WizKids Unleashes ‘The Death Coach’ From Pathfinder’s ‘Book Of The Dead’
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
The balance between the living and the dead, as it relates to the mythology and lore of a tabletop game, has always been something that fascinates me. I started playing Pathfinder in 2009. The flavor of 4th Edition did not agree with me. I have always trusted Paizo, as Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine are probably my favorite publications. Diving into the world and lore of Pathfinder just clicked and worked almost seamlessly alongside my long-running 3.0/3.5 homebrew game.
I always really like the way they handle death and the undead in the Pathfinder lore. I rave about how much the Book of the Dead is a key addition to the gaming shelf. There is just something so charming about the way it is all built up and treated as both a vast unknown, but also respectful. It’s not just an endpoint or something to fear. Sure, there are horrors to worry about and things that can whisk you away to the unknown, like the Death Coach, but there are also places to explore beyond the confines of the mortal coil.
Before I get to existential though, let me backtrack and tell you about the Death Coach miniature my pals at WizKids have made and sent to me.
This thing is delightful. Not only are the flames made of that semitransparent material that they do so well, but the whole thing is sculpted beautifully. Also, the flames glow in the dark giving a really cool effect for shelf appeal.
The Death Coach is one of those really cool encounter creatures that has a lot of cool story elements that work into it. The lore goes that because roads are liminal spaces they can sometimes be sites of danger, fear, and anger and because of this the death coaches can ride them collecting souls as the spiritual manifestation of travel.
It’s cool because you can apply this as a help or horror to your party. It can provide a safe way to travel after a rough battle or a speedy way to get from point A to point B if they are willing to risk riding in a clearly undead carriage pulled by flaming horse skeletons. You can also unleash it as an encounter while they are traveling, adding some really cool combat and mystery to the table.
However you decide to use it, this is a must-have for your TTRPG table and you can pre-order it now at this link.
Until next time, the Death Coach is a lot of fun and I often use one as a means to collect the souls of the dead or lost after a heavy battle. It works as a really cool way for players to say goodbye to NPCs they liked or to see plot moments transpire where those who were vile and cruel get picked up by a very sinister-looking version of the Death Coach as a nod to the torment they are about to experience in the next world.
