Background:
There are a lot of general rules that apply specifically to 'figures'. These include being affected by attacks, blocking movement except by friends, blocking LOS and probably more.
Monsters, Lts, Avatars and heroes are all specifically referred to (or infered as) figures, whether they use a plastic of metal figure or just a token on the board. Villagers have been described as figures, as well as tokens. But monkeys? The hero figure is replaced by a monkey token, so it seems to not be a figure anymore - on the other hand it is still referred to as a hero, and therefore arguably is a figure still. And if it is not a figure then it is not officially affected by attacks*.
So what actually makes a figure be a figure?
Having wounds? - there are quests and dungeon levels which include props with wounds that are clearly not figures.
Being able to move? - familiars can move, and are probably not supposed to be figures - they certainly share very few rules with figures.
Having wounds and moving? - possibly...
Having an independent activation? - very possibly. This covers monsters, heroes, Lts, Avatars, monkeys, and villagers so far.
We do need to get clarity for monkeys, but other situations may come up, so it i better to have a general rule that can be applied if it is possible.
* that is a second problem - perhaps attacks should affect "anything with wounds" rather than just figures - special rules aside of course, such as ships in SoB not being affected by normal attacks. Certainly if a monkey is declared to not be a figure then this rule also needs addressing, or else monkeys cannot be affected by attacks!
Question:
Q. Are Monkeys Figures? What defines a figure?
A1. Yes.
Anything which can move and has wounds counts as a figure.
A2
. Yes. Anything which has an independent activation counts as a figure.
A3. No. Only monsters, heroes and villagers are figures up to Sea of Blood. Advanced Campaign Avatars and Lieutenants are monsters, so are also figures.
A4. something else
Possible Q2, if Monkeys are not figures
Q. What can attacks affect?
A1. Attacks can affect anything which has wounds whether it is a figure, a token, a prop or anything else.