A problem with the miniatures industry.

[Sacrosanct]

An elf mini without the pointy ears would serve well for the gender neutral or androgynous PC.

With the dire cabbage and the pizza dungeon dragon mini obviously there is a high demand for them it reached enough backers. So who is not accurate?
You could go the Kickstarter route for adding on different body types.

These companies continue to produce those minis because they are the most profitable. Obviously they would not like to go bankrupt.

I can pretty much guarantee that the number of backers didn’t increase by any significant amount just to get those minis. People were gonna be backers anyway for all the other minis. Those were just silly minis that I doubt very much has more people wanting to use them than players who would use gender neutral minis. And if reaper can do silly minis, I’m sure they could do minis that represented the people who use them, which includes gender neutral and varying body shapes

 

[Xenonnonex]

I can pretty much guarantee that the number of backers didn’t increase by any significant amount just to get those minis. People were gonna be backers anyway for all the other minis. Those were just silly minis that I doubt very much has more people wanting to use them than players who would use gender neutral minis. And if reaper can do silly minis, I’m sure they could do minis that represented the people who use them, which includes gender neutral and varying body shapes

Which is why I said you can go the Kickstarter route for different body types.

 

[Dire Bare]

Being queer or non-binary or gender neutral isn't aspirational either. Neither is being straight or cis. It's just what you are; it's not something you aspire to. The heroic archetypes you get to role-play are what's aspirational. Most people want to see themselves represented in the game. Heavy people deserve that privilege just as much as anyone else.

Not what I meant, sorry if I was not clear. Certainly, your gender and orientation are not in themselves aspirational. They are a part of your identity, IRL and/or your character. What I meant is that I can see having a character that is non-binary and also being aspirational, with no problems or conflicts.

Having your character be obese doesn't stop the character from being aspirational, but you don't see it often, even with obese players (at least not in my anecdotal experience). And it works against the aspirational nature of heroic fantasy. Being fat is not simply a part of your identity and who you are, it is an unhealthy condition that you should aspire to be rid of . . . . not due to shaming from others or guilt about your lifestyle choices, but because it is not a healthy condition. It's of course easy to say and hard to do, especially for those of us who seem to have a genetic condition that predisposes us to being heavy (and/or cultural and psychological pressures). And the struggle against obesity and how obese people are often treated in society can itself be heroic . . . not the obesity, but the struggle against it.

 

[Xenonnonex]

And the struggle against obesity and how obese people are often treated in society can itself be heroic . . . not the obesity, but the struggle against it.

The struggle against being healthy?

 

[pogre]

Let me first state that I think it would be nice if mini companies made some more various character models. I really do agree with OP.

However, I occasionally sell painted miniatures on ebay and other places. The miniatures that get me the most money for an auction for my effort painting are more scantily clad females. The dreaded chainmail bikini fighters and sorceresses dressed in gauzy fabric.

The difference for me is really noticeable - a regular character figure I paint usually tops out around $45-$55; same painter, same effort for a scantily clad female character miniature $75-$85.

Now, the bonus for me is that I do not have or use many scantily clad females - so selling them is a little easier (I've grown to hate selling my painted models).

But, if I want to make a little extra cash and paint to sell you can understand why I choose those figures.

I do think demand plays a role.

 

[Hussar]

But, again, if there is a pizza chef dragon mini, perhaps banging out a few androgynous figs isn't too much to ask. I mean, good grief, elven figs should be pretty androgynous as it is, same with dwarf.

ALthough, I have to wonder, would Tiamat be a queer chromatic dragon? (I really hope that comes across as humour and not a shot)

 

[Bardic Dave]

The struggle against being healthy?

Not cool dude. You responded to his heartfelt, thoughtful post with a glib, smart-ass, and insensitive reply that entirely missed his point and contributed nothing to the conversation. Don’t be a dick.

 

[ced1106]

I can't even find demon proxies (eg. sun) for Gloomhaven. It's only the best-selling dungeoncrawler on BGG.

Reaper's Izzy Talen (sp?) is transgender, so I dunno why we don't see more androgynous figures. OTOH, As said, elves are sometimes seen as androgynous, so sexuality may just be in the eye of the beholder. Which, come to think of it, must also be androgynous figures.

 

[billd91]

for your second statement, this is also not accurate. As I said above, right now there are minis being produced of a human sized dragon wearing a chefs hat and holding a pizza. And one of a dire cabbage. Are you telling me that reaper is making those because of some high demand for them?

The question here is more of novelty and humor. Those will generate their own market if they're interesting enough. Nobody approaches Reaper saying they want a dire cabbage. But they see one and if it's interesting enough, they'll want and get it.

 

[Dire Bare]

The struggle against being healthy?

Huh? Your response makes no sense. Why would anyone struggle against being healthy?