Why bother with a giant hyena miniature?
I got this miniature because the mini is cool. Also, the creature is cool. Also, as a conservation biologist, I am not going to let the opportunity to play a creature that actually exists/existed to pass me by. Giant hyenas are one of the Beasts which are not very well known, so they are likely to be a surprise to your party, since they are big and chonky but also get their special rampage feature, which most players won’t have heard of. Rampage allows the giant hyena, after reducing a creature’s hit points to 0, to use a bonus action to move half its speed and then attack again. It’s the creature version of the Great Weapon Master feat, but it also allows the giant hyena to move an additional 25 feet, which is pretty clutch. Want to scare your players? Giant hyenas might be just the thing to accomplish that.
What about this mini?
This unpainted metal miniature is from Otherworld Miniatures, Hyenadons (2) #WE26. As a result of the owner’s retirement it has recently closed, so their minis are no longer available for purchase directly from them. However, it has closed so recently that Otherworld Miniatures products are still available in retail shops and on the internet. In addition, the sculpts have been sold to other miniature companies and are starting to become available through them. This sculpt is by Jo Brumby, who has made some amazing miniatures. Fenris Games got the sculpts for about 100 of the miniatures from Otherworld Games, and Jo Brumby is their in-house sculptor and they picked up a bunch of Jo’s sculpts from Otherworld Miniatures, so it’s very likely that they have this one as well, so keep an eye on their website if you’re keen on this mini. I love this sculpt, and the base size for this giant hyena is large, as it is meant to be, so I am pleased.
How useful is this mini, really?
Giant hyenas are included in 4 published Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition books:
- Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus
- Monster Manual
- Tales From The Yawning Portal
- Xanathar’s Guide To Everything
Four books is not a lot, frankly. In some ways, this is a good thing potentially, as they are not well known, so you can spring them on your players and it will be a complete surprise for them. Alternatively, if you have a druid in your party, they might well like the special features of the giant hyena when wild shaping. If you don’t home brew and have no druids though, giant hyena miniatures are going to get very little time on the table, so it might be worth spending that mini money on a different creature.
But why are you doing this?
As usual for these videos, my aim is to both provide good views of the featured miniatures from all angles, as well as giving you accurate sizing information about them. As I already pointed out, the giant hyena miniature is on a large size base, which is the correct size. I would also like to thank wildlife artist Sherrie York, an incredibly skilled reduction linocut artist, for kindly allowing me to use one of her reduction linocuts, Shivano Sunset, as the backdrop for my minis in the video.