The maker of the popular “Dungeons & Doggies” line of miniatures is planning to release a new set of animal adventurer minis, this time starring cats. Last year, ComicBook.com reported on a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of 13 “Dungeons & Doggies” miniatures created by Russ Charles and April Prime. The collection featured 12 different dog breeds taking on the role of one of D&D‘s core player classes, along with a Kickstarter exclusive miniature based on a character from the Dungeons & Doggos webcomic. The Kickstarter raised nearly $500,000, and the miniatures are now being distributed to backers. With one successful project behind him, we reached out to Charles to discuss what’s next for his Animal Adventures line.
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“Cats!” Charles said in an email interview when asked about the next set of miniatures for Animal Adventures. “And more dogs I am sure! The team is excited to develop the concept of Animal Adventures further with more beloved animals taking their place in the world.” Charles confirmed that “Cats & Catacombs” was Animal Adventures’ next project and shared four preview renders (seen in the gallery below.) Like “Dungeons & Doggies,” “Cats & Catacombs” will have 12 different cat figures, along with a Kickstarter exclusive miniature and art prints, rules, adventure materials, and maps to bring the cat adventurers into your D&D world.
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Charles noted that the cat breeds selected for “Cats & Catacombs” were mostly domestic breeds, and that all the cats are considered domesticated and not wild cats. “When we actually got into things I think the whole team was surprised at the diversity of facial and body types we found!” Charles said when asked about if there were challenges finding different body sizes and types to make the cat figures look different. “In addition, now that we have the confidence that comes from an excellent production team behind us, we are opening up the possibilities regards posing and setting the mini designs to further differentiate our cats…from the stalking rogue to the wise wizard with her raven familiar, the cast of Cats and Catacombs certainly feels nicely different!”
Although Animal Adventures is moving onto “Cats & Catacombs,” there are still some big plans for “Dungeons & Doggies.” Charles noted that, thanks to his partnership with Steamforged Games, he will be able to make “Dungeons & Doggies” available for retail sale at gaming stores around the globe, along with the ability to purchase “Dungeons & Doggies” online once all the Kickstarter product is distributed. He also mentioned having plans for some “cool stuff” linked to some upcoming gaming shows, but he couldn’t provide any additional details.
There are plans for more Animal Adventures miniatures in the future as well. “If Cats and Catacombs goes well, I think we will have proven that Animal Adventures has found an audience and I would want to make sure that they were well served,” Charles said. “It has been a genuine delight to see how happy people have been when their dogs have arrived- especially younger gamers and first time mini collectors.” Charles mentioned the success of the Tales of Dungeons & Doggies Hobby page, which has gained 100+ members a day since it was first created.
Charles plans to launch the Cats & Catacombs Kickstarter in the first half of April. “I am working with the team to prep the project whilst also managing the final stages of Doggies,” Charles said of the upcoming Kickstarter. “It’s both exhilarating and exhausting and I must give a big shout out to the whole team supporting the project because there is zero chance we would be here now without their efforts!” You can keep up on the Cats & Catacombs news by following Charles’ Painting & Polygons Facebook page or by following Charles on Twitter.
