Given the relative high cost of miniatures, I like what I see of the pawns such as those in the Pathfinder Beginner Box and the new Rise of the Runelords Pawn Collection that Paizo has put out.
I think given how cheap these sets are (under $20 for over 80 pawns) they should make other generic sorts of sets. A lot of us have tons of fantasy/D&D minis in metal and plastic going back decades. But we have signficantly fewer miniatures suitable for modern, historical, supers, etc. genres. For example, a western set for people playing western RPGs with sheriff, bandit, gunfighter, prospector, explorer, tycoon, etc. pawns. Or a zombie apocalypse set with various normals (student, doctor, cop, farmer, biker, soldier, pilot, gang member, etc.) along with a lot of zombies. Basically, a quick way to get all the figures you need for a low cost for whatever type of adventure you want to run in a non-fantasy game. I can buy some high end metal minis such as Reapers for some key characters but fill in the rest of my game with a nice set of pawns.
To add even more value, the box with the pawn can come with fold out map posters appropriate to the genre of the box. So a western one might have various Old West maps like main street for the gun fight, a saloon, a desert canyon and so on. The zombie one might have a hospital ER, a shopping mall, you get the idea.
As a bonus, for the aspiring board game designer, they'd make perfect test tokens while kicking around ideas for games based on those themes.
Not saying Paizo should stop the sets based on the Pathfinder bestiaries and the adventure paths - just thinking this would be a great way to expand on a good product line. What do other people think of this idea?
L