You need not keep these musicians tied down to the "Inn stage". Neither will you have bought a lot of bard stand ins. No, you will have enough drummers to front any marching infantry unit. A large grouge of fife playing shepheards. And a handfull of drunken pirates playing their guitars. The musician with the kettle drum has "stood in" for a boiling pot of oil. As for the man with the Russian lute, well I needed a parite king. Not Kieth but my groupe loved it. The only down side is a lack of female musicians. Oh, there aren't any bagpipes. Not sure if thats good or bad.

Have your adventurers ever had anything to celebrate? Perhaps they've started out their adventure at a village fair, a medieval feast, a jousting tournament, a masked ball, or simply in the better brand of tavern… then you need this set. Or perhaps your bard falls on the foppish side, and needs a few changes of clothing and/or instruments... With bright colours evocative of the period's stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, and tapestries, Permes here rolls out every musical medieval entertainer you could ever need, in wondrous variation. He's also included a framed stage on which your musicians can perform; in theatres, fairs, castles, etc. The figures are well-drawn, with the right level of detail, nice line quality, proper poses, well developed character, and variations in colourways and accessories. There is a page dedicated to each type of musician with the numerous options available, illustrative artwork, and the 3D paper craft stage. If this set caught your eye before, but you hesitated because it looked ready to deploy whole armies of minstrels from your printer, then fear not. The artist responded to a recent request for a quickstart page, so that those overwhelmed by choice, or those lacking time, ink, or skill, could print a single sheet including a couple of each figure. He's also added a gong and beaters, so that you can end your sessions (or begin your goblin invasions) with a bang ;) This was the first of Permes' sets that I paid for (I began with his free ones), but even after more sets this one is still my favourite, hands-down. I don't know of any other commercial paper miniature or standee set that fulfills similar roles, and plastic or metal minis would cost you far more in materials, time, and effort to get figures only half as good looking as these. For NPCs that might see no more than a half a session, yet provide wonderful --even essential-- flavour, it's great to have such a set as Permes' Medieval Musicians. Now if we could only talk him into publishing an orcish marching band to really break up the party, as he teases in his product pictures… ;)

Cost: 5/5 for value (9 core figures with multiple variations in accessories & colour = 92 minis, plus a 3D papercraft stage as BONUS) Quality: 5/5 for artistic skill, numerous variations, full front & back art Utility: 5/5; while a niche set, it is one that nothing else fills, and the figures are so great you'll look for ways to work them into your campaigns. Overall: 5/5