Two Cave Creatures

Friday, August 19, 2016

The bulk of the convention season is behind us, and it's time to jump back aboard the weekly Pathfinder Battles preview train! And I've got to say, Gen Con was just the thing to re-ignite my excitement about the product line and all of the amazing stuff we have coming out in the next year or so! Before we get into this week's Deadly Foes preview, please allow me to list a few items that are stirring my excitement, including some behind-the-scenes stuff you might not be aware of!

1. Deadly Foes, now scheduled for a November release, is shaping up to be one of our best sets yet. We've approved ALL of the paint masters for the set, the packaging is finished, and we're into production as I write this. While I have not yet seen final production figures from the run, everything I've seen for Deadly Foes makes me even more excited about the set than I've previously been, which is really saying something. From the digital sculpts to figure selection to the paint masters, everything has gone "right" with this set, and I can't wait to see the final product in hand.
2. While waiting at the Indianapolis airport upon my attempted escape from Indiana on the ill-fated day of the Deltapocalypse, our friends at WizKids provided about two-thirds of the digital sculpts from the next set, entitled I CAN'T TELL YOU YET, and holy moley, there was so much coolness packed into that set that I didn't even mind being delayed by seven hours, so fueled was I with overwhelming awesomeness. I barely had any corrections or comments for this batch, and all of the fellow Paizonians I fanatically showed the images to while they also waited to board their planes agreed with my assessment. Some of the very best Pathfinder Battles figures are yet to come. The multi-figure "themes" in the next set are REALLY strong, and I think folks are really going to dig them.
3. Speaking of the next (secret) set, I can confirm that the case incentive is EXTREMELY SPECIAL, and unlike anything we've done previously. Not totally unlike what we've done before, but definitely bigger and better. There will be more value packed into this incentive than in any of our previous sets, and now that I've seen some of the sculpts associated with it... man. So, so cool.
4. While at Gen Con, I had a chance to meet with WizKids, and I'm happy to report that based on that discussion I'm now at work building the NEXT setlist, which should cover us through all of 2017 insofar as big sets are concerned. This set, too, will have an unprecedented and completely awesome Case Incentive featuring something people have been asking for for a long time. The line is healthy and we're moving forward full steam ahead!
5. Lastly, I'm super excited to welcome back to the Paizo family Mr. Mike Kenway, our former Licensing Coordinator, who returns to Paizo after a year in the wilderness as our Director of Licensing. Mike will return to helping me out on setlists, approvals, and reference coordination, which will be an enormous boon. Mike has worked on nearly every Pathfinder Battles set, and bringing him back onto the team frees me up to push the envelope conceptually even further. A team of two is much, much better (and much more efficient) than just little old me doing nearly everything (on the Paizo side, anyway) by myself, and I speak for the entire Paizo team when I say: "Welcome back, Mike!"

So with all of that great news out of the way, let's take a look at three figures from November's Deadly Foes set!

First up this week is the nasty Cave Catcher, a sneaky subterranean hunter who ensnares adventurers with its sticky tongue. This Medium, uncommon figure is sure to menace your player characters, and at the uncommon rarity, why not pit your heroes against a small clutch of the creatures?

Want something larger for your cavern adventures? How about Bestiary 3's Cave Giant? These monstrous brutes dwell in caves, where they make slaves of lesser creatures like dwarves, orcs, troglodytes, and player characters. Wielding a massive bone battleaxe and clad in filthy hide, the Cave Giant makes a perfect addition to the ranks of Pathfinder Battles giants we've produced to date. The Cave Giant is a Large, uncommon figure.

Last up this week is the delightful little House Drake, which appears under a different name on page 229 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. This deadly creature packs impressive power into its small (actually Tiny) frame. Perfect as either an improved familiar, a mischievous opponent, or even the child of a larger dragon figure, the House Drake is a rare figure on a Small base.

And that's it for this week! It was great to chat minis with a few of you at Gen Con, and I look forward to our paths crossing again!

Until then, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher