Paizo Publishing and WizKids Games made the announcement today that WizKids will create a set of pre-painted miniatures for use with Paizo’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, due October 2011. Whether this experiment will lead to more pre-painted figures remains to be seen. Many gamers feel this partnership is just in time to pick up where Wizards of the Coast left off, after the Dungeons & Dragons publisher decided to discontinue its D&D Miniatures sets.
[UPDATE: New press release copied below, with FAQ]
Paizo/WizKids press release follows:
Paizo and WizKids Launch Pathfinder Pre-Painted Minis
Beginner Box Release Resurrects Pre-Painted Plastic Fantasy Miniatures
Paizo Publishing and WizKids Games announce a new partnership whereby WizKids Games will produce a special set of pre-painted plastic miniatures for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box, an introductory boxed set slated to release in October 2011.
“We’re excited to bring the Pathfinder property to life via 3-D pre-painted fantasy miniatures” said Lax Chandra, President of WizKids Games, “Paizo’s Pathfinder RPG has emerged as a leader in the RPG category and we are looking forward to working with their great brand.”
“WizKids essentially created the pre-painted plastic miniatures category, and they’ve only gotten better in the years since,” said Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens. “We are thrilled to work with WizKids to bring our iconic characters to tabletops all over the world.”
Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box pre-painted fantasy miniatures will be available at paizo.com and through WizKids distribution partners worldwide starting in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Are these prepainted plastic miniatures included in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beginner Box?
A: The Beginner Box includes more than 80 full-color pawns, but it does not include any prepainted plastic miniatures. This set is a separate product designed to complement the Beginner Box or stand on its own.Q: Are the miniatures in this set randomized?
A: It’s a fixed set of miniatures. The exact list of minis will be announced soon.Q: How much will this set cost?
A: The exact price will be announced soon. Expect the price to be comparable to similar WizKids miniatures boxed sets.Q: Will this set be part of Paizo’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game subscription?
A: This set is produced by WizKids under license from Paizo, and is not part of any Paizo subscription.Q: How does this affect the Pathfinder Miniatures line from Reaper Miniatures?
A: Reaper Miniatures has been producing unpainted metal Pathfinder Miniatures since Fall 2009, and they will continue to do so.Q: Do these miniatures use Reaper’s sculpts?
A: These miniatures use all-new sculpts by WizKids.
About Paizo Publishing
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo’s Pathfinder® Roleplaying Game, the result of the largest open playtest in the history of tabletop gaming, is one of the best-selling tabletop RPGs in today’s market. Pathfinder Adventure Path is the most popular and best-selling monthly product in the tabletop RPG industry. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the nine years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than forty major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.
About WizKids Games
A wholly owned subsidiary of the National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. (NECA), WizKids/NECA is a New Jersey-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating games driven by imagination. The HeroClix brand is the most successful collectible miniatures games on the market today, with over 250 million miniature game figures sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.