Pathfinder Pawns: "NPC Codex Box" [RPG]

The NPC Codex Box has become, next to the Bestiary set and an adventure path set, the collection of Pathfinder pawns I actually use the most frequently at the gaming table.  The reasons why will become clear in a moment, but first I'll go over the usual rigmarole for those who aren't familiar with Paizo pawns.

Each pawn is a thick cardboard token with the name and artwork of a particular character or monster on both sides.  The pawns fit into plastic bases that match the size the creature should take up on a regular 1" grid.  The pawns are quite durable and they're a much more cost-effective and manageable way to get a wide variety of tokens than trying to collect individual plastic miniatures.  An index on the back of the box matches the numbering of the tokens, so it's easy to find what you're looking for.  The NPC Codex Box comes with over 300 pawns; many are unique, but there are multiples of some (for example, there are six "Beggar" pawns and two "Cautious Mages").  The box also comes with a couple of dozen of small/medium-sized bases and five large bases.  There aren't any Huge-sized or larger creatures in the box.  The collection matches the entries in the NPC Codex, a Pathfinder book that contains full stat-blocks for NPCs from levels 1-20 of each core class.  With the book and the pawn box together, finding an appropriate NPC in the middle of a session becomes a snap.

I would guess roughly two-thirds of the pawns in the box are devoted to the core classes, with each class receiving twenty distinct pawns.  The artwork is high quality, but I'm not convinced it always matches the description.  The "War Priest" pawn, for example, just looks to me like a standard dwarf warrior, and there's nothing particularly flame-related in the image of the "Fire Cleric."  The "Charlatan" looks like your typical back-alley rogue and the "Masked Lord" isn't even wearing a mask!  There are a lot of little problems like this, so I wouldn't take the descriptions too literally when trying to pick a pawn for a particular purpose.

The prestige classes get a full forty distinct pawns, and I have to admit there are some awesome images with the set.  I think if I were stuck for a character concept, I could just browse the pawns in the box and instantly get a couple of cool ideas.  I should also mention that, with a few exception, the vast majority of images used are of the core races.

My biggest beef with the set is the fifty distinct pawns devoted to the NPC classes.  These cover a variety of mundane professions, like beggar, diplomat, barmaid, mayor, guard, etc.  The problem I have is that the artwork makes them all take dramatic poses, most look quite athletic, and several are armed.  In short, many look more like adventurers than the sort of everyday-folk you would come across in a normal town.  The barmaid is suddenly a supermodel wearing a revealing outfit with a "come hither" look, the diplomat has a sword on his belt and a cape blowing dramatically in the wind, the "recruit" has full-plate armor and a magic glowing axe, and even the "village elder" is a half-orc with a spear.  Not every single pawn falls into this category, but there just isn't much in the way of variety in terms of body-type (no one's fat), social class (almost everyone is stylishly dressed), or posture (everyone looks like they're ready for something dramatic to happen in the next moment).  I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but I wish there were more that could easily blend into the background (just like in cinema, directors don't want to hire extras who are too distinctive and noticeable because it draws the viewers away from the actors).

The next eleven tokens are incredibly useful: each of the Iconics for the Core Rulebook classes.  If you play PFS, you can imagine how often these would come out.

Finally, there's a collection of about twenty-five animal companions.  Animals aren't really what one thinks about when it comes to NPCs, but it's really handy to have tokens for cats, dogs, horses, birds, camels, and more exotic things like constrictor snakes and even dinosaurs.  I'm not a fan of the "pet" classes, but when people at my table do play them, it's good that they can find the token they need.

This is the box that I bring out when I'm running a game and someone has a new character and needs a pawn.  It's easy to sort through and find something that fits the bill.  As I said, I wish some of the artwork fitted the label better and that some of it was more "normal" instead of high-adventure, but all in all this set has become indispensable.  It's well-worth the purchase, whether you have the accompanying book or not.