Demonweb Preview 2

This week -- two more miniatures from the Demonweb.

Iron Dragon Prowler

When you think of iconic monsters in Dungeons & Dragons,
it is only natural for dragons to come to mind. This year we focused on
the chromatic dragons, such as the blue and the black dragon. The
metallic dragons will have full attention next year, and the first
thing that fans of previous editions will notice is the dragons based
on alloys have been replaced with pure metals. In Against the Giants,
you were able to get your hands on one of the two new metallics, the
Adamantine Dragon. This week, we preview the other new metallic dragon.

The Iron Dragon Prowler is one of seven creatures in the set with the Dragon keyword and one of three true dragons in Demonweb.
To make him stand out from other silvery metallic dragons, his wings
have been darkened and slightly rusted. The miniature is fantastic --
individual scales have been sculpted, and a dark wash really brings out
the recesses of the figure.

Deathcap

This
figure marks a departure from previous creatures. Most of the
miniatures have represented monsters, but this set has a new class --
objects. The Deathcap mushroom follows the Living Flaming Sphere and
Animated Statue as miniatures that have an increased usefulness in the
roleplaying game. There are a lot of options -- general dungeon
dressing is the most immediate use. These could represent doomspores, a
hazard found on page 88 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. While
out of the scope for this preview article, I can imagine these
deathcaps being used after a failed skill challenge in a dungeon where
the PCs tried to bypass a growth of shriekers.

For the miniatures battle game, the Deathcap changes the
battlefield. Instead of moving around like a creature, the immobile
Deathcap is placed in a victory area. There, it affects the creatures
around it, either granting additional victory points or additional
poison damage, depending on whether it is in your victory area or your
opponent's.

I'm looking forward to reading the response to this creature. I see
it as a figure you're either going to love or hate. There are three or
four figures in this set that could easily be used in the RPG as things
other than monsters, but only this one is explicitly defined as an
object in the miniatures battle game.

Next week … more minis!

About the Author

Peter Lee is the newest member of the RPG R&D Design team and the new Lead Designer for theD&D Miniatures game.