Friday Publisher Preview: Erik Trolls the Internet

Friday, June 27, 2014

We're less than a week from PaizoCon, and the office is exploding with activity required to get ready for the Big Show. I'm franticly working on the Preview Banquet presentation in another window, we've just sent the on-site book to the local printer, and the warehouse team is packing up the products that will appear in our on-site Paizo Store. Upstairs, our CEO Lisa Stevens is playing the just-released Alpha Build of Pathfinder Online, and the editorial team is, as usual, working nose to the ground to hit its regular deadlines.

In short, it's chaos as usual here at Paizo, and everyone has Big Things on their minds at the moment. But that's no reason to keep us from our regularly scheduled Friday Publisher Preview!

This week we take a peek at three new reveals from November's The Lost Coast set of Pathfinder Battles miniatures. The Lost Coast covers a wide variety of figures that represent common enemies, specific NPCs, and appropriate player characters from the Lost Coast region of Varisia. That region has played home to Adventure Paths like Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star, as well as numerous Pathfinder Modules and Pathfinder Society Organized Play scenarios.

But today's miniatures aren't from any of that. Rather, they're of the "fits the region" variety, and each was chosen for a different reason that had nothing to do with Adventure Paths.

Up first this week is a little critter we like to call the Id Stalker, directly from page 180 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. These hideous Darklands creatures embed themselves in the empty brainpans of their victims, using them like puppets to do evil in the world. They've also been crying out for a good miniature representation for a long time. The Id Stalker is a Small, common creature, so you'll be able to attack your player characters with a small horde of them.

Continuing the theme of "great things come in Small packages" is the Gnome Eldritch Knight, pulled from page 221 of the Pathfinder RPG NPC Codex. This little guy exists mostly because I think he looks cool, but also because I want to fill the ranks with characters wielding interesting weapons—in this case a warhammer. My biggest regret with this guy is that the factory couldn't work in his hair-thin cigarette holder, but even when the Gnome Eldritch Knight is a bit more health conscious, he still looks fantastic in his fine purple suit. The figure is a Small, uncommon figure. He was originally a rare, but the relatively simple sculpt saw him switch places with a more complicated figure—something that upsets my "perfect" proposed rarities once or twice every set. He's cool enough that I hope folks end up wanting more than one of him.

Finally, finally, FINALLY we get a standard Pathfinder Troll at the correct size with The Lost Coast set. Many of you probably remember the severely undersized Troll from our first set, Heroes & Monsters. Many gamers now semi-effectionately refer to this little guy as the Troll Whelp because he's so small. In sets since then we've managed to produce an appropriately sized Sea Troll, two appropriately sized Ice Trolls, and a deliberately oversized Troll Champion, but the regular Troll has been waiting impatiently for a return to the spotlight. Our first "generic" set in a while gave me the perfect opportunity to rectify the Original Sin of Pathfinder Battles, and I'm absolutely thrilled with how he turned out. Size-wise, he's between the Sea Troll and the Troll Champion, which is right where he should be. I am very, very happy with how this guy turned out. The Troll is a Large, uncommon figure.

Before I leave you today, I also wanted to draw attention to the special promotional figure we'll be giving FREE to all PaizoCon attendees. Here he is!

This is the Bloodbriar Goblin Raider, straight from the set of Emerald Spire promotional figures we produced for the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter effort of last year. We've just started fulfilling the Emerald Spire miniatures sets to backers, and wanted to share this figure in particular with our hardcore fans—along with the other cool free swag that has made the PaizoCon gift bag a legend among PaizoCon attendees!

Speaking of PaizoCon and miniatures, I hope all minis-fiend attendees will join me Sunday at 2:00 PM for my official PaizoCon Miniatures Trading Afterparty in the hotel bar. I'll be bringing lots of Pathfinder Battles doubles along with tons of unpainted metal and unwanted plastic figures from other companies, and will be trading them for a few hours with other like-minded folks over beers to officially wind down the convention. This event has happened every year at PaizoCon, and it's become a really fun tradition. I urge all attendees to leave a little extra room in their suitcases for unwanted minis. It's a great opportunity to return home with a similar space filled with figures you DO want, and I look forward to chatting and trading with you in just over a week's time.

Finally, I'd hoped to be able to share a bit this week about WizKids' plan to make good on the production errors that effectively ruined the Feiya, Iconic Witch figure from the recent Reign of Winter set. The mini was a huge disappointment for everyone involved, and while I unfortunately cannot yet reveal any details, I am confident that WizKids will go above and beyond to make up for the mistakes made on this figure. I'm both surprised and impressed by what they have in mind—it's somewhat elaborate, so they need to make sure everything is in place before announcing their plans, but I wanted to make sure that you all know that those plans ARE moving forward, and I think you'll be pleased when you learn what they are—something I very much hope to be able to reveal next week.

Until then, or at least until PaizoCon, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: The Lost Coast Miniatures PaizoCon Pathfinder Battles

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

All three figures are great, but that troll is a masterpiece! YES!

As for the Feiya issue, I haven't got my figures yet, but from what I have been reading it doesn't sound good. I'm very glad that WizKids is stepping up to the plate for an iconic that a lot of us have wanted for some time! :D


Excellent reveal this week. The "Id Stalker" fits well for Magnimar, and is something that I can use at least once in every campaign. The Gnome is ok for an uncommon- I'm sure I can use him for a more martial gnome NPC or group of them. The troll is fantastic- not only the right size, but the sculpt looks even better than the original. I can't wait to get my hands on a bunch of these guys.

Grand Lodge

The Intelle Cough, I mean Id Stalker looks well done, surpassing previous walking brain miniatures.

I really like the Gnome Eldritch Knight. Good choice. We have so few options with Gnomes in PPM.

And I agree with Feros, the Troll looks to be a masterpiece. He will be a welcome addition.

I truly hope you "remain, Erik Mona Publisher" for a ling time to come. Thanks!


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Oh, and the link to the detailed picture of the gnome eldritch knight is broken...

Dark Archive

So will this be a fourth paint job on the goblin? And will the crimson wisp be available?


Third, it's the same as in the Kickstarter

Dark Archive

Then the image doesn't match. Or at least mine was pink.

Dark Archive

Okay curiosity got the better of me and I dug out all three variants and the image shown here matches none of them.


Hm, it looks the same grey as the kickstarter preview pictures (my rewards didn't arrive yet). The one in We Be Goblins was more pink(ish).

Dark Archive

The kickstarter one is even pinker than the we be goblin one.


The one here looks more purple than grey or pink.

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's probably slightly different than the Kickstarter one.

Here's the origin story:

The version we're giving out at PaizoCon was created as a promo item to support the Pathfinder Online project, perhaps as an add-on for a potential Kickstarter, perhaps as a con promo item, perhaps as something else.

In the course of the Pathfinder Online Kickstarter, we decided to formally add Pathfinder Battles figures as incentives to reward supporters. The Bloodbriar Goblin Raider got formally pulled into that effort.

When people responded positively, we also drafted the _next_ two promotional miniatures I had created, the Lava Lurker and the Shadowfire Elemental. Neither was originally conceived as a Pathfinder Online model, but once we incorporated them into the Emerald Spire effort, we decided to add them into the adventure--but that wasn't originally the plan.

When the Kickstarter effort began, we already had finished versions of the Bloodbriar Goblin Raider, the Shadowfire Elemental, and the Lava Lurker in our warehouse. That effort ended up adding SEVEN additional repaints to the Emerald Spire "line," so when it came time to decide how to do the pack-out, we decided to re-create those three figures at the factory so that all 10 figures could be included in a single package.

Both figures are based on the same paint master, but the production runs were about 6 months apart, so there are definitely some minor differences in the paint application. Picking a random sample, the PaizoCon figure's dog's skin is a slightly different shade of pink, and it has more drybrushing effects to pull out the detail. There are probably other subtle differences, but they're pretty minor.

The biggest difference is on the base. The Emerald Spire set version has an "ES" in the set name area. The PaizoCon version has a Goblinworks "goblin head" logo where the set code usually goes.

This also means that I've got thousands of Shadowfire Elementals and Lava Lurkers with "2013" written on them, but that's a problem for a different day, because we haven't decided how to distribute those figures yet!

Shadow Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

Nice set of previews.
I do believe WotC did do an idstalker before with a very similar pose. The colour on this looks better, a lot more brain like and he seems to have his little brain sucking tongue! Uncommon too so I can get my 4-5 in a case.

I truly, truly love that Gnome! It is so good to see the little folk get some incredible minis. This just reinforces the need to get faces spot on for this set. DO I need 4-5, maybe not but I think the others at my table will be more than happy to get one of these from me. Then we can argue over who gets to play him first!

Troll. I can see why you're thrilled. He looks amazing, seems to be the almost the exact same size as the sea troll form skull & shackles - so spot on for me. And he's uncommon. So I get 3-4 in a case. Couldn't ask for more really. Looks to me like you have the rarities spot.

I'm getting quite excited for this set and so far I'm 19-0 on the must have count.

Thanks for keeping us posted in regard the Feiya issue.

I can't compare goblins since my kickstarter stuff is still making its way across the globe :( What I do know is I wish I had ordered more of the kickstarter minis when I had the chance. I can solve your problem with those minis today! Why wait for another day...Are we likely to see them available for purchase here? How about the caustic stalker, mudlord or the spider?

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

The excess promo figures (Lava Lurker, etc.) will definitely show up for sale on paizo.com after we've put them to promotional use. I'm less certain about the Emerald Spire sets, as we need to complete Kickstarter fulfillment before we know how many are left.

Shouldn't be too long.

Shadow Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

Awesome! Looks like I'll need to keep my eyes peeled for those.

Just did a quick size comparison. Looks like the giants sizes go (smallest to largest):

Stone giants x2(Runelords)
Ice trolls (RoW)
Hill Giant (SS)
Marsh giant (LoG)
Frost Giant
Fire Giant (SS)
Sea Troll (SS)
This troll
Troll champion.

That's some big trolls. Curiously it also means we have 5 trolls to date (6 if you include tiny) and 6 giants (7 If you include the storm). I would love to see some more giants given the vast variety of them in the game. Perhaps a female fire, hill, frost or stone (Conna the wise?). Ash or cave giant, there art is pretty amazing. A second male fire or frost giant would be cool - love the originals, but variety is always good on the tabletop. But then my sets would need to be 100's on minis in size to met all my needs (perhaps wants is a better term).


Really glad that I will be able to get my hands on the Goblin Promo! I wish I started playing Pathfinder earlier so I could have participated in the kickstarter!

Otherwise, I love everything about this Lost Coast set.


Hooray for the troll!


Query, has there been any word on future huge's yet?


Love the troll! Love the gnome! Meh on the Id Stalker. I see these minis partly through the lens of the resale market, and I'm not hopeful for that one. The WotC Intellect Devourer has never moved well, and I don't know why this one would be different. (Unless it finds a prominent use in a popular adventure or adventure path, in which case....)
I haven't seen a Feiya yet, and haven't been following the discussion; is her face all muddy like some of the other humanoids we've seen, or is it something else? Really a shame if she didn't come out well, given her obvious appeal to so many. Is it the sort of thing that a skilled minis painter can fix at home?


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm gonna be the lone voice of dissent here, but I think this objection is valid:
I don't want to see older minis from the line that we're not pleased with 'ret-conned' with a new figure. It sets a dangerous precedent for future minis and limits the diversity within the line as a whole. Yes, the troll from Heroes and Monsters was quite undersized. However, there have already been five troll minis in the PF line alone (not counting the 4+ from DDM) that can serve as proxies for this. Do we really need another troll?? The valuable large slot could have been used for anything else, specifically other versions of the 12+ giants that have only seen one mini or none. Sure, its a good looking troll. Do I need another version to join the 8+ sculptts of them that I have? I understand the troll-love, but please be considerate in the future about what has already been done.
Also, not to nitpick further, but the Intellect Devourer was also done quite well in the DDM line, and due to its niche-ness as a psionic monster at the time, is pretty easy to get a hold of.

Again, not trying to be a jerk, but I am not excited about this particular mini set so far. It almost feels like "Everything that got cut from Runelords and Shattered Star Set"...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, PF Special Edition Subscriber

We need more halfling and gnome minis, so yay for seeing some. A Halfling rogue is a must!

I do agree we need to see some giants though!


Cat-thulhu wrote:

Awesome! Looks like I'll need to keep my eyes peeled for those.

Just did a quick size comparison. Looks like the giants sizes go (smallest to largest):

Stone giants x2(Runelords)
Ice trolls (RoW)
Hill Giant (SS)
Marsh giant (LoG)
Frost Giant
Fire Giant (SS)
Sea Troll (SS)
This troll
Troll champion.

That's some big trolls. Curiously it also means we have 5 trolls to date (6 if you include tiny) and 6 giants (7 If you include the storm). I would love to see some more giants given the vast variety of them in the game. Perhaps a female fire, hill, frost or stone (Conna the wise?). Ash or cave giant, there art is pretty amazing. A second male fire or frost giant would be cool - love the originals, but variety is always good on the tabletop. But then my sets would need to be 100's on minis in size to met all my needs (perhaps wants is a better term).

What about the the Gargantuan Rune Giant? The Cyclops (Skull and Shackles), Mokmurian (Stone Giant from Rise of the Runelords), the Gug (Shattered Star, and tallest giant in size large to date)? And no mention of the 5 Ogres (Jaagrath Kreeg is bigger than the stone giants (not taller, but certainly bulkier).

Grand Lodge

Rakshaka wrote:
Do we really need another troll??

YES! The DDM versions are of a style completely different from the Pathfinder versions. They do not look right together on the gaming table.

(I am not debating the aesthetics of one versions' over the other. That is a simple matter of ones taste. For what it is worth, I didn't care for Pathfinder Trolls at first. But they have grown on me since the Troll Champion.).

The first Heroes and Monsters Troll as we all know was too small. The Troll Champion was special, as was the Scrag. Pathfinder needed a standard Troll within their style, and correctly sized. This appears to perfectly fit that need.


Cleanthes wrote:
I haven't seen a Feiya yet, and haven't been following the discussion; is her face all muddy like some of the other humanoids we've seen, or is it something else? Really a shame if she didn't come out well, given her obvious appeal to so many. Is it the sort of thing that a skilled minis painter can fix at home?

Here's a pic a customer posted of a "bad" Feiya, which seem to be about half of the total Feiyas, according to Paizo's check of their own inventory. It seems it's part bad painting and part bad sculpting -- no details on the face which just melts into the neck.


Wow. I mean, WOW. Laughably bad, and how tragic that that would happen to Feiya. I hope nobody shows Merisiel over on her thread, or somebody's gettin' stabbed something awful. I'll be interested to hear how Paizo/Wizkids plans to deal with it.

Re: trolls, I agree that PF trolls really do have a different look compared to the WotC trolls, so I have no problem with more PF trolls, and am glad they're giving us a new "standard" one.

Re: the general practice of making new versions of minis done by WotC, it really doesn't bother me. Sometimes the older versions are lame, and it also must be remembered that a lot of Paizo's customers never played before Pathfinder, and don't have all those minis. But since I make some money off these things, I always hope they'll pick ones that are popular enough and in demand enough to be good for reselling. I of course acknowledge, though, that I'm not the typical customer in that respect. If, however, a mini doesn't resell well, to my mind that also tells you something about how many people wanted that mini in the first place.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber

First off, I'm excited for the, umm, ID Stalker. I agree there is some niche to the creature, and thus I understand the concerns. Still, there wasn't really a reason for him NOT to be made. From browsing through the source books that include areas of the Lost Coast, he appears to be everywhere, including at least one nice illustration. He might be niche, but he's the kind that I want four or five of for campaign purposes. And so while yes, I could go looking for the DDM ones (easy and affordable), receiving him in this case is just fine with me.

As for the Gnome, I'm pleased on several counts.
1. I've come to prefer playing Gnomes over Halflings in my games.
2. There is a dearth of Gnomes, compared to other races, in both the Pathfinder and old DDM lines.
3. He's old. I've been hoping we'd get more old non-wizard/sorcerer miniatures to use, in all major races, as both PC's or NPC's.
4. He's from the NPC Codex, one of the best collections of artwork and insta-use material that Pathfinder has on the market.
5. Being from the NPC Codex, hopefully this is a sign of things to come, as I think it's almost criminal not to support some of that artwork with PC-usable miniatures.
6. His size alone allows him to pass as a Halfling, for those that prefer that race.
7. The miniature looks great.

And like most others, I love that we are getting a new troll. He looks amazing and he's sized at the correct proportions. There isn't much to add here that others haven't already covered.


Mazra wrote:
Rakshaka wrote:
Do we really need another troll??

YES! The DDM versions are of a style completely different from the Pathfinder versions. They do not look right together on the gaming table.

(I am not debating the aesthetics of one versions' over the other. That is a simple matter of ones taste. For what it is worth, I didn't care for Pathfinder Trolls at first. But they have grown on me since the Troll Champion.).

The first Heroes and Monsters Troll as we all know was too small. The Troll Champion was special, as was the Scrag. Pathfinder needed a standard Troll within their style, and correctly sized. This appears to perfectly fit that need.

Again, completely disagree with the choice of a troll as one of the valuable large slots. I would take any of the following rare or not-yet made minis over one with 9+ incarnations:

Basidirond
Chuul
Choker
Devils (no really, we get every demon ever, but no devils??)
Flesh Golem
Gorgon
Naga
Oni
Shambling Mound

...and that's not even touching Bestiary 2. I have to wonder if I'll ever see a representation of Qlippoth, or Daemons, or lots of other Paizo-flavored monsters that have yet to have any sort of mini for them.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber

I do understand the concern for setting a bad precedent by re-doing miniatures from previous sets, but several issues come in to play here that I feel like trump any of that personal concern.

-->For starters, the Heroes & Monsters troll is a miniature that I've seen requested here in the forums be re-done in a future line. It's nice to know that feedback on here is considered, and even better when such feedback leads to something.

-->I also find it nice that Erik and the company recognize that there have been some missteps along the way, especially in the initial sets. The original troll from Heroes and Monsters is still usable, sure, but he is clearly undersized.

-->In my opinion, trolls fall into the category of "popular mythical monster that I use multiple times in every campaign". Others in this category include Giants, Ogres, Goblins, Dragons, Elementals and some undead. These are the types of creatures I add into my campaigns not just because they are great monsters, but because their out-of-game popularity helps keep interest keen among new gamers. Fighting other monsters is fun, and becomes even more so after one begins to get more situated to the game. But even new gamers know what an ogre, giant or troll is, and taking one down in-game can be a thrilling experience. Such battles help retain gamers, at least in my experiences as a DM and player.

The above information is important because if I had my druthers, I'd NEVER have to use proxies for any of the aforementioned creatures. I LOVE the Frost Trolls from the Reign of Winter set, both the male and the female. But they are clearly Frost Trolls, and in a perfect world I don't want to have to substitute Frost Trolls in for regular Trolls. In each of my campaigns, the players are going to come across both sets of trolls, so I'd prefer to keep them separate. And while a couple of the twelve different sculpts of trolls found in the DDM line are nice, the best one to use for a regular troll, the Feral Troll, is somewhat pricey on the secondary market.

-->If we were talking about any creatures outside of the classics I mentioned, I'd likely agree there could be a concern. In fact, I had similar thoughts about the rare Marilith in the Wrath of the Righteous set. It wasn't that I didn't like the miniature itself, just that I wasn't sure we needed another one so soon after getting the Legends of Golarion version. I know the LoG version wasn't considered a jewel of the set, but I didn't think it was horrible by any means.

-->I understand and accept the old "this miniature blocks another potential desirable miniature from being made" argument. I have used it in the past, and will continue to do so when I think it is necessary. With the miniature set decreasing in size by ten, and the collation of the cases shifting, I actually think this idea takes on even more importance than before. However, in this particular case, I'm not unhappy with getting a proper-sized, good-looking, standard troll. This is true, even if it does come at the potential cost of a Giant we haven't seen yet.

-->And I definitely agree that seeing more Giants in general would be a plus. I'm comforted that Erik seems to agree, and that he is also interested in seeing as many Male/Female combinations within the Giant race as he can manage. This will take some time, though, so I don't expect a line full of Giants.

Of course, I do think we could use an Adventure Path that is extremely Giant-heavy. But that's for a different forum...

-->I also agree that this set has a "Rise of the Runelords" catch-up quality to it. I believe that Erik has stated that is one portion of the purpose of the set. For those who run the Adventure Path, I'm sure this must be an added bonus. Even though I don't run that adventure path, I'm not bothered or hindered by it, because I really like the selections that have been chosen. For me, I've yet to come across a miniature in this set that I won't use in an average campaign. Most of them I'll likely use more than once. Some of them, like Justice Ironbriar and the old Librarian-looking dude I'll probably use as NPC's at nearly every town and city.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber
Rakshaka wrote:
Mazra wrote:
Rakshaka wrote:
Do we really need another troll??

YES! The DDM versions are of a style completely different from the Pathfinder versions. They do not look right together on the gaming table.

(I am not debating the aesthetics of one versions' over the other. That is a simple matter of ones taste. For what it is worth, I didn't care for Pathfinder Trolls at first. But they have grown on me since the Troll Champion.).

The first Heroes and Monsters Troll as we all know was too small. The Troll Champion was special, as was the Scrag. Pathfinder needed a standard Troll within their style, and correctly sized. This appears to perfectly fit that need.

Again, completely disagree with the choice of a troll as one of the valuable large slots. I would take any of the following rare or not-yet made minis over one with 9+ incarnations:

Basidirond
Chuul
Choker
Devils (no really, we get every demon ever, but no devils??)
Flesh Golem
Gorgon
Naga
Oni
Shambling Mound

...and that's not even touching Bestiary 2. I have to wonder if I'll ever see a representation of Qlippoth, or Daemons, or lots of other Paizo-flavored monsters that have yet to have any sort of mini for them.

I understand your point. And I definitely desire all those miniatures, too. I just think more people are likely to prefer multiple Pathfinder trolls of appropriate size than they are any other creature on that list.

Also, the Basidirond is a medium-sized creature, and the Choker is a small-sized creature. The inclusion of the Large troll would not factor in to the potential inclusion of either of those two creatures.

I play with a botanist, so trust me when I say that I CRAVE creatures of the plant type. And as much as I desire the Shambling Mound, they are typically solitary creatures, so they probably make more sense in the Large Rare slot than the Large Uncommon slot.

As for the Naga, I'm guessing you mean the Spirit Naga? We already have the Dark Naga from the Shattered Star set, and I'm not sure 4-5 Guardian Nagas (Lawful Good) would appeal to many case purchasers.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber

Erik,

In the second paragraph in this update, you capitalize big things. Is this foreshadowing of a potential announcement regarding larger than large miniatures? Or is this simply further excitement over all the hustle and bustle going on at Paizo headquarters that you spoke of in the first paragraph?


Woops, meant Cloaker, not Choker. Forgot the Basi's were medium. I would still like some Dark, Lunar, or Water Naga as well.
I get why everyone's so pro-troll, since the minis need to appeal to the newer buyer as well as those of us who have been collecting the minis before there were PF ones. Personally, if I opened a box and saw my large uncommon is a troll, I'd be disappointed. Like I said, lone voice of dissent.

Grand Lodge

Rakshaka wrote:

Woops, meant Cloaker, not Choker. Forgot the Basi's were medium. I would still like some Dark, Lunar, or Water Naga as well.

There are also already 2 water nagas in Skull & Shackles.

I somewhat agree with your general point. To be honest, I feel that way about goblins.

However, I have no problem with one more generic troll to "fix" the earlier problem. I just wouldn't want to see many more.


Erik, will the 2014 Paizo Con goblin promo be available to non-attendees? There are a few of us addicts that "just have to have every single mini made", even if it is just on a different base.

Side note: considering how small of a mini the gnome is, there is some very impressive detail on it! It is a great addition for an under-represented pc/npc mini.


Rakshaka wrote:

Woops, meant Cloaker, not Choker. Forgot the Basi's were medium. I would still like some Dark, Lunar, or Water Naga as well.

I get why everyone's so pro-troll, since the minis need to appeal to the newer buyer as well as those of us who have been collecting the minis before there were PF ones. Personally, if I opened a box and saw my large uncommon is a troll, I'd be disappointed. Like I said, lone voice of dissent.

Not lone, I just haven't had anything to add beside what you have said. I like the new troll, I'd just have liked a daemon (or something else without decent representation) more.

Personally, I accept that bad figures are going to slip through. Putting out a "correction" later doesn't really change that, either I've got enough new trolls so I don't need my kiddie troll anymore except in very rare circumstances, or I'll have to use them anyway mingled with properly sized ones (drawing attention to their smallness). It seems to me I'm exchanging one problem for another - I'd much rather get a new sculpt.

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

I don't really have any "re do" figures in the hopper anyway, so after this set you probably won't need to worry about it.

There are a few devils in Skull & Shackles, but beyond that I've sort of been waiting for a "theme" to come along that lets me do a bunch of them at once. Same with demons.

On a different note, we always hold back several hundred of each promo figure for later Paizo.com sales, so don't worry about missing one if you don't make the associated show.

As long as you pay attention, you should be able to pick up all of the promos here before they run out.


Erik Mona wrote:
On a different note, we always hold back several hundred of each promo figure for later Paizo.com sales, so don't worry about missing one if you don't make the associated show.

Thank you for a quantitative statement there. I know Paizo in general doesn't speak in quantities but I've long wondered about stuff like this. I've "worried" about missing release of a mini product by a few hours and *poof* out of stock. I realize I don't know your sales-per-day figures, but knowing there are a few hundred of things reserved really helps manage the stress.

For instance - not promotional related - I had a few of the singles from the latest set in my shopping cart for a few days while I accumulated some other items, then placed one big order. The whole while I was worried about being ninja'd out of my fox/goat/owl friends because Paizo only had a couple dozen.

Again, thank you.


Erik Mona wrote:

I don't really have any "re do" figures in the hopper anyway, so after this set you probably won't need to worry about it.

There are a few devils in Skull & Shackles, but beyond that I've sort of been waiting for a "theme" to come along that lets me do a bunch of them at once. Same with demons.

On a different note, we always hold back several hundred of each promo figure for later Paizo.com sales, so don't worry about missing one if you don't make the associated show.

As long as you pay attention, you should be able to pick up all of the promos here before they run out.

...and this is why I continue to buy your minis and other products. Erik Mona (and others) rolling 20 on their customer service Diplomacy check.

Shadow Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber
Leo_Negri wrote:
What about the the Gargantuan Rune Giant? The Cyclops (Skull and Shackles), Mokmurian (Stone Giant from Rise of the Runelords), the Gug (Shattered Star, and tallest giant in size large to date)? And no mention of the 5 Ogres (Jaagrath Kreeg is bigger than the stone giants (not taller, but certainly bulkier).

I tend to ignore anything huge and above since these are a rarer or special case. As for Mokmurian, he was a unique character and a runt for his species, but yeah that does give us 3 stone giants. I just can't think of gugs as giants, that seems so mundane for those particular twisted abominations.

I also tend to think of Ogres like trolls, a separate offshoot of the species. I'm always happy to see more ogres because they can be used so often.

I wouldn't mind seeing another Cyclops actually, I completely forgot about them. U loved the skull and shackles one.

Redoing the troll is a sensible option. It was the one mini in the original set that attracted the most negative attention. Its' scale was way out, and so many people at the time asked for abetter way of a more appropriate scale. I think paizo/wizkids have done the right thing here in giving people a standard troll that fits in with the trolls form their other sets. It's no worse than having 4 varieties of Ogre after all.

I think the line should last a while yet (hopefully), so I'm confident I'll see more of my small, medium and large desires. If I had one wish for the line it would be to see the huge miniatures successful so we can see more of these in plastic. The one a set (ie every 4-5 months) gargantuan is a fantastic addition to the line, but the 1/set really limits how quickly those many, many gargantuan creatures can be covered. Of course now that I'm getting the Shemhazian demon I really can't complain.

On a side note I wouldn't mind seeing from oozes and slimes, they are still very underrepresented. While they are simple, in transparent plastic and with a few devoured bodies effects they could be great. Especially if could get a gelatinous cube, I know wizards did one but it sells for such insane prices now.

I image I'd also be in the minority here, but a few more lovecraftian horrors would appeal to me too.


Erik Mona wrote:
I don't really have any "re do" figures in the hopper anyway, so after this set you probably won't need to worry about it.

Cheers, erik. I appreciate its not a common thing. Nonetheless, I figured feedback is feedback - with the drop in the number of sculpts produced each year, I'm even more disappointed in figures which deepen the line as opposed to broadening it. Hopefully the WotC line will help in that regard anyway.

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

I completely understand (and, generally speaking, agree with) that point of view.


To provide some positive feedback as well - I'd add my voice to the comments above about your responsiveness and engagement. I've had some issue with the PF Battles line as it's evolved, however the chance of me dropping my subscription is negligible. That's in no small part due to your regular updates and my confidence that you're looking over things and trying to make them as good as possible.

I may whinge about stuff from time to time, but I'm very confident in yours and Wizkids' ability to manage the line going forward as problems come up. I generally focus on giving negative feedback rather than positive, since that seems more useful. Nonetheless, I've been a very happy customer since the line launched and you're probably more responsible for that than anyone, so thank you.


I'm also happy to come on Paizo's boards and read words like "whinge" :-)

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32

"Or at least until Paizo Con..."?

I wonder what that means?


Erik’s just saying he will be at PaizoCon (pretty much all the staff will be), so he won’t be (remain) at the office.


Just an idea Erik and something to consider. Mounts. Light Horses, Heavy horses, camels, Riding dog. A cart and horse. All without riders. Why? Because they would be used. How often are mounts used to travel in the game? And then how often does a random encounter occur? What would you use to represent the mount?

Request the 2nd. First great job on the Reign of Winter Minis. Especially the animals. A flock of goats is awesome for a hungry monster encounter. My second suggestion is more domestic animals like pigs, cattle, oxen, etc. Again good for farm encounters, and random encounters in farmland. Often times these animals are around or in the way.

What do you think?


The Minis Maniac wrote:
A cart and horse. All without riders. Why? Because they would be used.

For those of you interested in getting a pre-painted cart / wagon, check out the Kickstarter I have linked below. Only 18 days left. The wagon has many interchangeable parts. Its a really great value for only $25.00. Most important to me... its pre-painted :)

Tabletop Props


Kor - Orc Scrollkeeper wrote:
The Minis Maniac wrote:
A cart and horse. All without riders. Why? Because they would be used.

For those of you interested in getting a pre-painted cart / wagon, check out the Kickstarter I have linked below. Only 18 days left. The wagon has many interchangeable parts. Its a really great value for only $25.00. Most important to me... its pre-painted :)

Tabletop Props

Too cool. Thanks Kor.

Community / Forums / Paizo / Licensed Products / Miniatures / Paizo Blog: Friday Publisher Preview: Erik Trolls the Internet All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Miniatures