Pathfinder 1E Paizo Announces More Details about Minis Line

[Lancelot]

As a mini junkie, I'd normally be all on board for this. The randomized nature of the packages doesn't faze me at all, as it's really the only reasonable business model for making this sort of thing available.

However...

• The price point is high. I understand why this is, and I might still be tempted if not for the fact that...
• ...the minis look like a cartoon version of D&D/Pathfinder. Looking at that dire rat... the troll... even the succubus... They're painted with few colors. They have simplistic features. They look slightly goofy. Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing! They look like they'd be easily identifiable on a battlemap, and they look like they'd appeal more to a younger audience (good - new players, getting children involved in the game). But they don't look like they're going to mesh well with my hundreds or thousands of existing minis. They're very much a different style. And, personally, I don't care for it. They will look odd next to my DDM figures, let alone good quality metal minis.
• They're doing special promo figures. Unless I'm misreading the blurb, that black dragon is a promo figure only available at stores that order cases. In other words, we're talking the MageKnight and HeroClix model here. I don't mind "rare" figures in DDM. I did mind "very rare" figures (very much so). Promo figures that are only available through specialist venues is one step worse than "very rare" minis for me. It guarantees that I have to go to the singles market, where supply may be tight and prices may be exorbitant.

So, that's my personal opinion: I'll probably opt out. However, I'm glad that someone is still trying to supply the plastic minis market, and I wish the Paizo line every success. Many of the minis from the first DDM set (Harbinger) look pretty goofy in retrospect as well, so maybe the success of the line will lead to enhancements in the style of the minis.

 

[Treebore]

The paint jobs actually don't bother me, most can be greatly improved with some simple dry wash techniques. Which I can do myself.

 

[Celtavian]

re

A little pricey for me. Some look goofy and cartoony. Some look cool. If they were higher quality, I'd probably pay the price. The paint job doesn't look high quality. I might pick up a few if I can see what's in the box. Some of the larges for $6 might be valuable given that certain larges in the DDM aftermarket can be high.

 

[S'mon]

$4 is my suck it up, MUST HAVE THAT EXACT MINI NOW! price, so I can't see myself paying that for something random. Maybe if the commons are available in the aftermarket at around $2 (less for dire rats) I'll get some. But overall it does not sound hugely exciting.

Edit: OTOH $6 for an attractive Large mini is a lot more reasonable. I'd certainly pay more than that for a nice frost giant.

 

[Stormonu]

Ugh, as has been said previously, I hate the random boxing. Regardless of their reasons for it, I simply don't care for it and wish they'd gone with "encounter" sets instead.

Cost likewise hurts. To be honest, I was sick of WotC's rising mini cost and diminishing numbers of mini per booster (Monster Manual: Savage Encounters, 4 medium/small minis + 1 visible large @ $15) and Paizo's (1 large @ $6 + 4 medium @ $4 each = $22!). I can't, in fairness, say I like this at all. I'm sure the higher cost is due to lower volume of miniatures created overall, but still, price is price. I didn't like the "steep" prices of the WotC minis, so I certainly can't go along with this.

On the positive side, the sculpts look nice, though the paint jobs look like they could use some touch-up once they get into gamer hands. Also, these are essentially the first batch. If anyone remembers, WotC's Harbinger rollout wasn't exactly the paragon of mini awesomeness. If the line does decently, expect to see the quality rise as they gear up. (Though, since Wizkids essentially started the plasticrack wars with Mageknight, you'd think they'd have a slam-bang awesome entry for the line with all the experience they've had...)

 

[TheAuldGrump]

So only the anti-WotC people are allowed to be smart alecs? You have to admit there's a few of the people who derided DDM VERY heavily that have suddenly changed face since it's Paizo putting them out.

Now that I see the dragon, it's pretty bad too. I like the Venomous Shadow Dragon more, which appears to be what it was patterned after.

That won't stop me from scratching the itch a little though as two of the ones I see so far are good enough to take some chances on and it's a good price point.

Something worth noting, both to the Pro-Paizo crowd and the Anti-Paizo crowd:

These aren't being produced by Paizo - they are being produced by WizKids, who have licensed the rights from Paizo.

It does not matter much to me - I don't care if randomly packaged minis are produced by WotC, Paizo, WizKids, or the Man in the Moon; I do not like randomly packaged minis.

The small and medium figures do look better to me than the small and medium WotC minis - but I really did not like the smaller figures from the DDM lines. They could do a good job on Large and Huge figures though.

That said, any that I buy from this line would be singles, and only after seeing examples in person. These CG examples are not what I would go by, though these have basic enough block that it is likely that they are fairly close to what the finished products will look like.

They might look decent with a simple dip, and hopefully will have deep enough detail to be worth repainting.

The Auld Grump, who thinks that dragon looks silly....

 

[Maggan]

These aren't being produced by Paizo - they are being produced by WizKids, who have licensed the rights from Paizo.

I missed that. Smart move by Paizo, minimizing the risk.

/M

 

[IronWolf]

Ugh, as has been said previously, I hate the random boxing. Regardless of their reasons for it, I simply don't care for it and wish they'd gone with "encounter" sets instead.

According to the Paizo link WizKids does have plans on releasing encounter sets but those details are not available yet. The encounter sets are supposed to be non-random, visible assortments.

So really - it looks like the non-random folks and random folks are going to get their way here. Sure there is likely to be ones only included in the random offering, but that is what the singles market is for in those cases if you despise buying randoms.

 

[DaveMage]

Wow. $275 a case is much higher than I would have expected. $100-150 was more what I was hoping for.

Of course, that's the Paizo price, which may not be the same as the Auggie's price.

I guess I'll have to wait and see the mini roster to determine my interest, but at that price, I have a feeling I'll be passing on most of - if not all of - the first set (as my DDM collection is pretty big).

 

[Herschel]

Something worth noting, both to the Pro-Paizo crowd and the Anti-Paizo crowd:

These aren't being produced by Paizo - they are being produced by WizKids, who have licensed the rights from Paizo.

Granted, but the name attached is where numerous people put their ....shall we say attention. Which is, of course, why WK and Paizo got together on this deal. WK had issues on their own, but leveraging a marketing name/platform gives them more visibility and a chance to better improve their sales and also gives them a foundation for new sculpts.