Friday Publisher Preview: Three for the Road!

Pazuzu looks great; well done. Will the flying minis continue to come assembled, or will the base and the peg need to be assembled with the mini?

wow, the Pazuzu mini looks great

Awesome. Pazuzu is epic, and I really dig the sniper as well. I've always liked the art for her in the Gamemastery Guide.

Here's hoping for the accompanying Gogmurt! A caster goblin would round out our goblin hordes nicely.

Why is the firepelt couger black? With a name like firepelt, I expected it to have red fur. At least, that is how I've always envisioned it.

There is a red stripe down the back (along the spine). But it's face is not as cute as the illustration in RotR AE. :(

That Pazuzu looks really good ... I might even spring for this set if the rest looks as good ...

Man, Pazuzu looks amazing!

And that city watch member might end up being a PC in our Shattered Star game (literally a member of the city watch from Magnimar).

Cheers!
Landon

Pazuzu does indeed look amazing. (My old D&D group had a few run ins with him.)

Poor James! I *told* him he should dump that pitiful bird demon and become a devotee of Almighty Asmodeus! Naturally, being Chaotic (with Evil tendencies), James ignored my advice...

Consort?

But...I thought Pazuzu and Lamashtu HATE each other

You needed bother to box the City Watch Snipers. Just send them all directly to me! Great mini. Pazuzu looks incredible, too. This set just keeps on getting better.

Consort?

But...I thought Pazuzu and Lamashtu HATE each other

New monster idea: Marriage counsellor demon.

This thread needs more Pazuzu

Huge fan of the Sniper, who looks very stylish. I like Pazuzu too. The cougar will be great for RotR, but I agree that Gogmurt would be even better.
Also, re: flight sticks, I think that WotC was smart to have them detached in their new minis set, so the customer needs to do the assembly at home. I really think that's the best way to do it, since it's less likely to get broken in transit, and the customer can decide whether to glue it together permanently or break it down for storage (which might let them store more compactly.) As far as I can see, Paizo is still getting MUCH nicer sculpts and paint jobs from Wizkids than WotC is, but that was one thing Wizards are doing better.

There are many aspects of minis production where we look to WizKids to determine the most appropriate answers, and when to require assembly of a mini is certainly one of those things.

The inclusion of Pazuzu makes me cheer in unholy delight. I am trying to have as many Demon Lords from D&D and Pathfinder in miniature form as possible, and Pazuzu qualifies for both since his main characteristics are the same in both universes, making him much more useful to me than he already is.

With Lamashtu and the gargantuan Shemhazian also included, this is one of my favorite sets of Pathfinder Battles, along with Wrath of the Righteous!

Love that sniper, not sure she hits the mark in terms of fit with the existing watch minis but that may well be that she has a much better pose and facial features. That's not to say I won't be aiming to collect quite a few (see what I did there). Have Wizkids changed the way they sculpt the faces on these? This set appear to have better, better formed features.

Once again its clear to see how much paizo responds to feedback and suggestions. The firepelt is one of those things people have been requesting for a while now, and here it is.

I assume the rarities on these two are a result of sculpt complexity and paint? Not sure where others stand, but I could use more of the watch sniper than the firepelt.

As to Pazuzu. I may not get a lot of use out of it, but man that is an awesome minis and brings me closer to my complete Demon Lord collection - Baphomet, Deskari, Noctucula, Lamashtu and now Pazuzu (yeah Lamashtu is a god but she has slots into the group neatly). Now all I need is Koschitchie, Cyth-Vsug (my personal favourite demon lord). I hope his weapon isn't to flexible, I am one of the apparent few who prefer the more rigid plastic and less flop in my weapons, coincidentally the harder plastic may be what allows for better detail in face features and may actually account for some of the difference between these and the final minis.

7 to go...

That Pazuzu looks to be on a different peg and base, are you actually using the new peg/base system that appeared in the D&D set? Or is it just a better base attachment?

You're right, Cat: that flying stick doesn't come flush with the base in the way it has for earlier sets. I wonder if that's an indication they're moving towards the do-it-yourself flight bases. I'd be happy if that's the case.

That picture of the firepelt doesn't do the mini justice. At least not the one I approved. It was awesome!

Lisa

Another vote in favor of the unassembled base & flight post now that I've seen the new D&D minis. Very good feature.

That said, I think Pathfinder Battles probably has enough great cats for a few sets, so don’t expect to see too many of them in the future.

Awesome. I've got plenty of dogs, cats, goats, and pigs.

-Skeld

These look great. Everyone has already covered my thoughts on the City Watch Sniper and Pazuzu. I happen to really like the Firepelt Cougar. If it looks even better, that's great. But if it looks the same, I'm fine with that, too.

As for the stands on flying creature miniatures, I'm okay with either option.

City Watch Sniper was indeed busted to uncommon due to sculpt complexity.

I guess it's not going to be settled by popular vote. Nonetheless, fwiw, I'd much prefer the minis to be completely assembled at the factory wherever possible.

Pazuzu looks awesome! If you want you can certainly use the mini as an aarokokra leader or lord which I'm thinking of! Either way, fantastic mini!

The City Watch Sniper is a nice mini, but from my perspective does not really fit in with the other city watch! Let's be fair here Paizo! Great mnini, but lets not stretch its usefulness.

The firepelt cougar is awesome just because I like animal type creatures. I can fairly make out some difference in the spine coloration which I hope makes the difference for it being a firepet!

The City Watch sniper looks great. I agree with arbsdos, it looks like she will not fit well with the other City Watch minis. She appears to have an overall superior paint job. She could still work as a City Watch or maybe even with the Eagle Knights. She may be better as a Female PC with a crossbow though. And how many of those do we have in PPM?

The picture of the Firepelt is not good. I will wait to have one in hand before I comment.

I agree with the concensus here, Pazuzu is a sweet looking mini.

I'm really excited for the City Watch Sniper. I'm looking forward to receiving more City Watch with this coloration. I think I prefer it to the two from the Heroes & Monsters set.

I understand the need for fully painted, fully assembled minis that you just can plop down onto the map & go but if you can't do a simple installation such as putting a post into a hole well.......

Great looking minis, thou I'm not sure why there was a need for Pazuzu. He is a great miniature but having something more in need would have been a better choice.

I adore the unique figures like Pazuzu. As long as they're rare, they don't feel like they're taking a slot from a miniature I'd use more often. My players love it when the miniature for a boss looks exactly like that boss.

Granted, they haven't irritated me enough to set down Pazuzu lately.

I adore the unique figures like Pazuzu. As long as they're rare, they don't feel like they're taking a slot from a miniature I'd use more often. My players love it when the miniature for a boss looks exactly like that boss.

Granted, they haven't irritated me enough to set down Pazuzu lately.

Lamashtu, Baphomet, Deskarii? Just waiting for my players to Piss me off enough to bring one of them to bear.

Lamashtu, Baphomet, Deskarii? Just waiting for my players to Piss me off enough to bring one of them to bear.

Why do you need to wait for them to piss you off? Why not look at it like this: You are putting them on the table in order to make things fun for them. LOL

I understand the need for fully painted, fully assembled minis that you just can plop down onto the map & go but if you can't do a simple installation such as putting a post into a hole well.......

Great looking minis, thou I'm not sure why there was a need for Pazuzu. He is a great miniature but having something more in need would have been a better choice.

Unfortunately, the D&D minis I got did not assemble very well. I doubt they will hold up to even careful table use.

@ Rambler: Did you super glue them together? I'd think that would keep them together very well.

I understand the need for fully painted, fully assembled minis that you just can plop down onto the map & go but if you can't do a simple installation such as putting a post into a hole well.......

Craft isnt my strong suit. I can click stuff together (like the Runleord Statue), but if glue is involved (like the Dracolich) it's a frustrating experience with a suboptimal result.

Just out of curiosity, but do the majority of you posting in here only run Pathfinder material, or do you also run homebrew campaigns?

I keep reading comments about how Pazuzu and other demon-lords or gods are "hard to fit in a campaign." But I would think if you've got the creativity to create your own world and the places in it, I'm sure said creativity runs deep enough to enable you to whip up a few stats for a creature as cool looking as one of these miniatures.

Well anything that looks like a demon lord should be pretty challenging, so the real trick is to be able to introduce them to a campaign early and then keep the party enough out of harms way that they can eventually get to the point they can actually take them on.

As for stats and abilities, it sure does help if they've already been done and play tested. But that's not an absolute requirement.

Well anything that looks like a demon lord should be pretty challenging, so the real trick is to be able to introduce them to a campaign early and then keep the party enough out of harms way that they can eventually get to the point they can actually take them on.

I have to second what Berk has said. The real issue is not if I can think of a setting to place a demon lord in, it is how to fit it into the game in such a way as to be a real challange but not too early to have a TPK just because I wanted to place my new toy on the table.

Does this make it 5 demon lords now in minis form?

Nocticula, Baphomet, Deskari, Lamashtu and Pazuzu.

Can we expect more demon lords down the line?

I have to second what Berk has said. The real issue is not if I can think of a setting to place a demon lord in, it is how to fit it into the game in such a way as to be a real challange but not too early to have a TPK just because I wanted to place my new toy on the table.

I'm a big fan of using them as idols, animated idols, illusions, projections for communicating with priests, poseurs, avatars at mid levels, and actually full on demon lords at high levels.

I think bog standard idols are my favorite, though, just because nothing makes a group twitchy like the hyper-realistic statue of a dark god watching over their combat.

Cheers!
Landon

I like to use aspects of gods or demon lords when a cleric of that deity uses spells like righteous might. When they become large and I need a large miniature to represent them, I may use a miniature of their deity if I have one. From the old D&D line, aspects of Kord, Moradin, and Bane often made appearances.

In addition a demon lord with Pazuzu's optic can, in a different setting, be any kind of unique creature of any CR of 5 and above. I could even see a monstrous humanoid race with those characteristics.

No preview again this week?

No preview again this week?

I always feel so down when we don't have a Friday preview. But, there are only 7 minis left to reveal and this set doesn't drop until November; I can see wanting to stretch out the remainder.

I wish it would be announced during a preview if there won't be one the following week. Otherwise, it feels like a needless disappointment to me.

Erik is usually pretty good at letting us know if there is going to be a short break. (Due to his vacation or whatever might cause a delay.) But it would still be nice to know in advance for some random week (due to a holiday or convention.)

I realize this isn't always going to be possible. And plans can be fluid, I'm sure...

Yeah, I'm expecting a preview. The least they could do is inform me ahead of time if there won't be one.

While I enjoy when I get a Preview, I really don't feel I am owed one and I don't understand those who seem to believe they are owed one.
I will enjoy the next preview Erik posts no matter when that may be.

While I enjoy when I get a Preview, I really don't feel I am owed one and I don't understand those who seem to believe they are owed one.

I will enjoy the next preview Erik posts no matter when that may be.

While I enjoy pointing out legitimate privilege, I really don't feel the need to claim it in every human statement and I don't understand those who seem to believe everyone else is entitled.

While I enjoy when I get a Preview, I really don't feel I am owed one and I don't understand those who seem to believe they are owed one.

I will enjoy the next preview Erik posts no matter when that may be.

I don't understand how someone could confuse "expect" with "owed". If the weatherman says there's a 100% chance of rain tomorrow, you can expect rain. If you like rain, you may be disappointed if there is none, a legitimate reaction.

I also don't understand why so many people insist on being so smug on these forums. In trying to make someone else look like a jerk, all you really do is make yourself look like a jerk.

I don't understand how someone could confuse "expect" with "owed".

Fair comment.

Yeah, I'm expecting a preview. The least they could do is inform me ahead of time if there won't be one.

I expect... the least they could do is inform me...

To me these felt like the kind of comments I receive every day from folks at my work that believe they are owed. But if that is really not what you ment then so be it.

I also don't understand why so many people insist on being so smug on these forums. In trying to make someone else look like a jerk, all you really do is make yourself look like a jerk.

As for trying to make you look like a jerk, now it is you who are reading too much into my post. I never said you were a jerk, just that I didn't understand why you, or anyone else for that matter, would think they were owed a pre-view. Now that you have said that was not what you ment, then we now no longer misunderstand each other.

Chill, guys. Let's not read too much into what somebody may or may not be implying via board posts.