D&D (2024) New D&D Edition's Player’s Handbook Cover Reveal

Game Informer has revealed the cover to the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

The cover features a gold dragon behind the old-school D&D characters Strongheart the paladin, Mercion the cleric, Elkhorn the dwarf fighter, and Molliver the thief. Ringlerun the wizard is absent (then again he got his showcase on one of the 1E AD&D Player's Handbooks), but a drow mage appears to have joined the party!

 

[LordEntrails]

I don't know.. I'm not a writer, and I'm at work.. But I feel like if you want to see something epic and inspiring you can. If you're only looking to be disappointed that's what you'll get as well.

Yea, but I wasn't looking to be disappointed. I was excited and hopeful to see what the cover would look like.

The party is squaring off against the Kobolds and Red Dragon while the cleric prepares a spell. And their Gold Dragon ally comes to aid them. That tells a story to me.

Ok, and that is a good story for the image. But I have at least 2 problems with it. Like others, the first several times I looked at the image I totally missed the red dragon. I thought he was some weird volcanic terrain or something. That's not good when it takes someone mentioning a red dragon in an online discussion before I see what should be a major focal point for the cover. Second, the gold/brass dragon should not, imo, be the hero of the story or the most prominent figure in the image. It's just one big DMPC and that is simple bad.

It is funny. D&D grognards seem to actively hate anything that is cool. When vampires are popular, grognards make sure it will never happen in D&D. Wizard culture. Forget it! If it is wildly popular and sure to make lots of money, grognards will kill it. Anime? Riots. Even Drizzt from D&D − was too cool for grognards to stomach.

Heh. Somehow D&D grognards go out of their way to be anticool. At any cost.

This is just... wow. What a sad view point to have towards such a large and diverse group of people. Perhaps we all could benefit if we accepted other for who they are without judgement, so that we all can be accepted for who we are without being judged.

 

[Birmy]

I need a wall poster of that Game Informer picture.

UltraPro has been in the habit of putting the 5e book covers art on a wide variety of merchandise (playmats, banners, character portfolios, card sleeves, and what-have-you), so you might want to keep an eye on them.

 

[Oofta]

It is funny. D&D grognards seem to actively hate anything that is cool. When vampires are popular, grognards make sure it will never happen in D&D. Wizard culture. Forget it! If it is wildly popular and sure to make lots of money, grognards will kill it. Anime? Riots. Even Drizzt from D&D − was too cool for grognards to stomach.

Heh. Somehow D&D grognards go out of their way to be anticool. At any cost.

Or ... people just like what they like and express their opinion. I'm not a big fan of vampires (or werewolves) as a power-up and an all wizard school is a bit limiting to me. But if it works for you, great!

Hmm ... then again assuming some other posters weren't just trolling ... the whole concept that the company is going out of their way to sell less by driving off buyers is just odd. Seriously? Do people really think that the old timers are the market segment any company really cares about? When they broke down the demographics and didn't even include an age category for anyone over 40(?) I would have thought it was fairly obvious.

Now get off my lawn!

 

[Yaarel]

Or ... people just like what they like and express their opinion. I'm not a big fan of vampires (or werewolves) as a power-up and an all wizard school is a bit limiting to me. But if it works for you, great!

Hmm ... then again assuming some other posters weren't just trolling ... the whole concept that the company is going out of their way to sell less by driving off buyers is just odd. Seriously? Do people really think that the old timers are the market segment any company really cares about? When they broke down the demographics and didn't even include an age category for anyone over 40(?) I would have thought it was fairly obvious.

Now get off my lawn!

I assume most D&D grognards do like vampires, and werewolves, and wizard worlds, and anime. Heh, they just dont like peas mixing with their mashed potatoes.


Regarding WotC. The designers themselves are grognards. The origins of 5e come from unprecedented massive survey to reach out to grognards. They have massive say in what 5e is today.

Now, they are also trying to reach out to other segments of the consumer base who find interest. It is a nice problem to have.

 

[Birmy]

Sure, just as I have gotten the last of the adult dragon miniatures...

LOL I admit I had a similar thought (and I bet the minisgallery.com regulars I see around here can relate). "Crap! And all I had left were the silver and blue!"

 

[Chaosmancer]

Thinking about the Iconics a bit more, I think DnD is actually in a position to do something kind of fun and interesting.

A few years ago I got the Sentinel Comics RPG book, and in the book there are quite a few depictions of "classic" heroes and villains from the original card game... and a bunch of new faces. And so, one of the first things people did was ask "who are these people" because the company has a habit of EVERYONE being SOMEONE. And most of them... didn't have names or seem to be important in anyway... because they were stand-ins for YOUR characters.

DnD is kind of in a position to do something similiar. The front cover has these 2e iconic characters with their own story, there is an interior art of the old cartoon kids, they have some of the heroes of the lance and classic wizards from the ages, drizz't and his companions... and then the group on the back of the book.

Unnamed, unknown. Who are those heroes? Well... YOU.

I actually would love to see art of various characters, from various eras and worlds and stories interspersed with new people. WE have a halfling wild magic sorcerer with a prosethetic arm, who is she? No clue! But maybe the equipment section is going to show Redgar, Krusk and Jozan shopping at a blacksmith's while Mialee can be seen with her tome outside.

I think it could be done in such a way that DnD isn't presenting "the iconic party" but instead that every party is iconic, to the point where, a player just starts assuming that every art is some person with an awesome backstory going on a grand adventure, because they all are.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I like that it puts the adventurers front and center, unlike the 5e PHB with its random giant taking up most of the cover.

But that's pretty much the only thing I like about it, the colors and composition are way too busy. And the artistic quality really isn't quite what I'd expect from the cover of the world's best selling RPG. It's not poorly drawn by any means, but I think WotC should have given the artist more time given how important this piece is.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I see this cover not so much as a Gold Dragon "helping the party" against a Red Dragon, but more "The party defends a wounded Gold Dragon against a Red Dragon who is trying to kill it". Look at the PCs! The Gold! They are not on the attack. They are defending.

 

[Reynard]

I think it is pretty clear that red just appeared and only the gold isn't surprised. Seems like some ancient wyrm decided to have some patsies on hand when trying to steal someone else's hoard.

 

[Kurotowa]

No no no. Obviously, this is two elder dragons playing Pokemon, pitting their champions against each other in a proxy contest. The gold wyrm's adventurers versus the red dragon's elite kobolds. The winning team's backer will claim victory, while the loser will have to cede the point of contention.

I kid, but only partly. The piece is very much open to interpretation, and could be slotted as anything from "high level PCs assaulting a high CR dragon in its lair with their own dragon as backup" to "low level PCs fight some kobolds while the two ancient dragons bicker and lay bets, dropping many hints for the campaign to come". That's the beauty of art.