So I was curious how you guys would handle a group of minions trying to be stealthy. My thoughts were that it seems counter-intuitive to use the skills a group of minions to sneak, since it makes sense in my mind that the more people there are sneaking the more likely they are to be seen.

Thoughts?

Depends on the minion group but in general I think it's perfectly appropriate for minions to be able to be stealthy. Even organized as a group, they don't have to be tightly clustered together or anything, after all.

Standard Stormtroopers are not really built for stealth, but brute force (and I don't think they get it as a skill) so at best they'd be rolling GGG plus some possible setbacks for their armor. But Scout Troopers, I think would get the Stealth skill and upgrade their dice pool per the normal rules.

Or, going beyond stormies, you can have a minion group of thugs blending into a crowd at a seedy spaceport.

it makes sense in my mind that the more people there are sneaking the more likely they are to be seen.

That might affect the roll to spot them, but shouldn't necessarily affect the roll to be stealthy to begin with.

Think less group of people and more cooperation.

If you want, toss em a setback, but it doesn't work any different mechanically.

You can roll it as a group. Large forces are able to operate with some modicum of stealth; how many real world river crossings and ambushes have been successful? And I don't think it's beyond stormtroopers to be stealthy. It was probably part of their training. That said, it's definitely more believable if you use Zahn-style Imperials rather than the laughably incompetent ones from a lot of other sources.

Also, I have a house rule for this sort of thing: I roll my players' Perception and/or Vigilance checks, so that if they notice people sneaking around they can act, or if they fail then the group is actually surprised.

Remember that minion groups only roll upgraded Skill dice if you give them that particular skill.

If it doesn't make sense for a group of minions to be stealthy (e.g., a squad of stormtroopers), they don't get it as a skill. If it's a minion group of Bothan infiltrators, maybe they do get it.

It's all up to GM adjudication.

Anyone else immediately think of Despicable Me when they read the title of this thread?

Anyone else immediately think of Despicable Me when they read the title of this thread?

No.....why? LOL

Think less group of people and more cooperation.

This. Stealth isn't just about tip-toeing around. It's about moving when no one is watching/listening and that takes more eyes on the situation. A group can have some people looking out while others handle the task at hand.

Thanks for all the replies guys. I had never really thought of it like that.

Think less group of people and more cooperation.

This. Stealth isn't just about tip-toeing around. It's about moving when no one is watching/listening and that takes more eyes on the situation. A group can have some people looking out while others handle the task at hand.

When we're on the sneak the stealthiest goes first, handing Boosts down along the line - they're warning those who follow about line of sight, guard patterns, camera placement and other hazards that could produce noise or otherwise get you noticed. I could see the Minion rules representing similar activity.

When we're on the sneak the stealthiest goes first, handing Boosts down along the line - they're warning those who follow about line of sight, guard patterns, camera placement and other hazards that could produce noise or otherwise get you noticed. I could see the Minion rules representing similar activity.

According to the core rules you hand down "spare" successes rather than boost dice from Advantage when you go stealthing. I've been using this with my group, and it works quite well. It also frees up Advantage to be used on other things, like speed, distracting guards, light bulbs going out, and the like.

Stealth for a group might not mean being all Ninja. The squad of stormtroopers might pull up in the ice cream truck, so more Deception than Stealth.

Standard Stormtroopers are not really built for stealth, but brute force (and I don't think they get it as a skill) so at best they'd be rolling GGG plus some possible setbacks for their armor. But Scout Troopers, I think would get the Stealth skill and upgrade their dice pool per the normal rules.

Setbacks because the armor is white, because it's laminate, or both?

Standard Stormtroopers are not really built for stealth, but brute force (and I don't think they get it as a skill) so at best they'd be rolling GGG plus some possible setbacks for their armor. But Scout Troopers, I think would get the Stealth skill and upgrade their dice pool per the normal rules.

Setbacks because the armor is white, because it's laminate, or both?

If they're trying to hide in the brush, because it's white. If they're trying to creep or move stealthily and unheard, because it's laminate and makes clicking noises when walking on hard surfaces.

Standard Stormtroopers are not really built for stealth, but brute force (and I don't think they get it as a skill) so at best they'd be rolling GGG plus some possible setbacks for their armor. But Scout Troopers, I think would get the Stealth skill and upgrade their dice pool per the normal rules.

Setbacks because the armor is white, because it's laminate, or both?

If they're trying to hide in the brush, because it's white. If they're trying to creep or move stealthily and unheard, because it's laminate and makes clicking noises when walking on hard surfaces.

And because anything named "Storm" is not evocative of sneakiness....