Portraying Minion Races

How do you portray minion races and other little mook-like creatures?

Things like goblins or kobolds. Do you prefer plucky underdogs or evil little shits?

large-breasted succubi

Like people who are either in a cult like beleif in their leader or have no alternative than full submission out of fear.

They aint mooks if they get good pay

Sexy slutty Witch

Depends on the setting (IE, whether or not they are inherently evil by nature of their creation). But my favorite is to have their nature vary by tribe or clan. Some deathly afraid of more advanced humanoids with their steel and their magic who would flee at first sight. Some who don't care and would go about their business, whatever that might be, reacting with either shock or vitriol if attacked or interrupted based on former interactions with other people like the PCs. Others of course acting with active malice.

Kobolds are actively cult-like. They like to follow dragons, and when there aren't any dragons, they attempt to follow and worship anything big and powerful.

Goblins are petty, evil little shits, but useful as minions if you can get them to work together (normally through fear or promise of food and lack of responsibility).

Orcs are savage, but somewhat cowardly, unless they are under the leadership of a strong Chieftain or other powerful figure.

Hobgoblins may individually work as mercenaries, but in large groups only work to conquer territories for their own.

Who draw that? It kind of looks like ShindoL, but I'm not sure.
I wish he did more SFW stuff.

Humorously evil, sometimes with some legitimate malice and evilness showing through.

Like, gnolls scavenge most things, so sometimes they'll end up wearing random clothing alongside or over armor. They also yelp like dogs when scared or if you kick them over a cliff.

Kobolds set up all sorts of traps, but are absolutely terrified if you actually get through them. A few brave ones will engage in melee, while the rest will run and shoot or hide.

Goblins make traps too, but they're actually eager to get into the fray, so sometimes they'll trip over their own traps when they see you coming. They're irritating little buggers, but also enjoy making deals and are more willing to backstab their fellows than the rest in return for gold and other shiny junk.

Kobolds are simplistic hunter-gatherers who can be convinced to work for mundane payments.

Goblins are mostly sailors, pirates, and small time merchants. A few have wiggled their ways to the top by becoming shipping moguls or military officers, but it's fairly rare.

Orcs vary from tribe to tribe but are mostly friendly. The most common are shamanistic tribes that farm and hunt in the areas they've settled. There are a few more "traditionalist," raiding tribes, but they're less common in the area my PCs are in.

Bugbears are mostly bandits and slavers, tagging along with whatever bandit tribe welcomes their muscle. They occasionally sell their services as mercenaries.

Hobgoblins are militaristic and make up part of the warrior society in the East. They are split into various clans, each lead by a Daimyo. They live alongside various human clans of the same nature, and regularly war with them.

Ogres are the remnants of a once great, spanning empire. They collapsed due to inner struggle and war with various races (mainly orcs and humans.) They're mostly scattered into small tribes, though a few imperial enclaves still exist.

>Kobolds
Massive inferiority complex, serve Dragons for protection and familiarity. In lieu of dragons, will work with any large reptile.

>Goblins
Whimsical and fun-loving in everything they do, but no actual ambition of their own. Will serve anyone stronger than themselves. ANYONE. Also rather incompetent, but they struggle through it with a smile. It's like hiring kids on permanent sugar rushes to do your dirty work.

>Ogres
Dumb and easily misled, descended from the fleshwarped slave-soldiers of an ancient empire of Giants. The smarter ones also look more human.

>Trolls
Also created by the Giant empire for their war against the Fey long ago. Shock troops who would be capable of much more intelligence if they weren't ALWAYS ANGRY. Made from fleshwarped Fey, so enough Fey influence restores them to what their ancestors were meant to be.

>Orcs
The result of Trolls breeding with humans over many generations, until they eventually bred pure. Can draw on the ancestral rage, but it's not always on.

>Hobgoblins
What happens when Goblins are subjected to the fleshwarping practices that make Ogres out of humans and Trolls out of Fey.

Reverse image search says Arisawa Kuro is the artist.

What size are trolls that they capable of breeding with humans? Is it only human male/troll female that can with this issue?

>How do you portray minion races and other little mook-like creatures?
Suicide swarms for the initial rush, and then little chickens once the majority of their force is gone. I generally don't consider them much outside minor combat encounters.

If I need some thieves, then a few human or similar characters are going to be more interesting. And if I want something threatening the local populace, then something a bit more impressive than a kobold (such as a Hobgoblin, Orc, or Ogre) is more in line.

Each member of the race has their own individual personality, and are considered basically equal to other intelligent life.

Otherwise there might be some feral varieties that could be qualified as almost non-sapient. History goes on long enough that some could have been domesticated for war.

>Do you prefer plucky underdogs or evil little shits?
Why settle for one?
We don't have goblins or kobolds, but we do have a mix between Kuo-Toa and Mind Flayers who eat people's minds for that sweet, sweet permanent +1 INT or +1 CHA a head, up to a cap of 24.
They're extremely intelligent and have the ability to see slightly into the future, but they're also paranoid as fuck because their entire lives are dependent on making sure none of their brethren tries to betray them.
They have 'breeding pools' from which they draw future servants and minds to take. Those of them that aren't evil and haven't given into hopelessness often try to flee with some of the young, but they find it hard to live among humans- they fear the sea and other people due to their paranoia, but need to live nearby for the hydration. Those children that find a way to live on the surface either find themselves fast friends with sailors due to their species' natural abilities, or outcasts due to their psychic fuckery and any paranoia they got from their parents.
So think Sea Drow, except not matriarchal.

>kobolds

Kobolds aren't "plucky underdogs," the "witty subversion" that is universally the case is that they are great at making amazingly powerful and complicated traps that rape intruders to death. If kobolds are in the area? Just leave.

>lel I read Tucker's Kobolds I'm so clever xD

I don't have minions that are entire species when I can help it. I find it somewhat odd that kobolds are the minions of drakes, and goblins the minions of orcs....... but you cross the fence and gnomes are not the minions of elves, halflings are not the minions of humans.

And they'd aught to be, for the same reasons. Even transitioning from evil to good motifs biological hierarchy should still be present. But you don't see it on one side. You only see it on that "other" side. Seems silly in the big picture. Whole races as minions almost reminds me of pets or work animals.

I think the first appearance of kobolds in S&S had goblins and kobolds as the slaves to elves.

Halflings as human minions does fit fine though.

Kobold are cruel but cowardly masters of clockwork and traps. While some of them revere Dragons, held in even higher esteem are the legendary individuals throughout Kobold history that have managed to trap a Dragon. As they are reluctant to adopt the use of black powder weapons in their subterranean homes, they have designed some of the deadliest repeating crossbows currently around.

Goblins are like magical vermin, in a way. Small in size but varying wildly in specific capabilities and appearance from region to region, Goblins have an inherent affinity to magic. Any given Goblin bloodline usually adapts to have petty magic useful to their environment in a few short generations, and these powers can range from the ability to throw very weak tongues of flame to having a fear-inducing (when in groups) shrieking war cry.

Orcs are strong and too dumb to be afraid of most things. While Orcs may not have actual regenerative abilities, they do tend to heal very well. This has resulted in some Orc tribes developing some rather extreme body modifications that on other races would most likely result in the loss of limbs.

Gnolls are tough, and while not possessing as much raw strength as Orcs, they tend to be dangerously fast and bloodthirsty foes. Though notorious for being slavers, most people don't realize the religious importance of slavery to Gnolls—created as a tormentable slave race by a Deity known only as "The Bitch", the Gnolls overthrew and enslaved their own creator, though maintaining her bonds requires frequent and considerable blood sacrifice. Though this isn't the fate of most slaves taken by Gnolls, most slaver bands will regularly tithe some of their catch to the slaver-priests who keep the Goddess locked away.

Slightly off topic concept.

World in which instead of the 'subhumans' (kobolds goblins orcs ogres etc) being mostly fighter types they're mostly magic types of various sorts.

Still aggressive and hostile as in vanilla D&D, but they will probably put a juju hex on you instead of throwing a spear at you.

Wicked evil little shits. Goblins are the humorous kind. Kobolds are like tiny vicious mini raptor/dragon people born from the breath or blood of dragons engulfing ores.

this is a very nice image

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