Shadows Beneath the Earth: A Review of WizKids’ Pathfinder Battles – Cave Lurkers

Shadows Beneath the Earth: A Review of WizKids’ Pathfinder Battles – Cave Lurkers

December 10, 2025

If your tabletop stories ever wander into the dark tunnels of the underworld—those echoing caverns where light is rare and danger is constant—then WizKids’ Pathfinder Battles: Cave Lurkers might just be your next must-have miniature set. This six-piece prepainted collection doesn’t just populate the caves—it gives them personality. From reptilian hunters to fungal oddities, this box is practically a ready-made encounter table waiting to spring from the shadows.

🪨 The Set at a Glance

Inside Cave Lurkers, you’ll find:

Xulgath Skirmisher
Myceloid
Orc Warchief
Hunting Spider
Cave Scorpion
Xulgath Stone Liege

Each figure is fully prepainted in the reliable WizKids style: detailed sculpts, sharp features, and atmospheric colors that feel gritty and lived-in. The earthy tones and shadowy palettes tie the set together, making these minis feel right at home in dungeons, mines, or subterranean lairs.

This is a set that tells you one thing immediately—your players are not alone in the dark.

⚔️ Mini by Mini Breakdown

Xulgath Skirmisher

A reptilian humanoid clad in simple hides, sword in hand and javelins slung across its back. The Skirmisher looks like a creature built for ambushes and guerilla warfare. Its brownish scales and lean build suggest it blends perfectly into rocky terrain.

Game Ideas:

Underdark Patrol: Use several as scouts or guards for a subterranean settlement of lizardfolk or xulgaths.
Surface Raider: A vanguard of reptilian raiders testing the defenses of a nearby village.
PC Encounter: Great for mid-level parties exploring caves or ruins—they’re tactical, not mindless, and know the terrain better than anyone.

Myceloid

Equal parts eerie and adorable, the Myceloid looks like something that grew from the cave floor itself—a fungal humanoid with mottled green and purple hues. It radiates an alien curiosity that makes it just as suitable for a friendly NPC as a spore-spewing threat.

Game Ideas:

Fungal Hive Encounter: A grove of sentient mushrooms attempting to “spread their consciousness” to the surface.
Ally or Alchemist: A reclusive myceloid sage who trades potions and spores for sunlight relics.
Creeping Horror: Imagine a dungeon where corpses sprout fungi—and then stand up to protect their new colony.

Orc Warchief

Towering and battle-ready, the Orc Warchief wears a war banner on its back that immediately establishes command presence. This is a figure that screams “final boss” or “clan leader,” ready to rally a horde beneath the earth.

Game Ideas:

Cavern Stronghold: Deep underground, an orc warband has carved out a fortress lit by magma flows. The Warchief stands as their brutal patriarch.
Arena Champion: In a fighting pit beneath the city, this orc defends their title against anyone bold enough to challenge them.
Unlikely Ally: The Warchief’s clan could be driven from the depths and forced to seek an uneasy alliance with surface dwellers.

Hunting Spider

The Hunting Spider is lean, sinister, and gorgeously detailed in purple and black. It’s not just a background creature—this mini looks ready to pounce. With enough realism to make arachnophobes uneasy, it’s perfect for encounters that need a touch of primal fear.

Game Ideas:

Classic Ambush: Nothing says “the cave goes quiet” like a sudden spider drop from the ceiling.
Beast Companion: For drow rangers, driders, or monstrous druids, this makes a perfect bonded creature.
Brood Encounter: Use several to guard an enormous spider queen or egg chamber—your players will never forget the tension.

Cave Scorpion

Small but menacing, the Cave Scorpion’s muted grays and blood-red markings make it an ideal subterranean predator. It’s one of those minis that can fill multiple roles: swarm creature, assassin’s pet, or environmental hazard.

Game Ideas:

Toxic Terrain: The cave floor is crawling with these, forcing players to tread carefully or risk venomous stings.
Trained Guardian: Used by duergar, kobolds, or xulgaths as living traps.
Mutation Story Hook: The venom from these scorpions could be a rare alchemical reagent—or the cause of a spreading illness.

Xulgath Stone Liege

Easily the centerpiece of the set, the Stone Liege is an imposing evolution of the Xulgath—a hulking creature whose skin is studded with stony plates. It feels ancient, like it’s part of the cave itself. This mini looks every bit the boss monster or subterranean champion.

Game Ideas:

Dungeon Boss: A xulgath leader empowered by ancient earth magic. Give it tremor abilities, stone armor, or the power to reshape tunnels.
Earth-Touched Guardian: A once-noble protector cursed by elemental forces. The PCs must choose to defeat or redeem it.
Mythic Encounter: Perhaps the Stone Liege is no mortal at all, but a herald of the earth titan slumbering deep below.

🕯️ How to Use This Set in Any RPG

Whether you’re running Pathfinder, D&D 5E, Shadowdark, or any other fantasy RPG, Cave Lurkers is one of those rare sets that can slot into almost any dark, claustrophobic setting.

Dungeon Crawls: Populate random encounters without breaking immersion—each figure feels like it belongs underground.
Faction Storytelling: Between the xulgaths, orc, and monsters, you can build entire subterranean power struggles with just this set.
Terrain Synergy: Combine them with rock scatter terrain, crystal clusters, or dungeon tiles for instant visual storytelling.
Improv Sessions: Drop the minis on the table and let your players wonder what connects them—a fungal plague? A buried god? A lost war tribe?

💭 Final Thoughts

Thanks to WizKids for sending this set our way. Check out their store or their selection at your local gaming store. WizKids’ Pathfinder Battles: Cave Lurkers is a fantastic blend of monstrous, humanoid, and environmental figures—perfect for dungeon masters who love to build encounters from the ground up (literally). Every miniature tells a story, from the cunning Xulgath Skirmisher to the imposing Stone Liege, creating a self-contained ecosystem of danger and intrigue.

If your next campaign has even a hint of the subterranean—be it Underdark expeditions, fungal jungles, or orcish war tunnels—this set belongs on your shelf. It’s not just about what lurks in the dark…it’s about who’s waiting for you there.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!