{"id":21003,"date":"2021-02-18T00:21:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T00:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/?p=21003"},"modified":"2021-02-16T22:32:04","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T22:32:04","slug":"rpg-miniatures-boneyard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/18\/rpg-miniatures-boneyard\/","title":{"rendered":"RPG Miniatures – Boneyard"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Rather than focus on a particular storyline, the newest entry in the WizKids line of role playing game miniatures focuses on hordes of undead.\u00a0 The common figures span the gamut of typical undead hordes, while some of the rare large creatures are just downright disturbing.\u00a0 (Let the reader decide if that\u2019s good or bad.)\u00a0 Releasing in March, D&D Icons of the Realms: Boneyard is a mix of standard and more unique pieces with which to build your undead army.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While somewhat expensive in bulk, having a few miniatures on the table when playing an RPG adds some great flavor to the game.\u00a0 Sure, the minis are great to help visualize the tactical part of the game, but having some concrete touchstones on the table helps to ratchet up the immersion.\u00a0 In particular, I love the shock effect when a big-bad monster is just dropped on the table in the midst of the adventuring party.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This new release: D&D Icons of the Realms: Boneyard differs from past releases in a couple of unique ways.\u00a0 First, it isn\u2019t based around a specific RPG product release.\u00a0 Rather than provide figures that match a particular module or storyline, these are more general purpose figures, ready to drop into any game needing a bit of the undead.\u00a0 Second, gone are the standard black circle bases.\u00a0 Wizkids is now going with clear bases from here on out in order to avoid covering up any important info or artwork on the playing map.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s enough background, let’s take a look at the figures themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Standouts of the smaller figures include both types of Lichs (liches?) – demi and regular flavor.\u00a0 The Death Knight and undead steed make a good pair.\u00a0 An undead troll and ogre round out the larger figures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another of my favorites, who can say No to a baby Kraken?\u00a0 (OK, officially a Juvenile Kraken, but let’s ride that baby-Yoda wave\u2026) \u00a0 I like how the Elder Oblex comes with its own food source…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the larger side of things is the Hill Giant Skeleton, but I will still place my money on the T-Rex Zombie – by far my favorite figure in the whole set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Two of the other very large figures are the Atropal and Sibriex.\u00a0 Truly hideous looking, they’re actually a bit too disturbing for my tastes.\u00a0 Seem almost disturbing for disturbing sake.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As with most of their releases, Wizkids is also releasing a couple large premium figures that can be purchased. Having been through most of the evil chromatic dragons, we now journey into the realm of the Dracolich!\u00a0 They come in two flavors – available separately.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Adult Green Dracolich comes ready to chomp on its next little meal. (Figures included just for scale.)\u00a0 Surprisingly, there isn\u2019t much green on the figure.\u00a0 Not a big deal, although green is my favorite color.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The blue dracolich, on the other hand, comes ready to party.\u00a0 Rising up above the floor in mid-flight complete with some lightning breath, this is a truly imposing figure – albeit one that\u2019s a bit hard on one\u2019s storage space.\u00a0 I\u2019ll also note it is definitely blue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

New (to me) with this set are a couple promotional figure options.\u00a0 A nice set of four skeleton kobolds are available as a promotion when ordering a Boneyard set from dndmini.com. \u00a0 Sets of three skeletal orcs are being released only through brick and mortar stores – check with your local store to see how they\u2019re distributing them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The four figures at right are premium figures, the two figures at left are from a general release. Note the more detailed paint jobs and translucent materials on the premium figures.<\/p><\/div>\n

While I have you hear, I thought I\u2019d give a shout-out to the line of Premium figures sold as single-figure packs in plastic packaging so you know what you\u2019re getting.\u00a0 This is an excellent idea and a great addition to one\u2019s minis options.\u00a0 These are higher-end figures with more detailed paint jobs and often come with transparent bling to bring the character to life.\u00a0 So often it is hard to find a very distinctive miniature for one\u2019s player character or important NPC.\u00a0 This line of premium figures provides a number of really stand-out options.\u00a0 Better yet, since they\u2019re not part of a random booster set, gamers can pick and choose the specific figures they want.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Four premium figures (at left) take on three figures from a previous general release.\u00a0 The bridge is one of the large Wizkids 4D brand releases from last fall.<\/span><\/p>\n

One final news of note.\u00a0 I\u2019ve related how I like the Wizkids Wardling line of figures that come with a young adventurer and their pet.\u00a0 There is now a Wardlings RPG released by Renegade Game Studios (and available online through Roll20.)\u00a0 It is a 5E D&D compatible kid-friendly setting book where even the player characters are child heroes.\u00a0 These children are able to see creatures and events that adults cannot.\u00a0 It\u2019s up to the kids (and their pet familiars, of course) to set things right and keep the peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As always, minis can get expensive but having a few adds a great accent to gaming at the table.\u00a0 The Boneyard release is pretty good, particularly the more common figures one would need to round out a typical tomb.\u00a0 I would have preferred more iconic and less disturbing (ugly – ok, I said it) options for the large rare figures. The two dracolich figures are pretty impressive. I doubt many people need both, so go for whichever one you like best.\u00a0 The stone bridge (released last fall) is a seriously hefty bit of plastic and is nice and imposing on the table.\u00a0 It also comes with a couple dozen additional accoutrements to set up the bridge however you like. For kid-friendly gaming, definitely keep your eye on the Wardlings line.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rather than focus on a particular storyline, the newest entry in the WizKids line of role playing game miniatures focuses on hordes of undead.\u00a0 The common figures span the gamut of typical undead hordes, while some of the rare large creatures are just downright disturbing.\u00a0 (Let the reader decide if that\u2019s good or bad.)\u00a0 Releasing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":21005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7,14],"tags":[49,288,252,286,287,123,183],"class_list":["post-21003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews","category-miscellaneous","category-unplugged-miscellaneous","tag-dd","tag-figure","tag-miniatures","tag-minis","tag-plastic","tag-rpg","tag-wizkids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21003"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21016,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21003\/revisions\/21016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.gamerdad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}