Over the last few weeks, we’ve looked at a number of monsters featured in the upcoming Pathfinder Battles: Legendary Adventures set of pre-painted plastic miniatures from our partners at WizKids, but we haven’t yet jumped into the many player-character options the set supports. Luckily, when we were gearing up for the launch of Pathfinder Second Edition, we asked iconic Pathfinder artist Wayne Reynolds to produce some concept art of what the various ancestries of the game would look like if designed from the ground up. This resulted in some slight changes in proportions among halflings and dwarves, for example, that we wanted to make sure were reflected in the earliest set released after Second Edition’s launch.
First, let’s look at dwarves! The set features three dwarves to cover a variety of character rolls: the uncommon Dwarf Champion and Dwarf Rogue and the rare Dwarf Sorcerer. These figures can, respectively, easily double for a Toragdan cleric or fighter, a knife-wielding monk or spellcaster, and a bard, cleric, or wizard.
Next alphabetically we have elves, whose first figure in the set appeared in the Legendary Adventures Preview Pack earlier this month. A variant version of the same sculpt is included in the full set as a common figure we showed off two weeks ago. The second elf in the series is actually two different figures based on the same mold, one wielding two swords and the other drawing a bow. Elf Ranger is a Medium uncommon figure with an a/b designation to its collector’s number.
Gnext come the gnomes! Legendary Adventures features two gnomes, both Small: the common Gnome Rogue and rare Gnome Fighter. The rogue can double as just about any lightly-armored gnome character, though her brightly colored hair and outfit might make her stand out a bit. The polearm-wielding fighter can likewise serve as a champion or barbarian, so long as you’re fine with his colorful and mismatched armor.
Ever in the shadow of their taller kin, halflings round out the PC options in today’s preview. The Preview Pack included the Halfling Slinger, whose alternative paint scheme we showed off previously, but we’ve also got two rare halflings in the set that I believe are the coolest halfling minis ever produced. The Halfling Druid exhibits the multifunctional nature of many halfling items with her staff holding a teapot that also probably has magic spell components or healing herbs in it. Meanwhile, the aged Halfling Wizard makes up for his diminutive size with a stern look and a fiery spell effect.
Not all roughly human-shaped figures in the set are appropriate for PCs, or even restricted to Medium or Small sizes. The Ashen Man, for example, who first appeared in the Pathfinder Playtest adventure Doomsday Dawn, has the potential to be a recurring villain in the Age of Lost Omens, and his plans and influence extend far beyond the constraints of that module. A Large rare figure, the mysterious foe can stand in for any enlarged spellcaster or mist-shrouded undead.
But why stop at Large figures when the Legendary Adventures set allows the chance to do some of the Huge giants we’ve been unable to produce in plastic form thus far? Check out the Storm Giant and both versions of the Cloud Giant (all Huge uncommon figures) to complete your core Bestiary giant collection!
Next week we’ll wrap up our previews of Legendary Adventures with a look at the remaining beasties lurking in the shadows, sure to challenge player characters everywhere!
Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager
Ancestries Abound
Monday, August 19, 2019
