Mooks
For a given EL, there exists a sweet spot for flunkies, minions, and peons. These rules are used explicitly for the extremely rapid creation of monsters for simple encounters, throw-away additions to other encounters, and things like city guards attacking that you may simply not have planned for. When using mooks, keep several details in mind:
- Mooks do not have a KOM or KDM. Instead, they use the number in the UAM (Universal Ability Modifier) column, below.
- Every mook has an Archetype that defines their role, speed, inherent attack range and damage, and whether their maximum hit points are based on the High or Low HP column. The attack described in each mook Archetype is considered an Unarmed Strike for the purposes of all abilities and effects. If a mook gains a weapon through an ability or effect, that weapon's base damage is replaced with the damage for this attack.
- A mook's attack bonus, AC, saves, and the DC of any abilities they possess is based on the table. They also gain a bonus indicated on the table to three skills which are considered trained skills, except it does not grant them skill ranks in these skills. These are in addition to any other bonuses.
- A mook can make a number of attacks during an attack action as indicated on the table.
- Mooks have ability scores, but never add their ability modifiers to skills, saves. or DCs, nor do they gain the special benefits of Strength and Constitution. They use the following array, assigned however you choose: 16, 16, 10, 8, 8, 8.
- Mooks do not gain feats or items and only some mook Archetypes have tracks.
- Mooks have whatever creature type you see fit to grant them and are considered to have a BAB equal to their level, except it does not grant them any bonuses to attack rolls, AC, or additional attacks on an attack action.
- Armed Mooks: If you wish to reflect armaments in a mook’s possession, you can make it an Armed Mook, granting it the benefits of one or two weapon properties. Additionally, an Armed Mook can be disarmed. If an Armed Mook is disarmed, it loses its weapon properties, its attack range becomes [Melee], and the damage per level from its archetype is halved while disarmed.
Mook Archetypes
| Level | Low HP | High HP | Saves | Attack Bonus | AC | # of Attacks | Ability DCs | Skill Modifier | UAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | 24 | 2 | +4 | 13 | 1 | 13 | +2 | +2 |
| 2 | 31 | 39 | 3 | +5 | 14 | 1 | 14 | +3 | +2 |
| 3 | 41 | 53 | 4 | +7 | 16 | 1 | 15 | +4 | +3 |
| 4 | 53 | 69 | 4 | +8 | 17 | 1 | 17 | +5 | +3 |
| 5 | 64 | 84 | 5 | +9 | 18 | 1 | 17 | +7 | +3 |
| 6 | 77 | 101 | 5 | +11 | 20 | 1 | 18 | +8 | +4 |
| 7 | 89 | 117 | 6 | +12 | 21 | 1 | 18 | +9 | +4 |
| 8 | 103 | 135 | 7 | +13 | 21 | 2 | 19 | +11 | +5 |
| 9 | 116 | 152 | 7 | +13 | 21 | 2 | 20 | +12 | +5 |
| 10 | 131 | 171 | 8 | +17 | 25 | 2 | 20 | +13 | +5 |
| 11 | 145 | 189 | 8 | +18 | 26 | 2 | 21 | +14 | +5 |
| 12 | 161 | 209 | 9 | +20 | 28 | 2 | 21 | +16 | +6 |
| 13 | 176 | 228 | 10 | +22 | 30 | 2 | 23 | +17 | +6 |
| 14 | 193 | 249 | 10 | +24 | 32 | 2 | 23 | +18 | +6 |
| 15 | 209 | 269 | 11 | +26 | 33 | 3 | 24 | +19 | |
| 16 | 227 | 291 | 11 | +28 | 35 | 3 | 25 | +21 | +7 |
| 17 | 244 | 312 | 12 | +30 | 37 | 3 | 26 | +22 | +7 |
| 18 | 263 | 335 | 13 | +32 | 39 | 3 | 27 | +23 | +8 |
| 19 | 281 | 357 | 13 | +34 | 41 | 3 | 28 | +24 | +8 |
| 20 | 300 | 380 | 14 | +35 | 42 | 3 | 29 | +25 | +8 |
Standard Mook Archetypes
Scouts
Scouts are light ranged attackers designed for harassment. They use the Low HP column and have a ranged attack ([Close] range) that deals 1d6 damage plus 2 damage per level.
Scouts have a movement speed of 40 ft + 5 ft per 4 levels and at 8th level they gain either the Fly or Swim movement mode.
Grunts
Grunts are heavy melee attackers that can suffer significant amounts of punishment.They use the High HP column and have a melee attack that deals 1d6 damage plus 2 damage per level.
Grunts have a movement speed of 30 ft + 5 ft per 4 levels and gain a +1 deflection bonus to AC, which increases to +2 at 11th level.
Strikers
Strikers are light melee attackers who can dish out a lot of punishment but can’t take much. They use the Low HP column and have a melee attack that deals 1d6 damage plus 3 damage per level.
Strikers have a movement speed of 40 ft + 5 ft per 3 levels and at 8th level they gain either the Fly or Swim movement mode.
Turrets
Turrets are heavy ranged attackers that have difficulty getting out of Dodge. They use the Low HP column and have a ranged attack ([lose] range) that deals 1d6 damage plus 3 damage per level.
Turrets have a movement speed of 20 ft + 5 ft per 5 levels and gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls, which increases to +2 at 11th level.
Advanced Mook Archetypes
Minions
Minions are mooks of the more dangerous kind and combine the benefits of any two of the following mook Archetypes: Scouts, Grunts, Strikers or Turrets. They gain the higher hit point total and movement speed of the two Archetypes and can use the attack granted by either.
Experts
Experts are mooks with more varied and sophisticated abilities who can be used to create more substantial challenges.
Experts use the High HP column, have either a melee attack with a range of [Melee] or a ranged attack with a range of [Close] that deals 1d6 damage plus 1 damage per level, and have a movement speed of 30 ft + 5 ft per 3 levels. At 8th level, Experts gain either the Fly or Swim movement mode. Experts have a single track, which they gain at Fast Progression. In addition, higher-level experts have the following more advanced ability score array:
- Level 8-14: 20, 18, 10, 8, 8, 8
- Level 15-20: 24. 20, 10, 8, 8, 8
Untyped bonuses that are granted to AC are halved when used for Experts.
Elites
Elites are identical to Experts except they gain a second track at Medium Progression.
Untyped bonuses that are granted to AC are halved when used for Elites.
Aces
Aces are identical to Elites except they gain a third track at Slow Progression. Aces have the potential to rival full characters in power. (Note that there is no distinction between an Elite and an Ace at 1st level).
Untyped bonuses that are granted to AC are halved when used for Aces.
Minibosses
Minibosses are identical to Aces except they gain a fourth track at |Medium Progression. Minibosses should be used with care, as in some cases they may overpower full characters.
Untyped bonuses that are granted to AC are halved when used for Minibosses.
Operatives
An Operative is more of a force to be reckoned with: an Expert, Elite, Ace or Miniboss with access to some of the resources of a true character. In general, you can expect the Operative Template to add a fair bit of power and versatility to whatever Archetype it is added to. An Operative gains the following bonuses:
- Operatives increase their UAM by 1 (so a 1st-level Operative has a UAM of +3, and a 20th-level Operative has a UAM of +9).
- Operatives gain an additional bonus to saves and to the three skills in which they are considered trained equal to 1/6 of their level.
- Operatives gain the benefit of two feats they qualify for, gained at their EL (meaning a 6th level Operative could have two feats with a 6th level prerequisite). These should rarely, if ever, include [Iconic] feats.
- Operatives gain the benefit of a number of magic items. They gain only half the benefit of any magic weapon's item bonus to attack, any suit of magic armor’s item bonus to AC, or any magic shield’s deflection bonus to AC, but gain all other abilities of magic items they possess, as normal. If you wish, these "items" may be representations of an Operative's inherent ability, rather than actual magical possessions that players can take from their corpses. The number and tier of these items is determined by an Operative's level:
- Level 1-4: 1 Lesser item
- Level 5-9: 1 Lesser item, 1 Greater item
- Level 10-15: 1 Greater item, 1 Relic
- Level 16-20: 1 Relic, 1 Artifact
Myriads
Sometimes you just need a bunch of bodies that fall over quickly. Sometimes you need a good model for a swarm of rats. Sometimes you need solid mechanics for a bevy of failed ninjas. And sometimes you need a way to talk about a crowd as a single entity. The myriad mook template offers an intelligent way to get all of those options within Legend’s EL system.
A myriad is treated as a single challenge for the purposes of EL. A myriad uses the statistics of either a Scout or Grunt of its EL, chosen when it’s created, but with 4 additional hit points per level and a few other unique characteristics: a different physical manifestation and a deeply different way of attacking.
Myriad Bodies
A myriad is comprised of multiple parts, called "bodies," each of which counts as a separate creature. Each of these bodies occupies one square and represents either an individual or a part of the myriad as a whole. For instance, a single body might be a rat in a swarm, a single ninja who failed out of ninja school in a mob, or the head of a hydra.
A myriad has a number of bodies equal to 7 + 1/4 its EL, to a maximum of 12 at EL 20. During an encounter, at the start of each of its turns, the myriad gains 1 body, to a maximum of 7 + 1⁄4 its EL. When a myriad gains a body, it may choose for the body to appear in any unoccupied square within [Close] range of all of its bodies and to which it has line of sight from at least one of its bodies. Alternatively, it may choose to regain a damaged body instead. If the myriad chooses to regain a damaged body whose space is occupied, the body is shunted to the nearest open space. A hydra might sprout a new head; however, it probably wouldn’t make sense for a mob to suddenly 'grow' new members. But a defeated opponent might shake off its wounds and rejoin the fight.
A myriad's bodies use all statistics of the myriad except for its hit points and individual bodies do not have individual actions or make individual saves. Bonuses and penalties that affect one of the myriad's bodies affect the myriad as a whole, as do the [Flying], [Burrowing], [Swimming], and [Soaring] conditions, as well as conditions with durations that are not the [Grappled] or [Pinned] conditions. In addition, a myriad's bodies have no hit points. If one or more of a myriad’s bodies would be damaged by a single attack or ability, that damage is dealt to the myriad a single time and the affected bodies are removed from the fight (leaving its square vacant).
Depending on narrative demands, the loss of a body could mean anything from being blown apart to being knocked unconscious. But a myriad isn't defeated simply if it runs out of bodies. Only reducing a myriad to 0 hit points removes it from combat. When a myriad is removed from combat (by reducing its hit points to 0), all its members might be dead or the GM might decide that a few of the individuals comprising the myriad have escaped, or that the whole myriad has simply scattered. Myriads should never be Armed Mooks.
Movement with Myriads
When a myriad uses a move action to move, each of its bodies may move up to the normal movement speed the myriad uses. If a myriad uses a 5 ft step, it may only choose one of its bodies to make the 5 ft step.
As a rule of thumb, each body of the myriad should stay within [Close] range of all other bodies of the same myriad at all times. This does not prevent a body from being pushed or otherwise moved against its will.
Attacking with Myriads
A myriad can't normally make attacks, including attack actions, combat maneuvers that involve making an attack, and attacks of opportunity. Rather, as a standard action, an entire myriad can Flail against up to one opponent per undamaged body it possesses. No opponent can be selected more than once. If the myriad is based on the Grunt Archetype, each target must be within [Melee] range and line of sight of at least one of its bodies; if the myriad is based off of the Scout Archetype, it must be within [Close] range and line of sight of at least one of its bodies.
Flail deals 1d6 damage plus 1 damage per level and does not require any attack roll or prompt a save. This increases to 2d6 damage plus 2 damage per level at 8th level. Flail makes myriads dangerous at low levels, a credible threat in multiples or with support at mid-levels, and useful for pressure damage at high levels.
If a myriad using the statistics of a Grunt benefits from an effect or ability that would trigger when it hits with a melee attack, or a myriad using the statistics of a Scout benefits from an effect or ability that would trigger if it hits with a ranged attack, the myriad may make one attack roll against a single creature against which it Flails each time it Flails. If this attack roll equals or exceeds the creature's AC, the effect or ability triggers. This attack roll has no other effect.