Why bother with a toad miniature?
Let’s get real here- your party are not likely to be doing a lot of combats against toads (well, not normal toads anyhow- giant toads are a whole different matter). Toads are going to play a big role in a campaign as either familiars (what wizard worth their salt hasn’t toyed with the idea of a toad familiar?) or for druids as a potential wild shape option. If you don’t have any druids or wizards or warlocks in your party (or as baddies looking to spy on the party), then a toad miniature might not be for you. Although, this one is pretty cool.
What about this mini?
This metal miniature, like the ochre jelly baby, the cat, the raven, the weasel, the pixie, the sprite, the giant weasel, the giant riding lizard, the giant boar, the violet fungus, and the hezrou miniatures, is a bit problematic. This unpainted metal miniature is from Otherworld Miniatures, a company which I have bought many minis from over the years. It has very recently closed as a result of the owner’s retirement, so their minis are no longer available for purchase directly from them. However, it has closed so recently that Otherworld Miniature products are still available in retail shops and on the internet. As a result, I’m putting a number of videos of their miniatures up now so if you like their mini(s), you can scout around for them before they are all gone. Supposedly, they were going to sell their molds to another company, but nothing has been heard on that front for months, so it’s anyone’s guess who has the molds or if anyone will be making more of their minis at this point. If you want one of their minis, this is probably the time to look for them, in case they are not available in future. I have quite a few of their miniatures, because I really like them, this one included. This particular mini is part of the pack Lesser familiars #FS15a and also includes the cat, weasel, and raven that I have featured previously. Stephen May sculpted all of the familiars in this pack and you can tell- like the rest of his work, they are beautifully done. This toad miniature fits well on a base size of tiny, as toads are meant to, so it works perfectly.
UPDATE: Fenris Games got about 100 of the miniatures from Otherworld Games, and Crooked Dice also got some of their miniatures, so if you are looking for any of their minis, keep an eye on their websites as they add the new (to them) models, which is great news!
I painted this toad mini to look like the critically endangered Mount Nimba viviparous toad (Nectophrynoides occidentalis). It would have been easier to just paint it grey or green, but as a conservation biologist, I find myself unable to do that. You will see more of that with my other paint jobs as well. It’s what I do, but you do you.
How useful is this mini, really?
Toads are included in 2 published Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition books:
That is not many books. Needless to say, you won’t be encountering toads (unless they are giant toads, of course) very often during your campaigns. Which doesn’t mean that you won’t need them. Any species which is an option for a familiar is going to get used, at least occasionally. It’s one of those minis which you will definitely need, but you just don’t know how often. Some people absolutely adore toads: if one of them is running a wizard or a druid or a warlock, the toad mini will be getting lots of action. Toads are definitely one of the OG familiars. Of course, this one is from a pack of 6 different species of familiars, so picking up the pack is a bit of a no brainer.
I should note as well that part of the reason why toads are featured in so few of the official published books is that toads get second billing, being hidden under the frog stats in the Monster Manual, where it says to just use the same stats for toads. I take offence to that, so I made my own stats for the humble toad, to differentiate it from Dungeons and Dragons’ frog. It’s not terribly different, but there are some toad things that have been added. If you are curious, I have added my entirely unofficial homebrewed toad stats here:
But why are you doing this?
As usual, for these videos, my aim is to provide good views and accurate sizing information for miniatures so you can purchase the miniature knowing whether it is what you want or not. As I already mentioned, the toad’s size is tiny, so very, very tiny, as it is meant to be, so that is good. Also, I want to thank wildlife artist Sherrie York, preeminent reduction linocut artist, for graciously allowing me to use one of her pieces, Shivano Sunset, as the backdrop for the minis.