The Dead, the Big, and the Evil

But I want to pet the kitty.

Next, we have the Red Reaver. Whenever you need an alien esque creature to throw a kink in your player's plans, this big baddy fits the bill. The Red Raven is a large uncommon miniature, and they like warm hugs.

LOL. Freudian slip.

Skeleton and Rakshasa are great!

If these make the transition from render to plastic with that detail all three are absolute winners. The fungal guardian is fantastic, love the detail and pose, and I agree the mushrooms are are great detail, perfect for the 5th part of strange aeons as well. Spot on for rarity too. I am biased though, scary fungal creatures and parasites are are favorite in my books.

I've said in the past that I see the Red Reaver as a necessary evil, due to its role in the AP, I wasn't particularly enamored with the idea of it asa mini in the set. That said the sculpt and detail have changed my mind. Nice Job. While I would have preferred him as a rare - how many Reavers do I need - I can see how the simple colour palette and detail make him a far better inclusion as an uncommon.

As for the Rakshasa, favorite looking one so far. Love the detail, the pose and that face, fantastic.

Hopefully they don't overpaint these and obscure the details like they tend to do in the Icons of the Realm line. The fungal guardian and the Rakshasa both would benefit form a thinner paint application that will let those little details shine through - the mushrooms, the taught skin, the nnarl on the Rakshasa, all of these need to shine.

Shaping up to be a great set.

That is a sweet Rakshasa.

I called all three.

1. The "Garden Guardian" from page 251 of the Bestiary or page 173 of the HC looks unspectacular. The spiked shield is missing and the hair is too full.
Still the rarity is spot on.

2. The "Red Reaver" looks to be massive, but the rarity is wrong with it being an uncommon, it should be a rare.
Also i would have prefered it to be on all four legs, but it still looks impressive and can be used as a fiendish Gorilla.

3. The "Rakshasa" looks spectacular. i´m glad it is based off the more battle-ready "Avidexu" version from page 176 of the HC.
The rarity was to be expected, even if it only is a CR 10 creature normally.

So far, every single one of the 14 revealed creature minis is taken from the CotCT hardcover, which makes me expect the other 30 will be too.
This is a step in the direction of older sets (2-4 & 6-7)like: "Rise of the Runelords", "Shattered Star", "Skull & Shackles", "Wrath of the Righteous" and "Reign of Winter", as to cover an entire AP.

My predictions:

10 unrevealed common minis:
-Spider (small)
-Necrophidius
-Sea Hag
-Eel (small)
-Urgathoa Cultist
-Half-Orc
-Wolverine
-Shoanti Archer
-Shadow
-Queen´s Physician

7 unrevealed uncommon medium minis:
-Marai Rakshasa
-Shoanti female with two starknives
-Human Executioner
-Manananggal
-Kyton (Chain Devil)
-?
-?

5 unrevealed uncommon large minis:
-Leukodaemon
-Belker
-Cytillipede
-Minotaur Skeleton
-Ash Giant

5 unrevealed rare medium minis:
-Rakshasa Female
-Thousand Bones
-Blackjack
-The Cinderlander
-?

3 unrevealed large rare minis:
-Horned Devil
-Belier Devil
-?

Definitely need a physician. That was one I really felt was missing when I ran this. I made do with some substitute but would really liked to have shown them a creepy doctor.

Cat-thulhu expressed my thoughts already pretty much completely. I love the renders for the guardian and rakshasa, and just hope to high heaven that the actual minis look that good. Kind of hard to believe they will, though.

Wow, that Rakshasa! I hope we do see another in this set, as this one turned out so awesome. A female would be icing on the cake.

Always nervous with tiger-based minis; the painted stripes are frequently much to wide and ruin the look. But if it's as good as the rendering...

Hmm, this Rakshasa encouraged me to check my Bestiary.
Backward-bending fingers - neat. Learned something new.

Another good looking set.

Definitely need a physician. That was one I really felt was missing when I ran this. I made do with some substitute but would really liked to have shown them a creepy doctor.

I agree absolutely, a mad scientist/creepy doctor is surely missing.

I also forgot about the Ettercap in book 1 (because i have half a dozen from D&D) being a good candidate for a medium common.

Next wednesday the "Assault of the Giants" board game comes out.
It has 12 large giant minis (and 3 medium ones).
These are mostly the same sculpts as the huge ones in D&D Storm Kings Thunder (one is a new one).
Unfortunately there are no pictures of the painted versions yet (only videos of mediocre quality), but here are pics of the single-color versions:

AotG1

AotG2

I think all three of these look great.

1. I really love the mushroom skeleton. I think it's been awhile since we've had a variant skeleton in the Pathfinder sets. Also, I love mushrooms.

2. Red Reaver is something I'll be using for the Curse of the Crimson Throne once we get to it. I'm glad you got it in here. At first thought, the rarity does seem off. But tip of the hat to Marco for bringing up Fiendish Gorillas. I was staring at the enlarged picture for half of my dinner trying to figure of which creature it reminded me. I definitely see some Gorilla. Either way, it looks nice and thick, which I appreciate. It's also the type of creature that looks like it would make great pets.

3. As for that Rakshasa, I think it could be one of the best looking miniatures Pathfinder has ever done. As others have said, I think it all comes down to the execution. But the digital look here shows great promise.

I think the rarities are perfect for what they are, and what they can be. I know Marco mentioned the lack of shield on the mushroom skeleton compared to its illustration. I have to think that adding the shield and expecting a decent paint job for the whole piece might have required an uncommon slot. The mushroom skeleton looks sort of busy on top as it is, so more steps might have been prohibitive as a common. And as this is a variant skeleton with mushrooms all over, I'd rather those be the details to get the attention.

I think the opposite is probably true with the Red Reaver, yes? My guess is it could very well have been pushed to the rare slot, but that it really doesn't require extra steps to achieve the look. So it made more sense to toss it in the Uncommon slot and save that Rare slot for something that needed it.

And that something could have potentially been the Rakshasa. As others have pointed out, tiger minis can turn out poorly sometimes. And this creature has so much going on that I think it's great it'll see the most attention out of the three main rarity types. After doing a Monster Menagerie 2 set review, I find that it aggravates me more than ever when rare pieces turn out horrible.

So again, I think you and Erik did a masterful job and selecting the level of rarities for these three.

While I'll be using the Rakshasa in both the AP and in my campaign as a Rakshasa, I'll also be using it as my de-facto Weretiger. Provided it turns out beautiful, of course.

Erik had hinted a set or so ago that he'd forgotten all about the Were-Creatures. His hope was to work more of them into the sets. I hope we'll see a true were-creature in this set or the next. They're really fun to put in my campaigns. After the more common villains like basic undead, giants and ogres, were-creatures probably excite my groups the most.

And speaking of the mushrooms and such, more plant-based anything would be great. But I would especially appreciate the actual Plant-type creatures. It's one of the most underrepresented mini in both Pathfinder and D&D. I'm not sure we've got any creatures purely of the Plant-type in Pathfinder miniature form, do we? On top of that, a quick jaunt through the Bestiaries, especially the second and third one, will show that Plant types have some amazing illustrations.

I ask for Fey creatures after pretty much every reveal. So I won't here. But just know I'm thinking about it....

I'd love to see Pathfinder throw another swarm into their sets. They started off doing one in nearly every set, but it's been awhile since I've seen one. This company definitely has some unique but interesting swarms that would make for a great minis. My players hate swarms, so naturally I'm a fan.

I like that you're basically doing a Curse of the Crimson Throne set w/o actually calling it that. It sort of gives you that room to add in a few pieces that aren't in the book, but that you really want to see in plastic form.

Personally, I'd love to see the mooncursed barbarian art used as the model for an eventual weretiger mini. ^_^

Personally, I'd love to see the mooncursed barbarian art used as the model for an eventual weretiger mini. ^_^

I admit I had no idea about the artwork you referenced. But, after looking it up, I say bring it on!

While I'll be using the Rakshasa in both the AP and in my campaign as a Rakshasa, I'll also be using it as my de-facto Weretiger. Provided it turns out beautiful, of course.

Erik had hinted a set or so ago that he'd forgotten all about the Were-Creatures. His hope was to work more of them into the sets. I hope we'll see a true were-creature in this set or the next. They're really fun to put in my campaigns. After the more common villains like basic undead, giants and ogres, were-creatures probably excite my groups the most.

And speaking of the mushrooms and such, more plant-based anything would be great. But I would especially appreciate the actual Plant-type creatures. It's one of the most underrepresented mini in both Pathfinder and D&D. I'm not sure we've got any creatures purely of the Plant-type in Pathfinder miniature form, do we? On top of that, a quick jaunt through the Bestiaries, especially the second and third one, will show that Plant types have some amazing illustrations.

I ask for Fey creatures after pretty much every reveal. So I won't here. But just know I'm thinking about it....

I'd love to see Pathfinder throw another swarm into their sets. They started off doing one in nearly every set, but it's been awhile since I've seen one. This company definitely has some unique but interesting swarms that would make for a great minis. My players hate swarms, so naturally I'm a fan.

I like that you're basically doing a Curse of the Crimson Throne set w/o actually calling it that. It sort of gives you that room to add in a few pieces that aren't in the book, but that you really want to see in plastic form.

I agree with:

+1 for plants!
Really, set 13 should at least have 3, the only one we ever had was the "Vine Choker" from S&S.
Basidirond & Violet Fungus please!

+1 for some fey!
We really need a decent Dryad.

+1 for a Swarm!
It would be great getting a flying medium swarm on which's base a medium or small mini can be placed.
Something like the interior part of the D&D Gelatinous Cube.

-1 for Werecreatures.
We had a Werewolf in H&M, a Wererat & Wereshark in SAS and the Death Demon/Nabasu from WR is a real good Werebat. Now we get a Rakshasa, which acounts for Weretiger.
I'd rather have a medium "Boar" (a sorely missed basic monster) than any new lycantrophe.

I also hope that set 13 will have at least 10 HUGE minis, one of them being an uncommon Aboleth, a rare Black Pudding, a rare Green Dragon, 4 uncommon Elementals, an uncommon Giant Flytrap, a rare Froghemoth and a rare Remorhaz.
But that would be the ideal mix for me. ;-)

For personal reasons, I would be extremely happy if there were never a violet fungus mini. (No offense meant.) One mushroom mini is bad enough.

I'd love to see the male dryad from Hell's Vengeance get a mini. And after I get my mooncursed weretiger, you can have all the boars you want.

We're still extremely deficient in non-Core races (and even some of the Core races need a boost). Of the 14 PFS-legal races, many still have minimal or zero representation. And then there's all the others, from catfolk to samsaran.

I kind of doubt that the black pudding - aka "One Paint-step Man" - would be rare. It's literally a blob painted black, maybe with a second coat of something shiny. Then again, the gelatinous cube is rare, and it's literally two pieces of plastic glued together. So I guess it might happen. (The black pudding doesn't have the same iconic history, of course.)

For personal reasons, I would be extremely happy if there were never a violet fungus mini. (No offense meant.) One mushroom mini is bad enough.

I'd love to see the male dryad from Hell's Vengeance get a mini. And after I get my mooncursed weretiger, you can have all the boars you want.

We're still extremely deficient in non-Core races (and even some of the Core races need a boost). Of the 14 PFS-legal races, many still have minimal or zero representation. And then there's all the others, from catfolk to samsaran.

I kind of doubt that the black pudding - aka "One Paint-step Man" - would be rare. It's literally a blob painted black, maybe with a second coat of something shiny. Then again, the gelatinous cube is rare, and it's literally two pieces of plastic glued together. So I guess it might happen. (The black pudding doesn't have the same iconic history, of course.)

If you don´t like (pizza) fungi - ok, but how about some Vegepygmy? ;-)

I´m ok with the male Dryad, as long as a female one is in the same set.
Do you mean the female weretiger with the hooves and the nose-piercing?

I agree about the non-core races, i especially want some Kitsune.

I agree about the Black Pudding being easy to produce, you probably only need to inject some dark violet or black color into the plastic.
It could be a common, if you use the sculpt for other colored ones:
-white for arctic pudding
-brown for swamp pudding
-tan for desert pudding

I also see the appeal of making a huge Hydra with the exact same sculpt and two variants:
-Cryohydra and
-Pyrohydra

even if i´d rather see a gargantuan one with exchangeable heads/stumps.

I've been waiting forever for a violet fungi and / or shrieker mini. The Deathcap was OK, but it was ridicously expensive to obtain. And it wasn't purple. So it just didn't fit the bill.

I've been waiting forever for a violet fungi and / or shrieker mini. The Deathcap was OK, but it was ridicously expensive to obtain. And it wasn't purple. So it just didn't fit the bill.

I can understand if people don't like the Deathcap, it's rather unspectacular to put it mildly.

That being said, the Violet Fungus is a staple creature that's been around for years and looks much more monstrous with its tentacles and elongated top.
It also appears in lots of adventures, so i would place it as an uncommon.

We're still extremely deficient in non-Core races (and even some of the Core races need a boost). Of the 14 PFS-legal races, many still have minimal or zero representation. And then there's all the others, from catfolk to samsaran.

Couldn't agree more. I've been dying for a figure for my male Catfolk Arcane Trickster but even including the original D&D sets there is a total of three out there and they're all female. Just please get the legs right and have them bent backwards. :)

Kalindlara wrote:

We're still extremely deficient in non-Core races (and even some of the Core races need a boost). Of the 14 PFS-legal races, many still have minimal or zero representation. And then there's all the others, from catfolk to samsaran.

Couldn't agree more. I've been dying for a figure for my male Catfolk Arcane Trickster but even including the original D&D sets there is a total of three out there and they're all female. Just please get the legs right and have them bent backwards. :)

There are a few other decent options: The Archfiends Catfolk is actually male, I think, but there's also the Quaggoth Barbarian who works perfectly well as a catfolk, and the triaxian minis from Reign of Winter work well as catfolk too. There's also an old Dreamblade mini called Bast's Handmaid who would make an awesome catfolk cleric, and I think there might be some other decent catfolk stuff in the Dreamblade line if I thought about it.

There are a few other decent options: The Archfiends Catfolk is actually male, I think, but there's also the Quaggoth Barbarian who works perfectly well as a catfolk, and the triaxian minis from Reign of Winter work well as catfolk too. There's also an old Dreamblade mini called Bast's Handmaid who would make an awesome catfolk cleric, and I think there might be some other decent catfolk stuff in the Dreamblade line if I thought about it.

Your right about the Archfiends Catfolk, completely missed that. That is probably the closest mini to what I've been looking for. Your other suggestions are good, but probably better fit different character concepts.

Would still like to see a few more miniatures in the excellent Pathfinder style of the various other non-core races. At least something that represents each of the fundamental archetypes of sneaky, spellcaster, and martial characters.

Here is a 19 minutes video that shows the painted (large sized) giants from the "Assault of the Giants" deluxe version:

Miami Dice

At 1:20 the contents of the box are emptied.

At 2:13 you get a good look at the Hill Giant in hand.

At 4:21 you can see 5 (out of 7) different giants.

The rest is bla bla. ;-)