Creative Director
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Were you involved in the Rivals Guide? And, if so, what's your favorite writeup from the supplement?
I developed the Rivals Guide and did a fair amount of rewriting on things here and there, in fact.
But as with Adventure Paths and anything else... I'm not comfortable singling out "favorites." I'd rather let the customer decide that! :)
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James,
Do you have short-to-medium term plans for publishing more material on any of the following:
1. Zura or Zurakai?
2. Cyth-V'Sug?
3. Derro?
4. The Shory?
5. Night Hags / Dimension of Dreams?
6. The Dwarven pantheon beyond Torag?
7. Dwarven-centric adventures?
Thanks in advance for answering my questions, and the time you take to keep in contact with Paizo's fans.
Also, I'd love to see a "Classic Fey Revisited" book.
It has been answered before, but the short answer is that we don't want to bloat the summon spells with too many options. That makes choosing monsters harder, for one (which slows down play), and not all monsters have powers that are balanced or fair for use. And we don't like setting the precedent that every time a new monster gets published, we have to essentially errata the summon spells.
Summon monster remains viable and useful and cool even if it DOESN'T get power/option creep from new monsters. The summon spells do have CR breakdowns similar to what you've noticed, but that doesn't mean that every creature of a certain CR is appropriate to be summoned, either from a game balance or a game flavor standpoint.
What you'll see us doing instead is inventing NEW spells that summon monsters from beyond the Bestiary now and then. "Rival Guide" has a couple that summon new devils, for example.
We also provide some slight customizations to the summon monster lists depending on the deity you worship—these customizations appear in the articles about the gods we print in every 2nd and 5th Adventure Path installment, and are available to any priest of that deity ("priest" being any worshiper of that deity... NOT just a cleric).
Thanks James, that makes complete sense to me. apologies for asking a question you've already answered.
Hey James a question.
How long does it typicaly take for books to get developed to be being published?
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Creative Director
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James,
Do you have short-to-medium term plans for publishing more material on any of the following:
1. Zura or Zurakai?
2. Cyth-V'Sug?
3. Derro?
4. The Shory?
5. Night Hags / Dimension of Dreams?
6. The Dwarven pantheon beyond Torag?
7. Dwarven-centric adventures?Thanks in advance for answering my questions, and the time you take to keep in contact with Paizo's fans.
Also, I'd love to see a "Classic Fey Revisited" book.
1) We did some stuff with Zura in the first Serpent's Skull adventure. No further plans at this point, but she'll be popping up here and there (I suspect there might be a little bit in Carrion Crown, but I wasn't the lead developer on that AP so I can't say for sure). No plans for Zurakai.
2) Yup. Cyth-V'sug is one of the more important demon lords, and he'll have a time to shine eventually. Of course, I did just do a lot of demon lord stuff in "Lords of Chaos," but I assume you know about that already...
3) Yup. Derro are one of my favorite bad guy races. I'd love to do some more stuff with them.
4) Yes. In fact, there'll be a pretty interesting bit about the Shory (not a big bit, but an interesting one) in a book that'll be coming out at the end of the year...
5) There's some night hag stuff in Carrion Crown, I believe, and a bit about the dimension of dreams here and there as well, but nothing major planned at this time.
6) Nope.
7) Nope (although we've got a 10 page entry on a haunted dwarf mine in "Dungeons of Golarion," but not sure that counts as a full-on adventure).
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Creative Director
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Hey James a question.
How long does it typicaly take for books to get developed to be being published?
When we're in a hellish rush, we can go from an undeveloped manuscript to published book in as quickly as 3 months.
Normally, though, it's about 4 to 6 months to go from "start developing a book" to "book is published." Right now, we're assigning authors to books that will be released in December of this year, while I've just about halfway through developing "Feast of Ravenmoor" which is due to hit shelves in September, I believe.
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Creative Director
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I've got a character with some interests in studying the Old Ones. I've already got Aklo as a language, are there any others particularly pertinent for this (admittedly dangerous and foolhardy) area of study?
Aklo's your best bet.
Looking at the 11 mythos monsters statted up in the double-size bestiary of Pathfinder #46, I see they speak these languages:
Aklo
Elder Thing
Mi-Go
Common
Of course, actually speaking mi-go is pretty tough unless you're a mi-go yourself, or maybe a spellcaster with lots of illusion spells...
Hey James a question.
How long does it typicaly take for books to get developed to be being published?
When we're in a hellish rush, we can go from an undeveloped manuscript to published book in as quickly as 3 months.
Normally, though, it's about 4 to 6 months to go from "start developing a book" to "book is published." Right now, we're assigning authors to books that will be released in December of this year, while I've just about halfway through developing "Feast of Ravenmoor" which is due to hit shelves in September, I believe.
How do you decide which books to do? Do you guys have regular meeting about future book ideas? Or is it more informal?
Sorry but it has been my dream job to do what you guys do....I have great ideas but don't have the skills to communicate them in writting. So I am very curious about what you guys do.
Was this enough information to satisfy your request?
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Creative Director
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How do you decide which books to do? Do you guys have regular meeting about future book ideas? Or is it more informal?
Sorry but it has been my dream job to do what you guys do....I have great ideas but don't have the skills to communicate them in writting. So I am very curious about what you guys do.
The decision of what books to do is actually kinda complex, and it varies depending on the product line.
Adventure Paths: This is mostly me, Wes, and Rob—we come up with ideas and flesh them out and once Erik approves them, the nature of the AP in question often makes choosing other books in other lines no-brainers.
Rulebooks: This is mostly me, Erik, Wes, and Jason—we only do 3 of these a year, and picking what the topics are can be pretty tricky as a result.
Campaign Setting: This is pretty much just me, filling in the blanks on the schedule as needed to support other lines or to explore parts of Golarion that need exploring. Erik will usually provide input like, "This book sold really well... do something similar" or even something like, "I really want to see a book about this topic–make it happen." I'll also base my decisions on the result of editorial meeting brainstorms and suggestions from the community.
Player Companion: This is also pretty much me, but since we only do 6 of these a year, we tend to look to the AP line and the Campaign Setting line to start with. Often, we'll start a line (like the races line or the PFS faction line) of companions that has a built-in run of topics we want to cover, which can carry us for a year or more.
Modules: With the exception of the RPG Superstar module, I generally pick these as well. Sometimes our authors submit adventure proposals that I greenlight, but usually modules are chosen to support other books in the line or the Pathfidner Society org play.
Pathfinder Tales: This is pretty much 100% James Sutter, although I have veto/approval power over the novels, as does Erik.
Pathfinder Society Scenarios: This is pretty much Mark Moorland, but again I have veto/approval power over them (as does Erik).
GameMastery Line: These are kind of scattershot—with multiple people coming up with ideas for what to do next. But as with all our products, as creative director, one of the things I have to do is veto/approve them.
Basically, the ideas come from all over Paizo, but I'm the one that says yes or no to them, with periodic adjustments to those choices by Erik.
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Thanks for the detailed reply, James!
Glad to hear that Cyth-V'Sug and the Derro will get some love. Both are phenomenal bad guys.
As far as the Dwarven pantheon goes, perhaps if the "Faiths of" line does well (which I suspect it will), a book on the various racial gods and pantheons would merit some consideration? I doubt an entire book on the Dwarven gods would do well, but maybe a book with additional information on the Elven, Gnomish, and Halfling gods would generate enough interest to justify a release?
Just a thought.
Thanks again!
What is the name of the lake in southern Garund that looks like a giant bird?It doesn't have a name yet.
You should have a contest for that.
I propose... Big Bird Lake.
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Creative Director
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You should have a contest for that.What is the name of the lake in southern Garund that looks like a giant bird?It doesn't have a name yet.
Heh... but nope. Contests tend to backfire when it comes to "name this location" or similar things in my opinion, because folks tend to vote for jokes rather than serious names. And also they take a weirdly huge amount of time to manage and run, of course.
Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?
And will there be a skirmish game? Cuz I have at least 3 other people who will be buying them if there is.
I propose... Big Bird Lake.
So named for the iconic muppet who was tragically drowned there.
I have some questions on the Synthesist:
can a Synthesist take power attack as he fulfills the pre-requisite of STR13 when fused with an eidolon (even if i´his sTR is 7), or needs his own STR be 13?
Can a Synthesist take the feat extra evolution?
Can a Drunken Brute/Alchemist drink an extract or mutagen as a move action as per Raging Drunk?
Is there a good thread somewhere that discusses the limits of simulacrum? If no could you clarify the limits of simulacrums? Specifically in reference to spell casting and spell like abilities. If I make a simulacrum of a cleric does it get to cast spells? Can it pray to renew it's spells? Stuff like that.
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Creative Director
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Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?
We'll be talking more about this in a bit.
In any case, while folks are, as always, free to suggest and ask for specific minis here on the boards, be they for Reaper minis or whatever, we'll listen but the actual choices of what to make are base more on what's best for our current and upcoming products, what the sculptors think would make a good mini, what we want to see, and some other boring business reasons. ;-P
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Creative Director
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I have some questions on the Synthesist:
can a Synthesist take power attack as he fulfills the pre-requisite of STR13 when fused with an eidolon (even if i´his sTR is 7), or needs his own STR be 13?
Can a Synthesist take the feat extra evolution?
Can a Drunken Brute/Alchemist drink an extract or mutagen as a move action as per Raging Drunk?
In order to qualify for a feat with an ability score prerequisite, a character needs to have that ability as part of his permanent score—not from adjustments to that score. Some GMs might allow it, though.
Extra Evoloution's only prerequisite is the eidolon class feature. Technically, since the Synthesist trades out this class feature for a different one (Fused Eidolon) he would NOT be able to take Extra Evolution as a feat. Again, some GMs might allow it.
Nope; extracts and mutagens are not potions. There's more to extracts and mutagens than simply drinking them—they require some quick alchemical tinkering and mixing and last minute prepping to work, whereas a potion does not.
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Creative Director
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Is there a good thread somewhere that discusses the limits of simulacrum? If no could you clarify the limits of simulacrums? Specifically in reference to spell casting and spell like abilities. If I make a simulacrum of a cleric does it get to cast spells? Can it pray to renew it's spells? Stuff like that.
A simulacrum is in all ways identical to the thing it duplicates. A cleric simulacrum could cast spells and pray to get new spells, but just like a cleric, if it does things out of keeping with its religion, it becomes an ex-cleric. So if you're a good guy and you make a simulacrum of an evil priest, then order the simulacrum to do things out of keeping with its alignment and religion, it WILL lose its powers.
The spell is a really interesting one and a fun one, but it's so open ended, like wish or miracle, that you really do need to work with your GM if your'e going to use it a lot. Some folks who prefer having all their rules nailed down get weirded out by this, but having spells like this where there's a lot of variables and that the GM gets to help adjudicate are, in my opinion, good for the game. They help enable stories and cool plots, for one thing. If a GM is running a game where he or the players aren't comfortable with this style of play, he should really just cut the spell from his game.
In ANY case... there's plenty of argumentative threads about what the spell can or cannot do. Feel free to post questions here to this thread and I'll do what I can to give MY opinions on what it does, but I'm not interested in turning this thread into a simulacrum rules lawyer meeting—there's other threads (or there COULD be) for those plots.
I've actually written two (actually three) adventures in which simulacrums play a key role... some fun ideas can be mined from these adventures:
There was a short adventure in "Frostbite" about a simulacrum-obsessed wizard.
"Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk" has a pretty significant simulacrum villain whose master is dead and so now she's free to do what she wants, which is to seek a method to become a "real" person so she can overcome the major limitation all simulacrums have of being unable to gain power.
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Creative Director
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Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?And will there be a skirmish game? Cuz I have at least 3 other people who will be buying them if there is.
Right now, it's only a small set of non-randomized minis that will supplement the Beginner Box or any sort of RPG play. We don't yet have plans for a minis game or anything like that.
Is there a good thread somewhere that discusses the limits of simulacrum? If no could you clarify the limits of simulacrums? Specifically in reference to spell casting and spell like abilities. If I make a simulacrum of a cleric does it get to cast spells? Can it pray to renew it's spells? Stuff like that.A simulacrum is in all ways identical to the thing it duplicates. A cleric simulacrum could cast spells and pray to get new spells, but just like a cleric, if it does things out of keeping with its religion, it becomes an ex-cleric. So if you're a good guy and you make a simulacrum of an evil priest, then order the simulacrum to do things out of keeping with its alignment and religion, it WILL lose its powers.
The spell is a really interesting one and a fun one, but it's so open ended, like wish or miracle, that you really do need to work with your GM if your'e going to use it a lot. Some folks who prefer having all their rules nailed down get weirded out by this, but having spells like this where there's a lot of variables and that the GM gets to help adjudicate are, in my opinion, good for the game. They help enable stories and cool plots, for one thing. If a GM is running a game where he or the players aren't comfortable with this style of play, he should really just cut the spell from his game.
In ANY case... there's plenty of argumentative threads about what the spell can or cannot do. Feel free to post questions here to this thread and I'll do what I can to give MY opinions on what it does, but I'm not interested in turning this thread into a simulacrum rules lawyer meeting—there's other threads (or there COULD be) for those plots.
I've actually written two (actually three) adventures in which simulacrums play a key role... some fun ideas can be mined from these adventures:
** spoiler omitted **...
Exactly what I needed to know. Thank you.
Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?We'll be talking more about this in a bit.
In any case, while folks are, as always, free to suggest and ask for specific minis here on the boards, be they for Reaper minis or whatever, we'll listen but the actual choices of what to make are base more on what's best for our current and upcoming products, what the sculptors think would make a good mini, what we want to see, and some other boring business reasons. ;-P
I'm also listening concerning minis. ^_^
So I'm a little confused about how telekinesis works. Do you cast it on other items so you can control them? Or do you cast it on yourself so that you can control other items? I guess the crux of my question is whether or not you can switch/add/drop which items you're controlling in the middle of the spells duration?
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The decision of what books to do is actually kinda complex, and it varies depending on the product line.
Adventure Paths: This is mostly me, Wes, and Rob ...
Rulebooks: This is mostly me, Erik, Wes, and Jason ...
Campaign Setting: This is pretty much just me, ...
Player Companion: This is also pretty much me, ...
Modules: With the exception of the RPG Superstar module, I generally pick these as well...
When do you sleep? ;)
More seriously, do you have any tricks that you use to keep the creative ideas coming that are needed to keep Pathfinder moving forward? For example, brainstorming/mindmaps, tarrot/harrow cards, "write drunk, revise sober", etc.
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Creative Director
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So I'm a little confused about how telekinesis works. Do you cast it on other items so you can control them? Or do you cast it on yourself so that you can control other items? I guess the crux of my question is whether or not you can switch/add/drop which items you're controlling in the middle of the spells duration?
Once you cast telekinesis, you pick the target and that's that. If you want to switch to a different target, you have to cast the spell again.
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Creative Director
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When do you sleep? ;)
More seriously, do you have any tricks that you use to keep the creative ideas coming that are needed to keep Pathfinder moving forward? For example, brainstorming/mindmaps, tarrot/harrow cards, "write drunk, revise sober", etc.
Lately? Generally between the hours of 2:00–3:00 AM and 9:00–10:00 AM.
No tricks, really. I read a lot, play lots of video games, watch lots of movies, and write a lot—all of that keeps the creativity and imagination flowing non stop. Working in an environment like Paizo where I'm surrounded by other creative and imaginative minds helps an awful lot as well—and in fact, that's one of the reasons why we don't do telecommuting stuff, even though we probably could. We really need our editors, designers, and developers to be in the office where they'll be inspired and help inspire the rest of us.
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Creative Director
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What's the general consensus on the proper size of a class's spell list? Are there any limitations?
It should be as big as it wants to be. No limitations, although i'd like to see new spells spread relatively evenly over the full spellcaster class lists. Oh, and more bard spells! Always more bard spells.
Hey James,
Any idea when someone is going to free up to work on FAQ stuff? Most of them haven't been updated in awhile, and there's certain FAQ stuff that keeps coming up over and over...
Examples
Caster Level bypassable for Armor & Weapons?
Do Spell Like abilities Caster Levels qualify for feats that require CL?
Monk unarmed attacks/natural attacks/wtf?
Are brass knuckles using monk unarmed damage or not (was answered as no, but then they came out in APG as still using it after that)?
Just a small handful of the things that keep popping up. I've already gotten what I'm doing for my home game, but people new to the system who are confused (rightfully so) ask on the forums, and then a dozen people give them conflicting answers and both sets point to the rules and they don't get any help. Having a firm response from the devs would allow those people to make an informed decision.
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Creative Director
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Hey James,
Any idea when someone is going to free up to work on FAQ stuff? Most of them haven't been updated in awhile, and there's certain FAQ stuff that keeps coming up over and over...
Examples
Caster Level bypassable for Armor & Weapons?
Do Spell Like abilities Caster Levels qualify for feats that require CL?
Monk unarmed attacks/natural attacks/wtf?
Are brass knuckles using monk unarmed damage or not (was answered as no, but then they came out in APG as still using it after that)?
Just a small handful of the things that keep popping up. I've already gotten what I'm doing for my home game, but people new to the system who are confused (rightfully so) ask on the forums, and then a dozen people give them conflicting answers and both sets point to the rules and they don't get any help. Having a firm response from the devs would allow those people to make an informed decision.
Nope; no idea. I can certainly keep pestering the design team to get working on it, but right now (and for the past few weeks) they've been pretty involved with final touches to the Beginner Box and prepping for the Convention season. Until then, the gaming public will need to just rely upon their GMs to take up the slack, as if it were back in the 80s, I guess. That's what I've been doing for games I run and products I help write and create, and it's working pretty good for me so far.
Also: it's the designers, not the developers who'll be dealing with the FAQ. "Devs" means something different when you're referring to pen and paper games than it does when you're referring to video games.
Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?Okay! Looks like I can talk about this.
PATHFINDER PRE-PAINTED MINIS!!!
*faint*
I both eagerly anticipate and fear (on behalf of my checkbook) a Pathfinder Minis Subscription.
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Creative Director
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Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?Okay! Looks like I can talk about this.
PATHFINDER PRE-PAINTED MINIS!!!
*faint*
I both eagerly anticipate and fear (on behalf of my checkbook) a Pathfinder Minis Subscription.
Don't get too excited about that. These are, like the Pathfinder minis Reaper does, a licensed product. We don't and can't offer subscriptions to licensed products that we don't control all elements of production on.
Don't get too excited about that. These are, like the Pathfinder minis Reaper does, a licensed product. We don't and can't offer subscriptions to licensed products that we don't control all elements of production on.Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?Okay! Looks like I can talk about this.
PATHFINDER PRE-PAINTED MINIS!!!
*faint*
I both eagerly anticipate and fear (on behalf of my checkbook) a Pathfinder Minis Subscription.
As long as they are reasonably priced. I'm looking forward to these things, and more in the future. I loved the D&D mini's when they first came out (I have a over a 1000 of them for gaming now). However, the last 2-3 series have had production values slightly higher than the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. I've seen things that looked better painted by kindergartners. The one I saw in the press release looked awesome, and very highly detailed. Very impressive.
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Chief Technical Officer
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Don't get too excited about that. These are, like the Pathfinder minis Reaper does, a licensed product. We don't and can't offer subscriptions to licensed products that we don't control all elements of production on.Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?Okay! Looks like I can talk about this.
PATHFINDER PRE-PAINTED MINIS!!!
*faint*
I both eagerly anticipate and fear (on behalf of my checkbook) a Pathfinder Minis Subscription.
I'd also add that this is not yet a product line—it's a single product. If it's very successful, that may perhaps pave the way for additional products, but for now, we're talking about just the one set.
I'd also add that this is not yet a product line—it's a single product. If it's very successful, that may perhaps pave the way for additional products, but for now, we're talking about just the one set.Don't get too excited about that. These are, like the Pathfinder minis Reaper does, a licensed product. We don't and can't offer subscriptions to licensed products that we don't control all elements of production on.Is it true, paizo and wizkids are partnering to create a a prepainted plastic minis line? And if it is true are you open to minis suggestions?Okay! Looks like I can talk about this.
PATHFINDER PRE-PAINTED MINIS!!!
*faint*
I both eagerly anticipate and fear (on behalf of my checkbook) a Pathfinder Minis Subscription.
i don't know if I believe you, you guys n gals are very sneaky...
James,
Any chance we'll get a Daemon Bloodline??
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Creative Director
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Since we're speaking of minis.....James, have you seen the Reaper pre-painted plastics? Do you like and/or own any?
I have seen them, but I don't own any. Or if I do, I've forgotten that I do. I much MUCH prefer their metal minis... or ANYONE'S metal minis. Not that I have the time to paint metal minis, but they just look better and feel more solid.
For PCs, that is.
For a GM, a big bag of D&D minis works wonders. Unless you need a memorable boss monster. Then it's back to the hand-painted metals.