Art & Arcana is out today in both Standard ($50 MSRP) and Special ($150) Editions. Is the Special Edition worth the additional $100? Let’s find out!
The first thing you’ll notice about this Special Edition is Hydro74’s (Joshua Smith) gold leaf cover on a black slipcase. Smith is the go-to artist for Wizard of the Coast’s special editions and it’s drawn in his distinctive style. You might know his art from Special Edition of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and the upcoming Special Edition Core Rulebooks Gift Set. In addition to the new cover, this Special Edition boasts a clamshell plastic folder that slots neatly into the slipcase. Buried within are 10 re-creations of classic Dungeons & Dragons artwork ready for framing, as well as a pamphlet-sized, unpublished original version of Tomb of Horrors.
We’ve already reviewed the Standard Edition of Art & Arcana, so we’ll focus in this review on the additional material. There are three kinds of posters: the largest multi-fold posters (two), bi-fold posters (four), and single-page posters (four). Since Art & Arcana is as much a history book as an art book, I’ll go through them in the chronological order they were published.
Let’s start with two pieces by Dave Trampier, a foldout of the cover painting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook (1978) and the follow-up exterior painting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragon Dungeon Master’s Screen (1979). The latter is a multi-page foldout poster and the second largest of the collection. Looking at these posters in this fashion addresses a missed opportunity from the Standard Edition. It’s clear artist Trampier was telling a story through his art of how D&D was played, but only by viewing these two pieces side-by-side does the full story become apparent. In short, our stalwart adventurers killed some lizardmen and stole the gemstones of an idol to their deity…only to have the lizardmen enact revenge in the form of a fire-breathing dragon!
There are two posters covering the debut of AD&D: the cover of The Keep on the Borderlands (1980) by Jim Roslof on a single page; and a gorgeous foldout of the cover painting of the Fiend Folio featuring the githyanki (1981) by Emmanuel. Both of these pieces of art exhibit the cartoony, “weird” art style that dominated early D&D and exemplified by artists like Erol Otus.
Unfortunately, we don’t get samples of Otus’ iconic work; instead, we have a cover painting from the boxed set of World of Greyhawk (1983) by Jeff Easley. This is a single page mini-poster and while it’s impressive in its own right, the subject isn’t all that exciting (it’s a knight on a horse).
The cover painting for Swords of Deceit (1986) by Keith Parkinson is evidence of how D&D’s art shifted from a comic book-style to stunning imagery that could grace the cover of any fantasy novel. The painting depicts skeleton kings arising from their tomb as described in the Lankhmar adventure, “The Curse of Valinor.” It is unfortunately relegated to a small, a single page mini-poster.
The interior Painting from the Second Edition Player’s Handbook (1989) by Larry Elmore does an excellent job of capturing a triumphant party who killed a dragon. It’s a small green dragon, but the pride in the low-level party’s eyes tells its own story. This is also a single page mini-poster, but the detail Elmore put into it rewards attentive viewers.
You can see D&D begin to morph into a more action style, with the iconics present in Forge of Fury (2000) by Todd Lockwood as they engage in brutal combat with a black dragon. There’s a real “you are there” feel to the art and plenty of action. That would presage Dungeon & Dragon’s 30th Anniversary (2004), a foldout of the promotional painting by Lockwood. Although Fourth Edition hadn’t been released yet, this style of over-the-top action would come to define it. The painting pays tribute to all the editions that went before, with iconics, beholders, and even a guy trying to steal the gemstone from that idol from the AD&D PHB. It’s sadly just a foldout poster.
Most puzzling of all is the decision to make the largest foldout poster an interior painting from Storm King’s Thunder (2016) by Chris Rahn. It shows a graphic depiction of a decapitated giant. It’s gross – my son and daughter don’t even want to look at it – and while Rahn does an excellent job, this is not something I would want to frame. I would have reserved that space for the 30th Anniversary painting, the githyanki art, or the “revenge story” spread of the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Screen.
The Tomb of Horrors Original 1975 Tournament Module is a treat for completists who want to witness what early D&D was all about. It contains 12 typed pages of text detailing the Tomb, 15 pregenerated characters, and 24 pieces of art by Tracy Lesch. Acererak – the lich gracing the cover of the Fifth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide – is simply “lich” here. There’s also references to Mystic and Divine classes that were subsumed into the psionics system. The adventure was noteworthy as much for its mass murder of adventurers as it was for its art, and you can see the original incarnations in all their gritty glory.
For those familiar with the published adventure, the game’s roots go even back further to Alan Lucien, who submitted five pages of Ra-Hotep’s tomb, a more Egyptian-themed version that co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons Gary Gygax would modify for tournament play. With tournament play top of mind these days thanks to RPGSports, it’s worth noting that players were excepted to complete the dungeon (or at least, get as far as they could) at the first Origins convention in just two hours!
Your interest in this Special Edition is likely determined by your interest in art vs. history. For fans of art, the additional posters are fun, but there are more misses than hits. For fans of history, the proto-versions of Tomb of Horrors are a goldmine. Fortunately, the cost difference between the two versions isn’t quite as bad as the MSRP makes out: the Special Edition is available now for nearly 50% off at $76.27 from Amazon.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
The first thing you’ll notice about this Special Edition is Hydro74’s (Joshua Smith) gold leaf cover on a black slipcase. Smith is the go-to artist for Wizard of the Coast’s special editions and it’s drawn in his distinctive style. You might know his art from Special Edition of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything and the upcoming Special Edition Core Rulebooks Gift Set. In addition to the new cover, this Special Edition boasts a clamshell plastic folder that slots neatly into the slipcase. Buried within are 10 re-creations of classic Dungeons & Dragons artwork ready for framing, as well as a pamphlet-sized, unpublished original version of Tomb of Horrors.
We’ve already reviewed the Standard Edition of Art & Arcana, so we’ll focus in this review on the additional material. There are three kinds of posters: the largest multi-fold posters (two), bi-fold posters (four), and single-page posters (four). Since Art & Arcana is as much a history book as an art book, I’ll go through them in the chronological order they were published.
Let’s start with two pieces by Dave Trampier, a foldout of the cover painting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook (1978) and the follow-up exterior painting for the Advanced Dungeons & Dragon Dungeon Master’s Screen (1979). The latter is a multi-page foldout poster and the second largest of the collection. Looking at these posters in this fashion addresses a missed opportunity from the Standard Edition. It’s clear artist Trampier was telling a story through his art of how D&D was played, but only by viewing these two pieces side-by-side does the full story become apparent. In short, our stalwart adventurers killed some lizardmen and stole the gemstones of an idol to their deity…only to have the lizardmen enact revenge in the form of a fire-breathing dragon!
There are two posters covering the debut of AD&D: the cover of The Keep on the Borderlands (1980) by Jim Roslof on a single page; and a gorgeous foldout of the cover painting of the Fiend Folio featuring the githyanki (1981) by Emmanuel. Both of these pieces of art exhibit the cartoony, “weird” art style that dominated early D&D and exemplified by artists like Erol Otus.
Unfortunately, we don’t get samples of Otus’ iconic work; instead, we have a cover painting from the boxed set of World of Greyhawk (1983) by Jeff Easley. This is a single page mini-poster and while it’s impressive in its own right, the subject isn’t all that exciting (it’s a knight on a horse).
The cover painting for Swords of Deceit (1986) by Keith Parkinson is evidence of how D&D’s art shifted from a comic book-style to stunning imagery that could grace the cover of any fantasy novel. The painting depicts skeleton kings arising from their tomb as described in the Lankhmar adventure, “The Curse of Valinor.” It is unfortunately relegated to a small, a single page mini-poster.
The interior Painting from the Second Edition Player’s Handbook (1989) by Larry Elmore does an excellent job of capturing a triumphant party who killed a dragon. It’s a small green dragon, but the pride in the low-level party’s eyes tells its own story. This is also a single page mini-poster, but the detail Elmore put into it rewards attentive viewers.
You can see D&D begin to morph into a more action style, with the iconics present in Forge of Fury (2000) by Todd Lockwood as they engage in brutal combat with a black dragon. There’s a real “you are there” feel to the art and plenty of action. That would presage Dungeon & Dragon’s 30th Anniversary (2004), a foldout of the promotional painting by Lockwood. Although Fourth Edition hadn’t been released yet, this style of over-the-top action would come to define it. The painting pays tribute to all the editions that went before, with iconics, beholders, and even a guy trying to steal the gemstone from that idol from the AD&D PHB. It’s sadly just a foldout poster.
Most puzzling of all is the decision to make the largest foldout poster an interior painting from Storm King’s Thunder (2016) by Chris Rahn. It shows a graphic depiction of a decapitated giant. It’s gross – my son and daughter don’t even want to look at it – and while Rahn does an excellent job, this is not something I would want to frame. I would have reserved that space for the 30th Anniversary painting, the githyanki art, or the “revenge story” spread of the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Screen.
The Tomb of Horrors Original 1975 Tournament Module is a treat for completists who want to witness what early D&D was all about. It contains 12 typed pages of text detailing the Tomb, 15 pregenerated characters, and 24 pieces of art by Tracy Lesch. Acererak – the lich gracing the cover of the Fifth Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide – is simply “lich” here. There’s also references to Mystic and Divine classes that were subsumed into the psionics system. The adventure was noteworthy as much for its mass murder of adventurers as it was for its art, and you can see the original incarnations in all their gritty glory.
For those familiar with the published adventure, the game’s roots go even back further to Alan Lucien, who submitted five pages of Ra-Hotep’s tomb, a more Egyptian-themed version that co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons Gary Gygax would modify for tournament play. With tournament play top of mind these days thanks to RPGSports, it’s worth noting that players were excepted to complete the dungeon (or at least, get as far as they could) at the first Origins convention in just two hours!
Your interest in this Special Edition is likely determined by your interest in art vs. history. For fans of art, the additional posters are fun, but there are more misses than hits. For fans of history, the proto-versions of Tomb of Horrors are a goldmine. Fortunately, the cost difference between the two versions isn’t quite as bad as the MSRP makes out: the Special Edition is available now for nearly 50% off at $76.27 from Amazon.
Mike "Talien" Tresca is a freelance game columnist, author, communicator, and a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://amazon.com. You can follow him at Patreon.
