The summer release of Pathfinder Battles: Skull & Shackles is just over the horizon. Already you can hear the sea shanties of pirate crews carried on the salt-saturated air, and was that a shark fin that passed by just now? We've previewed almost half of the 55-figure set so far here on the Paizo Blog, and excitement is building for what is shaping up to be one of our best Pathfinder Battles sets yet! Designed to support the popular Skull & Shackles Adventure Path, the set includes creatures encountered in that campaign as well as aquatic and pirate-themed figures usable in any fantasy adventure.
This week I want to show off some of the set's stranger figures in the form of three unusual passengers we think will add a lot to your sea voyages.
A long ocean voyage is going to require a lot of food to feed the crew, and who better to provide that provender than Ambrose Kroop, "star" cook to pirates, smugglers, and heroes alike? Over the course of several sets, it's our intention to provide all sorts of "menial" NPCs, from barkeepers to bouncers to barmaids, from watch captains to politicians. When I first saw the art for Ambrose Kroop come through during the course of publishing the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path campaign, I just knew I had to include him in a set. Ambrose Kroop is an uncommon figure.
And what do you think the "mystery meat" is on the tenth week at sea? Why, bilge rats, of course! Here we have a Rat Swarm ready to eat your feet or feed your belly in case things get desperate. We've put the rats on a Small base and made them a common figure so it'll be easy to build up enough to have a reasonably sized rat horde.
Here we have the menacing Gilbrok the Tongue, a chief lieutenant of one of the Adventure Path's key villains. When I saw the illustration for this character, I added it to the list for this set as a sort of challenge to our partners at WizKids, because I honestly wasn't sure they'd be able to pull off such a complex sculpt. You can't quite appreciate all of the detail from the tiny photograph above, but you're going to have to trust me that, in terms of complexity, this is one of the most elaborate figures we've done to date. He's got a glowing spell effect in clear plastic coming off his right hand and a monkey witch familiar on his shoulder. His staff is, for lack of a better term, "very three-dimensional," and his windswept robes had to be captured just perfectly. He'll work great for any crazed hermit, rowdy druid, gross witch, or just plain old weirdo you need for your campaigns. That said, we know you won't need a ton of him, which is why we made him a rare figure.
That's it for this week! Come on back next week for a look at three more figures from the Skull & Shackles set! And if you haven't seen them yet, check out the upcoming Pathfinder Battles releases White Dragon Evolution and We Be Goblins!, also coming this summer from Paizo and WizKids! Set up an ongoing Pathfinder Battles subscription today to get discounts on Encounter Packs and make sure you don't miss a single figure!
Until next week,
Erik Mona
Publisher