Miniatures are a huge part of the gaming industry. Some board games can be wholly disregarded because of low quality of their minis. Other games can have lackluster mechanics, but if it has great minis, some people will love getting it to the table any way they can. Minis for tabletop RPGs can be a completely different animal. In board games, miniatures help represent the actions taking place on the board. While the same is true of RPGs, their minis are more so required to help players become immersed in to the world and characters that they are crafting themselves. Somewhere in between, we have the Wardlings miniatures from WizKids.
I’ll admit, I was a bit confused by this product line when it was announced. It is a line of child-like miniatures, all coming with an animal companion, and a specific storyline already in place. This description is taken directly from the WizKids website:
“The fledgling adventurers that are a part of the Wardlings product line have a magical ability to see their animal companions, a trait of which only children are capable. These adventurers also gain their powers and abilities at a young age, allowing them to defeat the evil creatures in their world. Their powers, however, are fleeting. As the children grow, they begin to lose their powers over time. When they enter adulthood, most forget they ever adventured in the first place as everyday responsibilities take hold.”
One of my biggest complaints is that you don’t know anything about this storyline unless you go to the Wardlings section of the WizKids website. I actually think this story is cool (and a little reminiscent of the Codename: Kids Next Door animated series). “As the children grow, they begin to lose their powers over time.” Characters becoming LESS powerful as a game progresses would be a unique feature, for sure. I wish there was a game to play with these characters. I want there to be some sort of structure, or pre-set campaign. I opened them up, took pictures of these truly beautiful pieces, but struggled to find a way to be able to use them. They are great minis… but I want more. (Pictures at the bottom of the article.)
And that’s when it hit me. That’s not what these minis are for.
“When they enter adulthood, most forget they ever adventured in the first place as everyday responsibilities take hold.”
So, I got out an old playmat that’s kept with my Heroclix stuff. (I think it actually belonged to WizKids’ short-lived Mage Knight product line, which was very similar to Heroclix years ago.) I called my 3 oldest kids over, ages 7, 5, and 4. I told them about the Wardlings. I showed them that each character had a different companion. They could name the characters and even name their pets. And I just let them play.
They adventured through the cavernous dungeon map. They encountered boulders blocking their way that they agreed only certain characters could get rid of. All of this was to rescue one of their friends who was trapped, lost in the dungeon. They eventually found their friend, battled enemies, and I think they even battled some of the other less-favorite Wardlings before eventually leaving the dungeon.
I get so caught up in “gaming”, that I forget that sometimes it’s just about having fun however you can. I was too busy looking for rules, structure, and adult things that I missed the point. The everyday responsibilities have taken hold. These are great looking minis. The paint jobs on these are fantastic. The eyes and faces all look great. The Druid Boy even has freckles.
While I would eventually like to see a story or accompanying product come along to use with these miniatures, they are fine as a standalone product. Maybe we just need to stop searching for a rulebook so hard and use our imaginations instead. It’s okay to pause our adult minds once in a while.
