-10 levels from the PCs operates as Minions do now. Anything 10+ levels from the PCs is relegated to a simple narrative:
Assume 15th Level PCs.
13th Level minions start Alive. One hit makes them Bloodied, 2 hits make them dead.
8th Level minions start Alive. One hit kills (standard 1hp).
4th Level minions start Alive. "You wade through the kobold minions, hack them to pieces with your ferocious attacks, killing all who stand in your way. The rest flee in the face of your onslaught, only to turn and cower and watch in the shadows as you approach their King."
I would never use minions 5+ levels higher than the PCs. HOwever, to get the feel you want, Any creatures 5+ levels over the PCs would treat the PCs as minions:
21st level Creature to PCs. The PCs start Alive, are bloodied on 1 hit, are unconscious on 2 hit, and dead at 3 hits.
27th level Creatures to PCs. The PCs are unconscious at 1 hit, dead on 2 hits.
Thats probably not exactly what you are looking for. But I think its at least a step in the right direction.
I like the minions are mooks point.
Fact is, they are low-level ... uh ... minion. Kick arounds. But there are two ways to give 'em an edge:
1. Mob Template. Don't know how to do this in 4e, but 3rd edition had a real nice template for mobs that help with the mow-down atmosphere, but create a noteworthy threat.
2. Natural 20 = Hits. I think 4e already does this. You throw enough minion at a hero and he's bound to take a hit.
Alternatively, you could use minion like I did in one campaign. A mass of mook goblins surrounded the 15th level paladin - hindering his movement while squads of better positioned and better trained archers took turns plugging him with arrows. Heh. The paladin went down pretty darn fast. It was a surprise for all of us how useful those mooks turned out ... for the bad guys.
I found this :
Human Rabble Level 2 Minion
Medium natural humanoid XP 31
Initiative +0 Senses Perception +0
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 15; Fortitude 13, Refl ex 11, Will 11; see also mob rule
Speed 6
mClub (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+6 vs. AC; 4 damage.
Mob Rule
The human rabble gains a +2 power bonus to all defenses while
at least two other human rabble are within 5 squares of it.
Alignment Any Languages Common
Str 14 (+2) Dex 10 (+0) Wis 10 (+0)
Con 12 (+1) Int 9 (–1) Cha 11 (+0)
Equipment club
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Well, Grim, if you aren't interested in things going *poof*, and you want to keep low-level foes interesting at high levels while maintaining simplicity (which I completely agree with) why not make a series of [Minion] feats:
Minion
You are more effective when fighting under orders from a superior being, and thanks to extensive training or fear-mongering, you strike true even against difficult opponents.
Prerequisites: Int 3, must have fealty to a creature with 5 or more HD than you.
Benefit: When fighting a creature that has an CR of 5 higher than you, you gain special benefits based on your current CR as outlined below.
You gain a +2 competence bonus on all attack rolls, damage rolls, AC, caster level (including for spell-like abilities), saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. This bonus increases to +4 if you are a CR 6 or higher creature, to +6 if you are a CR 11 or higher creature, or to +8 if you are a CR 16 or higher creature.
Special: As a minion, you are denied the benefit of magic items of any kind. You lose the ability to use or wear magic items as long as you remain in fealty to another creature.
If your master dies, you lose the benefits of this feat until you find a new master of appropriate power.
Minion Teamwork
You are trained to fight cooperatively with your fellow minions.
Prerequisites: Wis 3, Minion, must have fealty to a creature with 5 or more HD than you.
Benefit: When flanking an opponent with another creature who also possesses the Minion feat (but not necessarily the Minion Teamwork feat), the bonus for flanking increases by +4.
In addition, you gain a +2 bonus on all aid another actions.
Minion Resurgence
Confident that another will step in to slay your foe, you do not fear your own death, and inspire others to do the same.
Prerequisites: Minion, Minion Teamwork, must have fealty to a creature with 5 or more HD than you.
Benefit: If you are intentionally killed by any creature, you shout one last word of vengeance or devotion to your fellow minions before your death. Every creature in a 30-foot radius that can hear and see you, and that has the Minion feat, gain immunity to fear for the rest of the encounter. In addition, all such minions can take a standard action as an immediate action when you die.
Minion Stubbornness
You are so devoted to your master that you refuse to let others reach them, even at your own peril.
Prerequisites: Str 10, Minion, Minion Teamwork, must have fealty to a creature with 5 or more HD than you.
Benefit: You are surprisingly difficult to out-maneuver in battle, thanks to extra training, the help of your fellow minions, and your masters commands. Every time another creature forces you to roll one of the following checks, roll 2d20 and take the better result: bull rush, disarm, grapple, overrun, and trip.
Special: You do not gain this benefit if you initiated the check. When making a grapple check to escape a grapple, you gain the benefit of this feat.
Should be easy to add more to represent the general ability of minions to get in the way.
EDIT: Spelling and formatting.