One of the fun little surprises that turns up in the The Wild Beyond The Witchlight is that characters from old school Dungeons and Dragons turn up. Two factions, Valor’s Call and the League of Malevolence are eerily familiar to anyone who remembers the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons action figures from the 80s. Some of these weirdoes even appeared in the old school Dungeons and Dragons cartoon (the one with Bobby the Barbarian and Hank the Ranger which UK readers will recall as being one of the best things about TV show Saturday Superstore).
Wizkid’s have produced two ‘starter sets’, which are really an excuse to create pre-painted minature versions of these memorable figures. Of course, these are non-posable 25mm scale models, rather than the action figures from the 80s. (Though given that Dungeons and Dragons is now owned by Hasbro, surely action figures are sort of inevitable.)
Valor’s Call are meant to be a noble adventuring party. The set contains five models. Elkhorn is a powerful, short-sword wielding dwarf , wearing a horned helmet and carrying a long sword and shield. The paint-job is okay and the sculpt looks a lot like the one from the book. He’s accompanied by Mercion, the human cleric who has had a bit of a redesign since the 80s. This red-haired cleric looks like they’re about to start a fight at any minute, and is dressed a medieval warrior. It’s nice enough to be a hero piece for various campaigns. You can’t have an adventuring party without someone who can pick locks, and Valor’s Call has Molliver, a dagger throwing bad-ass. Again, the model strikes the right balance between being an iconic figure yet also generic enough to be useful at the table.
Ringlerun the wizard has a staff, a very long beard and big white robes. Again, he’s what you imagine when someone says ‘good wizard’ to you (after all, all these pieces where originally action 80’s action figures. Finally we have Strongheart, a noble knight with blue and silver armour. He’s a great hero model and a nice dose of nostalgia.
It would be lazy to describe the League of Malevolence as like Valor’s Call, but evil, but it’s not an inaccurate description. Kelek is an evil wizard and sort of a mirror to Ringlerun. He has a big white beard, but a much better mustache and really cool black robes. His staff is nicely wicked looking. Skylla is a warlock with heavy ‘evil soreceress’ vibes. She wears a monster’s skull on her head and is firing purple energy from her staff. (This is a translucent plastic.). It’s a very detailed sculpt.
Zarak is an evil orc in a blue hood. He looks like a menace and a good interpretation of the action figure it is inspired by. Zargash is an evil human cleric. Purple robes, snake head staff, condescending look. Finally we get Warduke. Famous for his winged helmet and scary looking sword and shield, he’s a great counter to the noble Strongheart.
Both sets are a great bit of nostalgia and eyecatching enough to fit into any D&D campaign you can think of.
