Paizo Publishing and Wiz Kids Games have announced Pathfinder Battles, a new ongoing pre-painted miniatures brand, which will debut in December with Heroes and Monsters, a blind-packed, randomized set of 40 miniatures based on the Pathfinder Role-Playing Game.  Additional sets of Pathfinder Battles miniatures will be released in 2012 including a 60-figure Rise of the Runelords set that is currently slated for June of 2012.  These sets will join the previously announced Pathfinder Beginner Box Heroes, a pack of four non-random pre-painted miniatures that is due in October (see “Pathfinder Pre-Painted Minis”).

 

The blind-packaged Pathfinder Battles: Heroes and Monsters will be available in a variety of formats.  The Heroes & Monsters release can be purchased in a “brick,” which will include 19 blind standard booster packs, 16 of which will include one Medium or two small figures, and 3 large packs featuring one Large monster each. Duplication of figures within a brick will be held to a minimum (though collation is not guaranteed).  Buyers who purchase an entire case (4 bricks) should get a nearly complete set of figures.

 

Retailers who order one case (4 bricks) of the Heroes and Monsters release will receive the opportunity to purchase the mighty Black Dragon figure, which towers over the others and sits on a 3-inch base. 

 

Future Pathfinder Battle Sets such as Rise of the Runelords will use a similar multi-figure blind booster format. Promotional figures for the June 2012 Rise of the Runelords set will be announced in the future.

 

In between the major Heroes & Monsters release in December and the Rise of the Runelords in June, Wiz Kids will release Pathfinder Battles Encounter Packs, which will typically contain six visible non-random selected repainted or re-sculpted figures from the full sets. Details on the Encounter Packs will be released shortly.

 

At this time the Pathfinder Battles minis, which are produced by Wiz Kids, will not be available as part of a Paizo subscription.  The new line of pre-painted plastic Pathfinder Battles miniatures from WizKids will not affect Reaper Miniatures line of unpainted metal Pathfinder Miniatures, which will continue as before for those who prefer unpainted minis.