Vader has stormtroopers. Doom has doombots. Darkseid has parademons. Every bad guy needs henchmen. What are henchmen? Henchmen (and women!) are the folks with the matching uniforms that act as speed bumps for a hero to cross to get to the big bad evil guys. They’re often cocky (or cowardly), have terrible aim, and are usually nothing more than nameless peons.
Sounds like D&D to me!
When cooking up a setting for superheroes based on Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition rules, I knew I’d need to create some henchmen, too. So here they are!
Henchman
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evil
Armor Class 13 (kevlar jumpsuit)
Hit Points 27 (5d8 + 5)
Speed 30 ft.
Abilities Str 13 (+1), Dex 13 (+1), Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 10 (+0), Cha 10 (+0)
Skills Intimidation +2
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages any one language (usually Common)
Challenge 1/8 (25 XP)
Deadlier Alone. The henchman has disadvantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the henchman’s allies is within 30 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.
Actions
Multiattack. The henchman makes two melee attacks.
Baton. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3 (1d4 + 1) bludgeoning damage.
Stun Rifle. Ranged Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one creature. Hit: 5 (1d10) radiant damage.
A Preview of The NEW Superheroes Class
Sorry for the late post tonight! In honor of Stan Lee who just passed away yesterday, I’ve been busting my hump creating a full-blown superhero class for Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition. And I must say… it’s one of my favorites so far.
Here’s a little slice of what to expect from this new Fifth Edition class option:
Superhero Origins
While must superheroes fight for truth, justice, and an improved way of life for all living things, not all superheroes have the same origin stories. Your origin defines how you got your powers in the first place. It also helps direct your abilities and training.
Altered
You were not born with your powers like a Mutant nor did you learn them through Mystical or Technological means. Instead, something happened to you that changed you at the genetic level which in granted you your superpowers. This event may have been a science experiment gone wrong (or right, depending on who you ask), or a mystical ritual performed on your body. You may have been bitten by a radioactive creature or blasted with an alien ray. Whatever the story, as an Altered Superhero, these are your features:
Physical Perfection
At 1st-level, your improved physical abilities allow you to fight effectively while unarmed. You gain the following benefits while you are unarmed and wearing light, medium, or no armor.
- You can roll a d8 in place of the normal damage of your unarmed strike. You can use your unarmed strikes in place of your normal weapon attacks.
- When you attack with your unarmed strike, a melee weapon, or use altered powers, you gain a +2 bonus to your damage rolls.
Strong Willed
At 1st level, you gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.
Expanded Powers List
Your impressive physical abilities allow you to choose from an expanded list of superpowers when you learn a superhero superpower. The following superpowers are added to the superhero superpower list for you.
Brawler
At 2nd level, you become an expert at hand-to-hand combat. Whenever you hit a creature with an unarmed strike on your turn, you can use a bonus action to attempt to grapple the target.
Force of Will
Starting at 5th level, your unarmed strikes count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Everlasting
Starting at 9th level, when an attacker that you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to halve the attack’s damage against you.
Once you use this feature, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
Thanks for reading!
Let me know what you think so far down in the comments.
Hopefully, I should be done later tonight. If you’d like a notification of the class when it’s completed, be sure to sign up to the mailing list on the right sidebar or down in the footer.
See you next time!