Pathfinder Battles Preview: Spoiler Alert!

Friday, February 24, 2012

There's just no two ways about it. If you read through this Pathfinder Battles Rise of the Runelords preview, you're putting yourself at risk of some plot spoilers. If you plan to play through the campaign, I highly recommend that you do not look super-closely at the miniatures I'm revealing today, as they could spoil a couple of fun surprises in the Adventure Path.

Our new Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path Anniversary Edition hardcover is set to release this summer around the same time as the Rise of the Runelords miniatures set (still no specifics on release date or price for the miniatures, alas). The hardcover collects the entire classic first Pathfinder Adventure Path in a newly revised edition, with plenty of fun bells and whistles we'll be revealing over the next few months.

So a lot of people who have not yet had a chance to play the campaign will soon get that chance. If you think you'll be one of them, and you want to maintain your sense of surprise as long as possible, I suggest that you stop reading immediately.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Spoilers Ahead!:

First up this week we have Aldern Foxglove, a local lord encountered by the player characters in the opening encounters of the campaign. Foxglove serves as an ally and patron to the heroes, and stars in some additional expanded encounters in the hardcover, written by James Jacobs, who introduced Aldern the first time way back in Pathfinder Adventure Path #1.

Aldern is one of many NPCs to receive a new illustration in the Anniversary Edition. In many cases, we ordered these new pieces of art specifically because we knew the character needed a miniature. In the original, we only ever saw an image of Aldern's face, so this time we wanted to make sure that we captured his entire body. I think this figure, a rare, also doubles nicely for any male noble, city dandy, or even a well-dressed bard player character.

And here we have the rare The Skinsaw Man, who for whatever reason seems to have gotten a hold of a familiar jacket. I won't say much more here, other than to mention that this figure has a long purple tongue you can't quite make out in the photo, and that the splattered blood effects bring me much personal joy and satisfaction.

A noble figure like Aldern Foxglove could really use a well-dressed woman at his side, and for these purposes we've included the cunning Lucrecia, also a rare figure. Lucrecia makes a great figure for any female noble, and she plays an important role in the middle part of the Rise of the Runelords campaign. Generally speaking, we try to limit specific characters to the rare rarity. While everyone can use a nice figure of a noblewoman holding a glass of wine, you don't really need a ton of them. Placing these specific figures at the higher rarity also gives our partners at WizKids the opportunity to layer on some really great detail, like the brocade work on Lucrecia's dress and the detail on her corset. Given how many folks liked the unarmed Human Druid from Heroes & Monsters as a townsfolk figure, I think a lot of people are going to get a kick out of Aldern Foxglove and Lucrecia!

And because every preview blog needs a good monster, here's the uncommon Lamia Matriarch. This Large snake-woman has multiple uses throughout the campaign, covering two major enemies in the first half of the Adventure Path. I don't include her in this blog for any other reason. None at all. Humm dee dummm dee dooo.

So! I hope you guys dig this latest batch of releases. They look great in hand, and I'm thrilled to have them in the set. By the time you read this, an agent of WizKids is already at the Paizo office, having delivered the very final miniatures for us to approve and photograph for future preview blogs.

That means the final details on the Rise of the Runelords set, such as price and official release date, must be just over the horizon!

Erik Mona
Publisher