Tablark Hammergrind

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Goblin Squad Member. Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber. 71 posts. 16 reviews. No lists. No wishlists.



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4/5

Pretty cool mini. Very colorful, without being garish. Great detail, especially in the wings. The paint job was a little sloppy on the mouth region - the lower teeth on my mini did not pick up any of the white paint that the upper ones did. But still, a solid large uncommon, and I look forward to creeping my PC's out by slapping this guy down on the gaming table.


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4/5

Couldn't ask for a better representation of the Shaggy Demodand - it is right out of the Bestiary 3, just in a pose more suited for combat. As with the Berbalang mini, I like the little holes sculpted into the wings. It could have used a little dry brushing to distinguish the black from its fur collar from the black of the wings and head, but that's really just a quibble. This is a solid uncommon mini.


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2/5

This is a pretty bland miniature. The paint job is inferior to most other commons in this set and others - I'm not sure if the lost soul's ragged clothing is supposed to be a different color than its skin, but it looks like the same grey throughout. Nothing terribly distinguishing about the sculpt, either. Actually, it looks like the exact same pose as the Minagho mini. I suppose it is generic enough where it could stand in for a zombie or ghoul, but if you're like me, you have about a hundred other minis that could do the same. Overall, a big "meh" from me.


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Great common

5/5

This miniature boasts a dynamic pose and excellent detail for a common. The wings are wicked looking, especially with the small holes torn in them. There's a tension in its pose rarely captured in a miniature - it looks like it is about to pounce on a poor PC. I'd have no problem multiples of these in future boxes!


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Great sculpt, average paint job

3/5

Great sculpt, especially with the stinger stabbing forward through the hovering demon's legs. Also, great use of clear plastic in the wings.

On the negative side, it is a bit monochromatic. The whole mini is fleshy colored except for the unpainted black claws and stinger, and just a little bit of coloration in the face (white teeth, red eyes). And while I like the look of the hovering demon, the clear plastic post that supports him was broken off near the base (despite a lot of extra packaging material in the box) My attempts to crazy glue it back together have been unsuccessful, so I'm going to try and drill a hole and pin it to the base. Given how much weight is hanging off that plastic post, and how close to the base the break is, I don't have high hopes that it'll support the mini. Real shame.


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Great mini

4/5

Excellent detail on this mini, especially in the face. The wings are huge and menacing. I love the color choices - the wing membrane is a sickly flesh color, and the rest of the mini is a ghoulish purple. Even the inside of the large batlike ears are well done.

This bad boy really pushes the limit of a Medium mini. Haven't used him in tactical combat, but I imagine you'd have some issues placing the PC's minis right next to him. That might be the only issue with this mini. A very very solid uncommon - I'd be happy to pull multiples of these in future boxes.


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Disappointing for a rare

2/5

This is one of the few pathfinder battles minis that got a "meh" out of me. The painting was particularly sloppy on mine. Flesh colored paint spilled onto its dark armor, and the while I understand the mini is supposed to be eyeless, the detail on the face is horrible for a rare. Flesh color paint has spilled into the mouth, leaving the impression that the mini is faceless, not just eyeless. There is a black smudge on its chin. The claws are supposed to be painted black, but wound up being half black and half flesh colored. I can only afford to buy a few boxes of minis per set, so it was a real downer getting this mini for a rare. I'd be much happier with another common Will-o-Wisp.


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Awesome mini

5/5

One of the best uses of clear plastic I've seen - just an amazing mini, especially for a common. The skull in the center of the wisp is more clearly visible in hand than in the pic, and the bluish clear plastic really gives off a ghostly feel. I'm gonna shoehorn a will-o-wisp encounter into my next game just so I can use this mini and freak out my players.


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Mixed Review

3/5

If I could split my vote, I'd give the first story a 5 and the second a 1. I couldn't get past the art in "Prize Pupil" - the goblins were the least iconic looking I've seen in any Pathfinder product. Really took me out of the story. Given that the title of the product is "Pathfinder Goblins", you'd think that would be the ONE thing that had to be right. "The One-Eyed Goblin Is King", however, was great, art and story both.


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3/5

Pros: The art is a lot cleaner than in issues 1-6. There were some panels in the previous story arc where I had NO idea what the heck was going on. I might be in the minority on this, but I'm happy the goofy Paizo exclusive covers are gone - I liked them while they lasted, but they would have gotten annoying after more than one arc. Finally, I liked getting a little taste of the party interacting between adventures.

Cons: As others have said, I miss the maps. Not enough to cancel my subscription, at least at this point. But I also didn't care for the two page spread on an NPC that seems (at least at this point) to have nothing to do with the story. Unless the "Rushlight Society" winds up at least mentioned in the story, this seems like already existing content that was shoehorned into the back of the book to meet a page count. It is the COMBINATION of the missing maps and the inclusion of seemingly irrelevant gaming content that has me concerned.


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One of the most entertaining Pathfinder Tales I've read

5/5

One of the best novels in the line, up there with Death's Heretic, Nightglass and the Dave Gross Novels (though for different reasons).

Liar's Blade is laugh out loud funny, with two main protagonists that are so entertaining, you'll find it hard to put the book down. The other characters don't disappoint, either. They've all got their own secrets and agendas, and Tim Pratt does a masterful job of teasing the reader with hints about their origins and motivations. Just a great book, not only funny, but exceptionally well written. I was impressed with Pratt's writing on City of the Fallen Sky, but I'm absolutely a fan now - I'll read anything he puts out, and am very much looking forward to his future contributions to the Pathfinder Tales line, whether it is the further adventures of Hyrm and Rodrick, or something new!


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Not as swashbuckling as I was expecting

2/5

I've read every Pathfinder Tales novel, and usually have a hard time putting them down, but Pirate's Honor was an unfortunate exception. I'll try to keep my complaints spoiler-free.

I didn't find it nearly as exciting as the other reviewers did. Too much of the novel was dedicated to plotting and planning, and the action scenes left me wanting. While some of the characters were certainly unique, I didn't find them to be particularly multi-dimensional. The character I found to have the most depth was only a supporting role. A final note, while this was a light-hearted romp of a book, it was rarely humorous, even when it tried to be. Perhaps it is not fair judging this book on that, since it came out right after Liar's Blade, which was as funny an adventure novel as I've ever read.

On the plus side, it was nice to see a Pathfinder Tale with a pirate theme (especially as I'm playing in Skull and Shackles right now). While I'm not an expert on ships, there certainly seemed to be a lot of attention paid to how a ship runs, and the technical jargon helped with the immersion. It was also nice to see two main characters in a relationship.


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3/5

There were some things I thoroughly liked about this book, but I cannot count it among my favorite Pathfinder Tales (Death's Heretic, Night Glass, anything by Dave Gross).

Only minor spoilers below:

The vengeance plot/theme was just a little too dominant for me, as though a single note was being played from the very first chapter to the last. It didn't leave room for character development or growth for much of the novel. My interest waned as the quest plodded along for the first half of the book - being exposed to the Darklands for the first time as a Tales reader couldn't make up for the fact that the plot was simply to track the antagonist from point A to point B.

My interest was once again piqued later in the novel when the protagonists started interacting with the human and orc tribal characters. It was here that I finally began to like Kagur, as she came into her own as a leader and softened just the slightest bit. I wish the journey to Orv could have been fast-forwarded, and we could have spent more time with the tribes.

Reading the other two reviews online at the time I write this, maybe I just wasn't the target audience for this one, not being a huge fan of Burroughs.

To leave on a high note... Things I liked:

- that you could not only identify one of the main characters as an oracle, but you knew exactly what curse he had. Continuing to highlight uniquely "pathfinder" classes (like the alchemist in City of the Fallen Sky) helps distinguish the Tales line from other fantasy stories.
- battles with strange creatures (like the gibbering mouther) that don't actually refer to the monster's name, especially when the fish-out-of-water characters wouldn't know what it was.
- strong female protagonist
- Mammoth Lords getting some love in the Tales line


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Great value - lots of content!

5/5

As someone who has a full run of the old AD&D, Forgoten Realms, Dragonlance and Spelljammer comics, I can't tell you how happy I was to get my hands on Pathfinder #1!

It was a decent enough kick off to the story with a lot of character introductions and a nice cliffhanger, but what really set this issue apart was the extra content at the end. There was a map insert that would have been REALLY handy if I had it when I was running RotRL the first time, and will definitely get use if I run the new hardcover version of the AP. There was an evocative multi-page introduction to Sandpoint as well. Not much I haven't seen written up elsewhere, but I could see how this little taste of Golarion could get people really interested into Pathfinder. There were a ton of stat blocks and other content, too. So not only did I enjoy the comic as a comic book fan, but I got content I could use as a GM, and I could give this comic to non-gamer friends to get them into RPing. I hope this balance of content continues!!!


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Best Common Miniature I've Ever Seen

5/5

From the number of paint steps to the sculpt details to the dynamic pose, this is the most impressive common mini I've ever seen, going back to the DDM Harbinger set.


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Tremendous quality, even considering the high price point

5/5

This review is based on a purchase of three boosters.

I am a long time collector of minis, going back to the Harbinger DDM set, but I had not picked up the Heroes and Monsters set, because for the last few years, I figured I had enough pre-painted plastic. The quality of the RotRL sculpts changed that.

The commons of this set are easily as good quality as many of the uncommons from DDM. The Bugbear Hero has got to be the best common miniature I've ever seen. The large uncommons (I got the lamia matriarch, stone giant champion and ogre brute) were all fantastic - I couldn't believe the stone giant champion wasn't a rare until I looked it up. The humanoid figures all had great poses and distinctive paint-jobs - easily distinguishable among the thousand or so DDM minis I have.

The only negative I can come up with is really minor in the grand scheme of things - the harpy was a little small, in comparison to the other humanoids in the RotRL set and the DDM harpies I have.


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Solid read

4/5

This was an enjoyable read. Alaeron and Skiver, especially, were fully realized characters. Skiver - he could carry his own trilogy. I've never played an alchemist or GMed for one, but it was nonetheless nice to see one represented so well on the page. Heck, Alaeron has got me wanting to play one now.

Without getting into spoilers, the antagonist of the novel didn't do it for me, but that's really just a nitpick. This was a solid book, just behind Death's Heretic and Nightglass in my mind. I'd happily read another offering by Pratt, with or without Skiver and Alaeron!


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More like this one!

5/5

I liked everything about this book. The focus on Nidal... the attention spent to the development of the protagonist... the mature content... the way the cultures of Cheliax, Nidal and the strix jumped off the page... and the way the combats felt like Pathfinder combats. There's something about this book that transcends the genre - it a lot more than just a fun read.

I would LOVE to see Merciel write novels focusing on other cultures or settings that we haven't seen a lot of yet.

My only complaint is that there were a couple of significant misses in the editorial process (more than a misspelled word or incorrect punctuation). Nothing that would lower my opinion of the book, or of the author, but something I wouldn't want to see become a pattern in future titles.


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Convoluted plot, mediocre character development

2/5

While I didn't HATE the book, or the use of the present tense, there was little I loved or liked about it. Few of the characters called to me in any way. Gad was okay, the rest were either bland, cliche, or unrealistically extreme. The whole plot was a bit of a reach, too. On the plus side, there were a few scenes that did work for me. I thought the whole first chapter was great. And (I'll try to be spoiler free) the scene late in the book with the halfling and the trap was really interesting. Unfortunately, the few scenes I enjoyed couldn't save the novel as a whole. While I finished the book, I can't say I was very satisfied after doing so.


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One of the best Pathfinder Tales offerings!

5/5

I've gleefully consumed all of the Pathfinder Tales to date, and Death's Heretic is easily one of the most enjoyable reads. Sutter is a masterful writer. His enigmatic main character Salim is very well developed - I was really drawn in as I learned more and more about his history and personality as the novel unfolded. While the plot is a planes-hopping romp through exotic locales, Salim's strong characterization and the central mystery of the story keep the reader grounded. Sutter did a great job of making Thuvia feel like its own distinct country - the story truly felt like it was set in Golarion. I'm really looking forward to Salim's continuing adventures, more so than any other Pathfinder Tales character (okay, okay, tied with Radovan and Varian ;-).


Functional and easy to use

5/5

This is exactly what I expect out of an app - it is easy to use, looks good, performs the task it was designed for, and is inexpensive. This will get a lot of use at my gaming table. I can give the physical deck I own to my players to use, and keep my iPhone behind my DM screen.


Functional and easy to use

5/5

This is exactly what I expect out of an app - it is easy to use, looks good, performs the task it was designed for, and is inexpensive. This will get a lot of use at my gaming table. I can give the physical deck I own to my players to use, and keep my iPhone behind my DM screen. No complaints at all!


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Great Read!

5/5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were complex, the pace built up nicely as the book went on, and it really gave a good feel for Golarion. I'm not one to read the same book over and over, but I would definitely give this one a second read. Can't wait for the next one!


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Great introductory module

5/5

I ran this adventure for a mixed party which included first time roleplayers, long time gamers who had never played pathfinder before, and one person who played pathfinder before, and they all really loved it. It does a great job of explaining rules/concepts to the DM, while providing a immersive experience to the players. I ran this with the dungeon flip map which turned out great. Can't wait to start Masks of the Living God!


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Incredible Value

5/5

Can't say enough how impressed I am with this book. Absolutely fantastic value.