Wizkids recently released pre-painted miniatures of the Baldur’s Gate 3 characters in partnership with Wizards of the Coast, and the results were catastrophically poor. The miniatures featured severely distorted faces, misplaced features, and in some cases missing parts entirely (one customer reportedly received a headless Shadowheart). The quality was so abysmal that Wizkids issued a public apology and offered full refunds to all customers, acknowledging that the final product “did not meet our expectations or that of our Wizards of the Coast partner.” The controversy highlights broader issues with pre-painted miniatures in the tabletop gaming industry. At $50 for seven figures (roughly $7.10 each), these miniatures were priced at the low end for pre-painted products, making high quality unlikely from the start. Pre-painted miniatures face an inherent trade-off between cost and quality, as skilled painting requires significant time and labor. However, Wizkids particularly drew criticism for misleading promotional materials that showed much higher quality products than what customers actually received.The miniatures disaster represents a broader pattern of Hasbro’s mishandling of Dungeons & Dragons over the past decade. Despite D&D’s massive success, including the acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 and growth in popularity, Hasbro has consistently fumbled opportunities. The article points to several failures: the OGL controversy that alienated creators, losing Larian Studios after Baldur’s Gate 3’s success, the underperforming D&D movie despite its quality, the cancellation of Project Sigil, and the minimal innovation in the 2024 rules update. The author argues that Hasbro fundamentally misunderstands its own product and lacks the vision to capitalize on D&D’s unprecedented cultural moment.
Celebrate “Modern AGE May” as part of Green Ronin’s 25th anniversary, highlighting the seven-year journey of the Modern AGE roleplaying game. Developer Malcolm Sheppard reflects on the game’s development since 2017, praising its flexibility and the collaborative efforts with various writers and designers. The company has released a free PDF with core rules updates based on improvements learned over the years, and the game line has influenced other successful titles like The Expanse and Cthulhu Awakens.
The return of 90s nostalgia with “Slam Throne,” a new game that resurrects the concept of Pogs for modern audiences. Players use Hero Slammers to flip health caps in their opponent’s stack, with each slammer having unique passive and catch abilities. The game emphasizes simple, fun mechanics over deep strategy, appealing to gamers who remember the original Pogs phenomenon from the 1990s.
Daggerheart, a Dungeons & Dragons rival from Darrington Press that launched on May 20, 2025. Remarkably, just one day after release, the company introduced playtest material for two new classes: Warlock and Fighter. The Warlock uses a Favor system tied to patron relationships, while the Fighter specializes in melee combat with subclasses like Juggernaut and Martial Artist. This rapid release of additional content demonstrates the company’s commitment to expanding the game system quickly after launch.
#whizkids #modernAGE #SlamThrone #Daggertheart
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