Pathfinder Battles Preview: Monkey Business

Friday, September 27, 2013

A few months ago, when I started thinking about what figures to include in the specifically Pathfinder Campaign Setting-themed Legends of Golarion set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted fantasy miniatures, I came upon a revelation. We seem to really like monkeys, gorillas, and apes. And since we decided to include several of these creatures in the set, I thought it would make for a good theme for a Friday preview blog. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a sensational simian sneak peak to last you through your Saturday and Sunday!

Up first this week is the Gorilla King, a villain who actually predates the creation of Pathfinder and the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, as he originally starred in one of our old Compleat Encounter metal miniature sets, Throne of the Gorilla King. A major antagonist in the treacherous jungles of the Mwangi Expanse, the Gorilla King leads a nation of sentient demon-worshiping monkeys, and his machinations occasionally even spill over onto the civilized world. Legends of Golarion sees a much larger version of the King than his previous incarnation, and your players won't soon forget the session when you plunk this badboy on the table. The Gorilla King is a Large, rare figure. You can find the Gorilla King's stats on page 21 of Pathfinder Adventure Path #40.

Speaking of the Gorilla King's maniacal monkey servitors, here we have one in all its animalistic glory. This Charau-Ka warrior is a Small, common figure, a troop type that will allow you to build up a fun ape-men encounter with very little effort or expense. With a colorful baboon-like face and a nasty scream, the Charau-Ka wants to make sure your jungle exploration is particularly memorable. The Charau-Ka's statistics are found in the Inner Sea World Guide.

Want even more shock troops for your ape invasion? Might I suggest the cacophonous Monkey Swarm, courtesy of Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 (page 212)? Designed to work four-at-a-time in a 10-ft. space, this Medium common figure looks great from every angle. I know a certain contingent of Pathfinder Battles fans have been asking for flatter swarms, but in this case it seemed making most use of all three dimensions would work best. We can't have flat monkeys running around, after all.

How about a flying ape? The Derhii, invented by Wolfgang Baur in his classic Pathfinder Module Crucible of Chaos, dwell in jungle canopies and in cliff dwellings, demanding tribute from lesser apes and aligning themselves with more powerful flying creatures such as dragons or dragonnes. They're also neutral, so they're not necessarily bad guys. The Derhii is an uncommon, Large figure. His stats can be found on page 75 of Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3.

We can't let monkeys have all the fun this week (and I've got a ton of figures to preview before next month's official Legends of Golarion release date), so here are a couple of bonus, non-ape previews to tide you over until next week! First up we have the really quite gross Marsh Giant, an uncommon Large figure from the very first Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. The best thing about this figure is the shiny coat on its skin, making it look like it just lurched out of the swamp.

Inspired by real world cryptozoology and urban legend but very much a part of Golarion is the Mothman, represented here by a Medium rare figure that exudes creepiness from antennae to toe. The best part of this figure is the tinted clear wings, but its emaciated form and cool attachment to the base via an L-shaped post makes the figure quite dynamic, despite its somewhat rigid pose. He's definitely a creature you do not want to see, whether roosting in the trees outside Sandpoint or on a creaky bridge on the way home during your rush hour commute.

That's it for this week! Tune in next week for more never-before seen Legends of Golarion figures!

Erik Mona
Publisher

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Miniatures Pathfinder Battles

Wow, another nice entry! I'm particularly excited about the Gorilla King, who looks amazing, and the Charau-Ka, which has been hard to find a good sub for. As a great lover of the Mad Monkeys spell, I love the idea of the monkey swarm, but I'd like to see a little more color on it. (That might be a repaint for me.) But I like the other too, all of which aren't really like anything else that's already out there.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

really love the gorilla king figure here. makes me think of gorilla grodd. :) the charua-ka is pretty sweet too.

the monkey swarm looks more like a pile of undead, nasty, zombie monkeys. which is frankly more scary than just a pile of monkeys. good job!

Liberty's Edge

Marsh Giant! About 1/2 a module too late. I'm running Carrion Crown for the record :( The miniature looks awesome though.

Designer, RPG Superstar Judge

Niiice.

Grand Lodge

Awesome! Should I just have my payroll checks direct deposited to Paizo's account to keep it simple?

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

Erik,

I have to say I love this weeks reveals but I have a problem...

I get up every Friday morning and check first thing for the blog entry, of course history has proven that it is usually late afternoon (and sometimes later) before it is posted but that does not stop me from looking several times a day. Now, I think I am getting carpel tunnel and I believe you are directly responsible. I hope in light of my new condition that you will in future reveals will happen earlier in the day to relieve the stress on my wrists... Thank you for your consideration.

Shadow Lodge

Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

Wow, great preview. Looks like I'll be up for a case of this one, now I need to figure out what I'll trim form my budget.
Gorilla king - like. Not sure how often 'd use it though. Nice pose.
Charu-ka - love the mandril colors around the mouth. Awesome detail for a small.
Monkey swarm - I am one of those who like the swarms flat, in this case though I think monkeys need to be piled up like you say. I'm really liking this mini and van see me needing quite a few to repaint into creepy undead swarms and imp like swarms. Very nice.
Derhii - love him, but with the sword so large my concern is that it will bend or fold under it weight, or lack the wash needed to make it look less toy like.
Marsh Giant - very happy me. Wanted one of these since the minis started,. I think I'm going to like this guy especially the glossy slimey coating if it's pulled off well.
Mothman - I should love this, it right up my alley. It just seems so monochrome grey in that pic, and what's with the hands?
Overall a strong preview in my mind (as they've all been for this set), I know the minis are coming fast and thick but it makes me really positive when I can also see the quality is remaining high - that's usually the first thing out the door.

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

Shem wrote:

Erik,

I have to say I love this weeks reveals but I have a problem...

I get up every Friday morning and check first thing for the blog entry, of course history has proven that it is usually late afternoon (and sometimes later) before it is posted but that does not stop me from looking several times a day. Now, I think I am getting carpel tunnel and I believe you are directly responsible. I hope in light of my new condition that you will in future reveals will happen earlier in the day to relieve the stress on my wrists... Thank you for your consideration.

I will do what I can to help you out with your affliction, but for the time being the stress I am primarily concerned with is my own.

Contributor

Oh my Mothman. I mothman me a legion of mothman miniatures.

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I appreciate anything you can do Erik. LOL


Hmmmmm. Methinks the Marsh Giant will work reasonably well as a Mammy Graul stand-in.

Also, very cool. I caught the "designed to work four in a 10x10 square" design. That should work well. Better than one big turd, which we've seen for swarms before.

Really, all in all a great week.


Shem wrote:
I get up every Friday morning and check first thing for the blog entry, of course history has proven that it is usually late afternoon (and sometimes later) before it is posted but that does not stop me from looking several times a day. Now, I think I am getting carpel tunnel and I believe you are directly responsible. I hope in light of my new condition that you will in future reveals will happen earlier in the day to relieve the stress on my wrists... Thank you for your consideration.

The late postings on Friday "essentially" work for me... only because I am working during the day. I try to up date the miniatures gallery as soon as I see the mini's have been posted, so the timing of the blog posts have been good in this respect.

However, I do get every second Friday off... and these days go by slowly. Starting at about 11:00am, and every half hour after (or sooner) I hit the refresh button to see if the latest minis have been posted. It's only really then, when I can feel the entangling grip of the plasti-crack addiction take hold of me. It's a great thrill to see a new blog entry appear on my 20th+ refresh click of the day... and quickly I scan the text and images, relishing the latest additions.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Erik Mona wrote:
I know a certain contingent of Pathfinder Battles fans have been asking for flatter swarms, but in this case it seemed making most use of all three dimensions would work best. We can't have flat monkeys running around, after all.

Well, not necessarily "flat" but sculpted in such a way you could put a mini on top of it. If the 3 top-most monkey heads were all at the same height on this mini, it could have allowed for this, while still displaying a "pile" of monkeys crawling all over each other. Regardless though, its still a unique swarm mini and a welcome addition to the line.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

For you guys the update is in the afternoon, feel sympathy for those of us further East- this week's post went up just before I went to bed, but normally I'm waiting until Saturday morning to see it. Which I often do before I actually get out of bed...


Well, I'm quite surprised. I went into this article thinking "Monkees, eh". But, wow. An army of very cool Monkees it is. Well done.

Scarab Sages

2 people marked this as a favorite.

"Hey, hey, we're the Monkees,
And people say we monkey around.
But we're too busy killing,
To hear their whimpering sound."

Scarab Sages

2 people marked this as a favorite.

"We're just tryin' to be friendly,
With our rough and tumble play.
We thought you had regeneration,
So stitch yourselves together today."

Grand Lodge

Anguish wrote:

Hmmmmm. Methinks the Marsh Giant will work reasonably well as a Mammy Graul stand-in.

Also, very cool. I caught the "designed to work four in a 10x10 square" design. That should work well. Better than one big turd, which we've seen for swarms before.

Really, all in all a great week.

The best Mammy Graul proxy in Pre-painted miniatures, that is until Erik and Wizkids approves one. At least this proxy is also made by Wizkids.


Mazra wrote:
The best Mammy Graul proxy in Pre-painted miniatures, that is until Erik and Wizkids approves one. At least this proxy is also made by Wizkids.

Oh. My. God.

Thank you.


OH MY GOD.

I NEED A MONKEY SWARM.

I NEED SEVERAL MONEY SWARMS.

I NEED A MARSH GIANT!

I NNNNEEEEEEDDDDD A MOTHMAN!!!!!

Dark Archive

OMGOMG! Mothman! OMGOMG!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Mordicai wrote:
I NEED SEVERAL MONEY SWARMS.

Freudian slip or pun intended? Either way, very true.


Is this a hint of a Mwangi Expanse AP or module next? Say yes, please :)

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Mordicai wrote:


I NEED SEVERAL MONEY SWARMS.

If you know where to farm those let me know and maybe we can work out an exchange? What do ya need? let's chat :-)


I like the swarms three dimensional. I've never had an issue using any of the swarms so far.

Scarab Sages

2 people marked this as a favorite.

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONKEY!


I just want to note how absolutely thrilled I am that Mothman, a monster local to where I grew up (well, 50 miles, but that's close), gets so much mention in Pathfinder.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
FattyLumpkin wrote:
Is this a hint of a Mwangi Expanse AP or module next? Say yes, please :)

These are mostly from the previous Mwangi adventure path, Serpent's Skull.


Sold already!


Erik, I noticed that this blog post is not tagged as Pathfinder Battles.

Digital Products Assistant

Isil-zha wrote:
Erik, I noticed that this blog post is not tagged as Pathfinder Battles.

Fixed! :)


Thanks!

Liberty's Edge

Enlight_Bystand wrote:
FattyLumpkin wrote:
Is this a hint of a Mwangi Expanse AP or module next? Say yes, please :)
These are mostly from the previous Mwangi adventure path, Serpent's Skull.

The Legends of Golarion Set is about people and creatures of Golarion that they have not yet gotten to feature in the Battles line. If you look at some of the other previews you will find NPCs from other APs from the past.

Community / Forums / Paizo / Licensed Products / Miniatures / Paizo Blog: Pathfinder Battles Preview: Monkey Business All Messageboards

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