Mercury141's page

I think these iconics will be very useful as PC miniatures.

Most of the time, miniatures will be bought by a DM, to use as monsters in his scenes. This means miniatures will face limited table time, since you cannot use the same monster every session.

PC miniatures by contrast will be used again and again and again, which means that spending more will be set off by not just higher quality but also more table time. The cost per hour of gameplay for these mini's will thus be lower than most other miniatures.

Since you know exactly what you'll get (they are non-random, I presume) this also means that players can invest in these to have their own mini, rather than having the DM purchase them.

I would strongly suggest combining them in sets which include at least one fighter-ish, one mage-ish, one rogue-ish and one divine-ish character, so that players are more easily able to buy a set together and split the miniatures (and the bill) together. This set already seems to do a very reasonable job of that!

From my own perspective, I -love- that something like an eidolon, familiar or animal companion will be included in each pack - this really makes the whole set-up more complete.

One worry is whether WizKids will deliver on the quality. I've seen some amazing mini's from them, so I trust it, but there has been 'variance' in the quality in the past. Regardless, I am sure they will be up to the challenge.

As for my own purchase, it will depend on how easily (and at what price) they will be available in Europe, since customs and shipping make the actual price when ordering from the colonies overseas too uncertain for me. I do look forward to seeing these!

It would also help to know where you are located, as this might affect shipping cost and currency conversions.

I'm in the EU. Anything that I import from the U.S., like a subscription, has to go through customs.

I understand taxes must be paid, that's not the issue, but between import fees, value added tax and "fines" that customs seems to randomly impose when they dislike you, I don't know how much I will actually end up paying for my order.

The amount of the order of a case is too large for me to be able to afford the financial insecurity.

At this time, I order from a local game supplier who in turn imports it himself. That means I can pay in Euro's, I know the exact amount I pay and I get my order delivered the next day. Also, if there is a problem, I can have it addressed more quickly.

I suspect that -they- in turn have a subscription, btw, so it may all even out, but for me the international borders barrier is just too great at this time to get a subscription.

I'd love to see a proper sailing ship, specifically designed for use with miniatures. If it needs to be a monster, can always explain it as a Colossal animated object or something.

I recently made a post about a builder series of regular townsfolk (http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2qo7t?Townsfolk-Builder-Series-Set). Since then I came up with some more idea's so I compiled them into a complete set focussed on townsfolk and the likes.

Normally I only buy a few packs from sets, but this one I'd buy a case. Mind you, I know this set won't ever happen, but I can put my idea's out there and dream ^_^

==== Common (15) ====

Boy (Small)
> A small sized, unarmed young man in raggy clothes and a bit dirty.
Girl (Small)
> A small sized, unarmed young woman in a raggy dress and a bit dirty.
Peasant
> A regular male commoner in simple clothes. Unarmed.
Laundress
> A regular female commoner carrying a basket of linnens.
Beggar
> A woman in worn dress holding out her hand.
Slave
> A mostly naked man in chains. Also doubles as a criminal prisoner
City Guard
> A city guardsman.
Sailor
> A man dressed in sailor clothing
Porter
> A man carrying a crate or large bag
Monk
> A medieval male monk dressed in simple robes. Can double as cultist
Nun
> A woman dressed in simple white priestly robes. Can double as healer, nurse, etc.

Pig (small)
> A pig, preferably in a running position. Let hillarity ensue.
Guard Dog
> An actual dog, not a wolf, with a spiked collar
Sheep
> A medium sized, wooly sheep that can get lost

Hand-cart
> A medium sized cart on two wheels, sized to be pulled by a single man or a donkey with a small load

==== Uncommon (13) ====

Man-servant
> A properly dressed snobby lackey who can double in a pinch as a vallet or butler
Maid-servant
> A reasonably properly dressed serving wench without cups or serving trays.
Merchant
> Somewhat weighty man with a scroll and courtiers outfit. Could also double as a lower court noble.
Blacksmith
> A dwarf wearing a leather apron and a hammer
Baker
> Fat dwarven woman wearing a cooking hat and holding a rolling pin
Butcher
> Man wearing an apron covered in blood with a cleaver stuck to his side. Also usable as mad killer or torturer
Old Man
> An elderly man, walking with a hunch and a walking stick
Old Woman
> An elderly woman, walking with a hunch and a walking stick
Drunk
> A man carrying a bottle or cup and looking somewhat off-balance. Not a dwarf - they don't get drunk.

Donkey
> A donkey carrying a small load
Pony
> A pony equiped to be ridden by a halfling
Riding Dog
> A big dog equiped with a saddle to be ridden by a halfling
Doe
> A deer, a female deer

==== Rare (10) ====

Young Princess (Small)
> A young girl in a fancy, modest white dress. Could double as a nobles daughter, flower-girl or a holy child.
Young Prince (Small)
> A young boy in fancy clothes with a crown. Could double as a nobles son or halfling king.
Queen
> A regal woman wearing an impractical gown and a crown.
King
> A regal man wearing a crown, holding a scepter wearing a cloak
Abbot
> An elderly man leaning on a staff, with a solemn look of wisdom on his face. Can double as a stereotypical wizard or advisor. Matches with the monks.
Mother Superior
> A woman dressed simularly to the nun, but with a different colour and pose to serve as the leader of the nunary
Scribe
> A young adult man, dressed in proper clothes, carrying a scroll and quill. Can also double as a messenger
Courtesan
> A female elf who is at risk of catching a cold
Jester
> A man dressed in bright colours, here to entertain

Stag
> A majestic male stag with branching antlers to go with the doe's

==== Large Uncommon (9) ====

Angry Mob
> Tightly clustered group of people with pitchforks and torches. Not too angry so they can be used as spectators as well.

Ox
> A horned draft animal that can double as a regular cow
Light Horse
> A saddled arabian horse capable of running really fast
Heavy Horse
> A saddled frissian horse capable of carrying or pulling any load
Light Warhorse
> An arabian horse equiped with leather barding, leaving it fast and capable
Heavy Warhorse
> A frissian horse with steel barding over its entire body, making it an effective tank on the battlefield

Cart
> A 2 wheeled vehicle that can be pulled by a horse, or ox. Large enough to contain 1 medium miniature
Rowboat
> A rowboat, with oars. Could stick out of the base a bit to make room for 2 medium miniatures
Chariot
> A 2 wheeled vehicle designed to be pulled by a horse into battle. Large blades at the wheels for killing folk

==== Large Rare (7) ====

Relic Bearers
> A palanquin holding a small statue or effigee of a saint, being held up by two bearers dressed in robes to match the monks

Camel
> A one or two humped camel, here from far off lands

Carrying Chair
> A carrying chair, held up by two strong men, to transport nobility from place to place. Includes the two men lifting it.
Wagon
> A 4 wheeled vehicle with an open top. Bigger than the Cart
Raft
> A makeshift boat made from flotsam and available wood, big enough for 2-3 medium sized mini's
Large Cage
> A cage big enough to contain a regular, medium sized miniature. Of course we should be able to put a mini inside *squee*
Sled
> A sled that can be pulled by dogs or horses through the snow

==== Guargantuan Unique (1) ====

Keelboat
> A proper ship, with a single mast and sail, with room on deck for miniatures, combat, etc. Naturally ships come in bigger sizes, but this should be useful in many situations!

==== Visible Huge pack ====

Full Carriage
> A huge sized, decorated proper carriage as used by nobility. The carriage comes with 2 additional horses equiped to pull it, so actually contains a huge and 2 large mini's rather than 2 huge ones, and the horses are in a similar style to the heavy horses so you can make it a 4 horse carriage. Bonus points if a separate rider miniature is added

Here's some "they're not bystanders" scene's with townsfolk:

A PC rogue picking pockets in the marketplace for extra profit. Townsfolk not only indicate potential targets, but they might also spot them picking someone else's gold! (Towns-folk used as targets and spotters based on orientation and distance)

A ball where PC's have to spy on one or more individual noblemen for information, without anyone noticing. (Towns-folk used to indicate the situation and how hard it will be to overhear them based on distance)

A thief steals the money box from a charity at the town fair! The PC's give chase through the crowd! Little do they know, some people in the crowd are also members of the thieves guild and may move to cover the escape (Towns-folk used as obstacles / hidden opponents)

The PC's are infiltrating an elven city to get details on their defences before an upcoming war. They can disguise themselves, but elves have sharp eyesight so they best keep their distance (Towns-folk used in puzzle to get past moving individuals without being made)

A crowd of angry citizens demands the local lord surrender his power to a pretender. The PC's, who work in the lords army, are tasked with dispersing the crowd... without killing them (Towns-folk used as enemies)

Besides this, there are various individuals in most campaigns that are not combatants, but still relevant. The younger sister of the Paladin in the party, the handsome bard that the Sorceress fancies, that boxom beauty at the tavern that loves hearing the exaggerated tales of the Fighter, the merchant that keeps hiring the party to protect his stuff, the vain local nobleman who may be a jerk but who also owns everything in the area.

Having a clear location for these individuals in surprise battles is very relevant, as the PC's don't just have a vested interest in protecting them, they may actually be the target of the attack, so losing track of them means the PC's lose no matter how many bad guys they kill.

All in all it depends on the campaign. A campaign set in the monster infested jungles of Farawaystan, based on slashing your way through tribes of orks and goblins to get to the demons that empower their leaders is unlikely to need many townsfolk.

A rogue based campaign founded on theft and stealth, a politics based campaign where strict social rules like proper forms of address are enforced by the DM or a low level campaign based entirely around the PCs home town of Cityville however...

Our group likes hanging around in town, getting involved in city life and politics. I think many low level groups also spend a great deal of time in their local town.

One thing we really lack in our games though is miniatures for the regular run of the mill towns folk. Mini's for tavern brawls, assassins going after the king, that lovely tavern wench being kidnapped in the middle of the marketplace, etc. are sorely lacking.

I would suggest a Builders Series set to fill this lack of regular townsfolk. I think every game can be enhanced by this.

My suggestion would be something along the following lines. I added where I think a repaint might be usable and made miniatures we'd want multiple of common and miniatures where we'd only want a few rare.

Boy (Common, Small)
> A small sized, unarmed young man in raggy clothes and a bit dirty.

Girl (Common, Small)
> A small sized, unarmed young woman in a raggy dress and a bit dirty.

Peasant (Common, Medium)
> A regular male commoner in simple clothes. Unarmed.

Beggar (Common, Medium)
> A woman in worn dress holding out her hand.

Guard-dog (Common, Medium)
> An actual dog, not a wolf, with a spiked collar

City Guard (Common, Medium)
> A city guardsman. Could be a repaint of the Watch Guard from Heroes and Monsters.

Merchant (Rare, Medium)
> Somewhat weighty man with a scroll and courtiers outfit. Could also double as a lower court noble or innkeeper for a fancy tavern.

Tavern Wench (Rare, Medium)
> A somewhat provocatively dressed serving wench without cups or serving trays so they're usable as other female commoners like merchant daughters, local floozy, PC love interest, etc.

Noblewoman (Rare, Medium)
> A noble woman or princess. Could be a repaint of Queen Ileosa from Legends of Golarion.

Nobleman (Rare, Medium)
> A nobleman. Could be a repaint of Aldern Foxglove from Rise of the Rune Lords.

Princess (Rare, Small)
> A young girl in a fancy, modest white dress. Could double as a nobles daughter, flower-girl or a holy child.

Prince (Rare, Small)
> A young boy in fancy clothes with a crown. Could double as a nobles son or halfling king.

Basically this set includes common and noble, children and adults of both genders, as well as guards with dogs and two additional commoners with common functions.

Other mini's we considered for the series are: Blacksmith, Baker, Butcher, Laundress, Seamstress, Sailors, Porters and elderly of both genders, but those were all pretty specific while the ones listed above have more general usability.

What kind of regular townsfolk do others feel they need in their games?