Table 1-35: Human Minions

Table 1-35: Human Minions (d20)

May be combined with Table 1-11: Master Table of Villainous Plans

Many of the above tables involve a villain’s minions. An adventure is usually improved by having some of these minions be unusual in some respect. In particular, if the villain has an interesting minion, the nature of the minion can generate some interesting ideas about the villain’s plot. This might seem backward, but creating an adventure isn’t always a linear process. Ideas about “later” parts, or little details, can sometimes generate fantastic ideas for the adventure’s overall structure.

Citation

Tome of Adventure Design, p. 52 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/97423/Tome-of-Adventure-Design?affiliate_id=678287)

A random result will be collated from each column

d20	Nature of Minion	Unusual Characteristic	Reason Why in Villain’s Service
1	Animal trainer or monster wrangler	An excellent spy or information gatherer	Addicted to substance provided by villain
2	Assassin	Badly scarred	Advisor (privy to villain’s plots and has input into his plans)
3	Barbaric military leader with troops (intelligent)	Blind or deaf	Believes villain is his only true friend
4	Barbaric military leader with troops (stupid)	Crippled or maimed	Charmed or enchanted by villain
5	Expert on local area, brilliant mastermind	Demon-possessed	Convinced that villain’s brilliant plans will succeed and that he will be rewarded for helping
6	Intelligent peasant (possibly one of several minions)	Distinguished by a particular piece of clothing the minion always wears	Deceived as to the real nature of the villain’s activities
7	Knight	Distinguished by a particular sigil or badge that the minion always wears	Grateful retainer (saved from something by villain)
8	Magic-user	Distinguished by a strange tattoo or birthmark	In love with villain
9	Nobleman, merchant, guild official, or city official (intelligent)	Has a relatively powerful magic item	Loyal henchman (enjoys working with villain)
10	Nobleman, merchant, guild official, or city official (stupid)	Highly religious	Loyal retainer (pledged by honor)
11	Powerful warrior (barbaric)	Highly superstitious	Loyal slave (purchased by villain)
12	Powerful warrior, civilized	Insane (megalomaniac)	Receives food and shelter
13	Priest	Insane (schizophrenic)	Receives payment
14	Soldier	More powerful than the villain, but follows villain’s orders (see next column to determine a reason)	Receives share of treasure
15	Sorceress	People routinely forget the minion’s face	Unwilling minion (villain can ruin his reputation or bankrupt him at will)
16	Stupid peasant (possibly one of many such minions)	Very charismatic compared to the villain	Unwilling minion (villain holds loved ones hostage)
17	Suave military leader with troops (cruel and silky)	Very concerned with personal appearance	Using villain for his own purposes
18	Thief	Very honorable (by some particular code, possibly a very warped sense of honor)	Villain has control of minion’s soul in some fashion, or holds it captive
19	Thug	Very rude and arrogant compared to the villain	Villain’s loyal kinsman
20	Witch doctor, witch, or druid	Well known in the local area	Worships villain as a god, messenger of a god, or holy person