Pathfinder Battles Preview: Hoist the Black Flag: Skull & Shackles!

The Skeletal Dragon is fantastic. And I'm really looking forward to more aquatic creatures.

I haven't read through the whole AP, but does this mean some figures with guns? And people of a certain nation that is involved?

Nice! These will probably work out well for Razor Coast as well!

That Dragon looks fantastic as does the Sea Troll. I gotta say that with all the commotion from teh last set with folks getting broken minis I'm a tad worried about that dragon. Has there been any discussion regarding packaging?

Granted... this won't stop me from picking one up along with the rest of the set, I'm just wondering ;-)

Damn you Paizo, how can I possibly say no to a pirate mini set!

Has there been any discussion regarding packaging?

Yes, lots! WizKids knows that that's the number one area where they need to improve, and are committed to doing so.

Damn you Paizo.

Well played Erik.

I just need to know how much time I have to save up for the set.

Kieviel wrote:

Has there been any discussion regarding packaging?

Yes, lots! WizKids knows that that's the number one area where they need to improve, and are committed to doing so.

Glad to hear it Vic, thanks for the quick response too!

Kieviel wrote:

Has there been any discussion regarding packaging?

Yes, lots! WizKids knows that that's the number one area where they need to improve, and are committed to doing so.

Seems to me it would do a world of good to just flip the thin plastic holders around so that the openings in them face the box walls at least that way the larges couldn't crush the Mediums.

Damn you Paizo.

Well played Erik.

I guess this speaks to the dev time issues; though I am surprised you went in support of an AP release BEFORE Shattered Star. Didn't see that one coming. I thought we might see a more generic branded set followed by Wrath of the Righteous.

Well, I'm a player in this one too. *grins and dodges bullet*

OMG!!! I am sooooo happy to see this set. Pirate pre-painted minis are greatly under-represented! Thank you for making this set! Now I am looking forward to the Friday reveals even more than I did before. Here's hoping Paizo does not give Erik any more vacations days until the set has been fully revealed.

So now I'm wondering if one of the unrevealed goblin minis is a gryndilow ;-)

Grindylows!

Of course, the set includes lots of pirates, with this guy here being just the first of several we’ll show off in the coming weeks.

Does this "pirate mini" have a name at this time?

Yep. His name for the moment is "Pirate". It'll likely change, but that's the name for now. He is not, in any event, a specific character from the campaign. Those come later. :)

And because I know folks are wondering, the set does include about five figures armed with pistols or that have something to do with gunpowder. Jus enough to please folks who want it, but no enough to spoil the set for those who don't.

Yep. His name for the moment is "Pirate". It'll likely change, but that's the name for now. He is not, in any event, a specific character from the campaign. Those come later. :)

And because I know folks are wondering, the set does include about five figures armed with pistols or that have something to do with gunpowder. Jus enough to please folks who want it, but no enough to spoil the set for those who don't.

I would like to suggest that the pirate gets named "Albert" as that seems like a name that would bring lots of childhood teasing and result in a life of piracy.

I think this is a great choice, and I'm thrilled to see it! I think the only AP I'd have liked to see supported more is Kingmaker, and that's mostly because I'm running a campaign in it now. But I've always thought that we needed more aquatic minis, and I expect to see a lot of them here. Dare I also hope for some cool dungeon dressing sorts of pieces? (Or maybe ship-dressing in this case?) For instance, a nice Large-sized rowboat would be cool. I'm rooting for a ballista too!

Kieviel wrote:

Has there been any discussion regarding packaging?

Yes, lots! WizKids knows that that's the number one area where they need to improve, and are committed to doing so.

I hope they are addressing more than just the packaging. My minis see a lot of use, and therefore they are at risk of breakage after the protective packaging is removed.

I decided not to buy any Shattered Star minis due to the fragility (sadly there's at least 20 "must haves" in that set). I would hate to have to pass on this one too.

I understand the argument that the rigid plastic makes for more detailed sculpts, and I'm not trying to force anyone to go back to the age of floppy-swords. I am simply casting my vote for durability.

Sorry to complain. I love the Pathfinder Minis line, and I want to be able to buy them again. This is intended as constructive feedback.

P.S. Love this preview!

And because I know folks are wondering, the set does include about five figures armed with pistols or that have something to do with gunpowder. Jus enough to please folks who want it, but no enough to spoil the set for those who don't.

I was thinking this would be a good set for Lirianne to be one of the included iconics :)

Edit: While this is not one of the first back-APs I wanted to see, I'm still looking forward to it.

I didn't see this coming, but I am glad we are getting a set that is a pretty current adventure path than one that isn't unobtainable. Kudos to the new set.

Oh. Oh my.

I'll be in my bunk.

Argh!!
First the Skulls & Shackles pawns. And then Razor Coast in all its glory. And after that Razor Coast being an option for being available within the Realm Works Kickstarter. And Freeport for Pathfinder being Kickstarted. And buying an extra set of pawns because I wasn't sure if I'd already bought them and they look so damned good.
And now this...

Can I not get a clear sign whether I need to run a pirate campaign or not?

I would be interested to know if the rarities for NPCs in this set will be more akin to the Runelords set or the Shattered Star set. In my opinion, the Shattered Star set, where NPCs were all rares, was much better than Runelords, where you got 3x Tsuto, Ameiko, Orik, etc. When Shattered Star came out, I purchased singles as opposed to the case, thinking I would end up with a ton of duplicates that I didn't want/need had I bought the case. Turned out I would have been fine because the distribution changed. Can someone in the know weigh in on this? It will likely determine whether or not I buy a case this time around.

Generally speaking we'll try to keep NPCs at uncommon or rare. I'd prefer rare more often than not, especially in the case of oddball one-off NPCs, but this set in particular has a lot of named NPCs who could just as easily be "generic pirate" or something, so there is some bleed over into uncommon. I think you'll be pleased with how the rarities break down.

Has the format for future releases been nailed down yet? As in, can we expect most releases to be a set of 55 with boosters of 1 large + 3 others? Or are they still likely to switch around on a set by set basis?

Has the format for future releases been nailed down yet? As in, can we expect most releases to be a set of 55 with boosters of 1 large + 3 others? Or are they still likely to switch around on a set by set basis?

I get the impression this is the distribution that's working best for them. I personally love it, just hoping we can get the two plastic "shells" in the boxes to have openings facing out rather than towards each other, that should help a ton.

Generally speaking we'll try to keep NPCs at uncommon or rare. I'd prefer rare more often than not, especially in the case of oddball one-off NPCs, but this set in particular has a lot of named NPCs who could just as easily be "generic pirate" or something, so there is some bleed over into uncommon. I think you'll be pleased with how the rarities break down.

Sounds good to me. Thanks!

As the RPG Superstar contestant labeled "obsessed with all things aquatic," I am giddy with anticipation to see more aquatic miniatures.

These look amazing very interested...please are they still looking at tweaking the plastic mix though? Little too much breakage in the last set I hope this one survives better.

Generally speaking we'll try to keep NPCs at uncommon or rare. I'd prefer rare more often than not...this set in particular has a lot of named NPCs ...so there is some bleed over into uncommon. I think you'll be pleased with how the rarities break down.

I hope the NPC types don't overrun the monsters. Shackles did indeed have a lot of humanoids, but a number of incredible monsters. The balance between monster and humanoid was almost perfect in shattered star. Mind you the NPC art was pretty damn good in the AP.

Now these three - Troll (Scrag) remarkable. Things just keep getting better for the trolls. This is looking to be a great mini. Nice colour, great sculpt, lok at the detail in the skin! I can see it upsetting those who aren't fond of the pathfinder troll asthetic, but that's certainly not me! Looks to be slightly smaller (not by much) than the troll champion, so so does this set the size for trolls? Is the intention they should be taller and heavier than the giants?

Pirate - nice start to generic NPC's. Good easy to use pirate with a nice sculpt and colour. So good to see clear facial features - this has been a real step up over the sets.

The Dragon - not what I was expecting in this one. Makes sense in the context of the AP. It looks really well sculpted and I can't wait to see it in full colour. My big concern is fragility - this one looks fragile and given the harder plastic used to give those cleaner, better sculpts...

Just one question Erik - I vaguely remember you sayin this set would be more generic and less AP. The opening says "inspired" by shackles - how closely is this set married to that AP?

Has the format for future releases been nailed down yet? As in, can we expect most releases to be a set of 55 with boosters of 1 large + 3 others? Or are they still likely to switch around on a set by set basis?

That is the format that we are using as our baseline and is the format that the Skull & Shackles set will use, and the one after that too. If we decide to change that format, we will let you know.

-Lisa

So Lisa, does that mean you won't be doing any Huge minis for this set? I would really like to see some more huges that are new, and this set has a number of great ones. A huge shark would be awesome. Actually, several sizes of sharks would be awesome.

Just one question Erik - I vaguely remember you sayin this set would be more generic and less AP. The opening says "inspired" by shackles - how closely is this set married to that AP?

I am not Erik, but I can answer this question. The "generic" set that you are thinking about is the one after this one. The Skull & Shackles set is firmly rooted in the AP.

-Lisa

Ahh. Very good. Not that I care, minis are minis and the more the merrier. In fact having seen the art for the mighty fine fish folk in this AP I have huge hopes - some of my favourite beasties where in that path. Any chance of a goblin pirate - well any goblin with a gun really...

Very closely. We've got a non-AP-specific set coming up some time in the future, but this one isn't it. Every creature in this set is taken from the AP or its support products.

"Very closely. We've got a non-AP-specific set coming up some time in the future, but this one isn't it. Every creature in this set is taken from the AP or its support products."

Do you mean we might see something from the Isles of the Shackles Campaign Setting?

How about a certain Grindylow of "large" proportions?

Looking very nice so far. I already have a couple of big undead dragons coming from Reaper, but might have to look at getting them another friend.

That troll is great though! The way he's holding those cleavers I really want to get him a chefs apron or something. For some reason he puts me in mind of an angry chef storming out of the kitchen...

Very closely. We've got a non-AP-specific set coming up some time in the future, but this one isn't it. Every creature in this set is taken from the AP or its support products.

So a good chance of Grindylows, sahuagin and weresharks? Wooooo, I hope so.

So Lisa, does that mean you won't be doing any Huge minis for this set? I would really like to see some more huges that are new, and this set has a number of great ones. A huge shark would be awesome. Actually, several sizes of sharks would be awesome.

We have other ideas about how to deal with Huge minis. You'll learn about one such idea very soon.

Steve Geddes wrote:

Has the format for future releases been nailed down yet? As in, can we expect most releases to be a set of 55 with boosters of 1 large + 3 others? Or are they still likely to switch around on a set by set basis?

That is the format that we are using as our baseline and is the format that the Skull & Shackles set will use, and the one after that too. If we decide to change that format, we will let you know.

-Lisa

Cheers, Lisa. It's a pretty good compromise, I think. The H&M set had just a little too few sculpts and RotRL had such a huge price-tag.

Was personally hoping this set would be Kingmaker, a lot of the beasties from there would make neat minis. Really personally did not like Skull & Shackles at all, but the skeletal dragon looks nice. Might change my mind after I see more minis from this set, but this might be the first PF minis set that I pass on.

These look amazing very interested...please are they still looking at tweaking the plastic mix though? Little too much breakage in the last set I hope this one survives better.

We have asked them to solve the breakage problems primarily by modifying the packaging. The plastic they're using actually has a wide variety of densities, even within the same mold—they can make the tip of a sword softer than the shaft, for example—and they will be looking more carefully at things like the dragon to make sure the density in each part of the mini is appropriate. But we're generally very happy with the material they're using; it allows them to capture the quality that we're looking for, and that we think most of our customers are looking for. If the price of that quality is that you need to treat them a bit more carefully than other plastic minis, we're willing to accept that.

DonalGraeme wrote:

So Lisa, does that mean you won't be doing any Huge minis for this set? I would really like to see some more huges that are new, and this set has a number of great ones. A huge shark would be awesome. Actually, several sizes of sharks would be awesome.

We have other ideas about how to deal with Huge minis. You'll learn about one such idea very soon.

Let me guess... Huge White Dragon?

this might be the first PF minis set that I pass on.

I doubt it. ;)

Steve Geddes wrote:

Has the format for future releases been nailed down yet? As in, can we expect most releases to be a set of 55 with boosters of 1 large + 3 others? Or are they still likely to switch around on a set by set basis?

That is the format that we are using as our baseline and is the format that the Skull & Shackles set will use, and the one after that too. If we decide to change that format, we will let you know.

-Lisa

Honestly, that's cool with me because it feels better to pay like $16 for four miniatures than $6 for one. But that's just my opinion.

Ah cool Vic thanks for the update on that. It's true that the primary breakage was due to rampant on the loose ogres in the box! I had some issues with the spidery-type guy in the last set as well, but those legs are so delicate I could see why it happened. Glad to hear that they're looking at those issues. =)

I do like that pirate figure. Can always use those things. Paizo trolls I have mixed feelings about. The skeletal dragon is neat looking.