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So I am in the initial stages of converting the 3pp AP Way of the Wicked and one of the first major hurdles is how to handle Grumblejack, the surprisingly loyal ogre the PCs can befriend in the first few minutes of the campaign. The PCs play villains and have very few resources or allies to call upon, so some extra muscle is welcome, and as I understand it the ogre can turn into a sort of mascot if the players like him.
Question is, how should I stat him out? Like a monster, just updating him to fit the parameters of his new creature level as the campaign progresses and the party gains in power? Try to homebrew an ogre ancestry and just build him like a PC from there? Maybe a special minion that anyone in the party can command? In the original AP he gains both fighter levels and can gain some fiendish powers.
Any suggestions?
I feel like the most 2nd edition method would be to create them as an allied monster, using the general rules for monsters to build him.
Now, the question of if he should be implemented simply as a friendly NPC under the control of the GM, or controlled by consensus of the players, or as you suggest, a potentially slightly new concept of a Minion to the party, allowing any party member to spend an action to control.
I like that idea, and it seems to have promise, however one potential issue I could imagine would be that the Ogre, I imagine is intended to be slow and strong, but allowing the fastest member of the party treat him as a minion and have the ogre act on their turn, would make the ogre potentially seem really quick, when it comes to reflexes.
So trying to keep that from becoming an issue you might build something like below:
You might be able to create an Command an Ally, or Command a Mascot action. It is similar to a Command an Animal, but doesn't require a roll for a Mascot or loyal Ally. It allows the individual to direct the Ally/Mascot as if it were the individuals Minion. However, it controls these two actions the Mascot/Ally gets on the Mascot/Ally's initiative that follows the commander's action. Only one person can be in Command a Mascot/Ally during its turn at a time. This is normally the first person to use an action to command it (excluding times prior to its last turn).
I think it would make for a really interesting mechanic as a party resource, not just a character resource.
If such complexity would not be received well by your players, or they might feel like it unacceptably aides certain ones more than others, simply make them an NPC, controlled by the GM, but have them listen to recommended actions from the players.
Granted, having the monster level up with the players complicates its 'creation' from the standard sense, as you might need to design it using Extreme, High, Moderate, Low for values rather than specific numbers, and consult the chart to get the exact value per level. Then grant new or progressive monster abilities every level or two that they would gain access to. (you might include options/paths for the Players to influence them to go down, potentially)
Alternately, you might be able to, as you mentioned, have them be built as a PC, and apply a template on top of them to turn them into an Ogre, potentially in lieu of other racial abilities. Trying to stat out a whole ogre racial option and balance it may be more than you really want to tackle for this particular purpose. But a giant instinct barbarian who starts out large seems like a reasonable start, if you prefer building that way.
If you go this route, I wouldn't have the players make all the Ogre's choices however. Potentially, they might help pick an option here or there, but I'd avoid them making all the class choices. Otherwise, perhaps one of the players should actually choose to 'play' the character. (although I suspect in Way of the Wicked, the players are supposed to be more the masterminds, rather than the brute)