D&D General D&D Red Box: Who Is The Warrior?

The Dungeons & Dragons Red Box, famously illustrated by Larry Elmore in 1983, featured cover art of a warrior fighting a red dragon. The piece is an iconic part of D&D's history.

WizKids is creating a 50th Anniversary D&D miniatures set for the D&D Icons of the Realms line which includes models based on classic art from the game, such as the AD&D Player's Handbook's famous 'A Paladin In Hell' piece by David Sutherland in 1978, along with various monsters and other iconic images. The set will be available in July 2024.

Amongst the collection is Elmore's dragon-fighting warrior. This character has only ever been seen from behind, and has never been named or identified. However, WizKids’ miniature gives us our first look at them from the front. The warrior is a woman; the view from behind is identical to the original art, while the view from the front--the first time the character's face has ever been seen--is, as WizKids told ComicBook.com, "purposefully and clearly" a woman. This will be one of 10 secret rare miniatures included in the D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary booster boxes.

The original artist, Larry Elmore, says otherwise. (Update—the linked post has since been edited).

It's a man!

Gary didn't know what he wanted, all he wanted was something simple that would jump out at you. He wanted a male warrior. If it was a woman, you would know it for I'm pretty famous for painting women.

There was never a question in all these years about the male warrior.

No one thought it was a female warrior. "Whoever thought it was a female warrior is quite crazy and do not know what they are talking about."

This is stupid. I painted it, I should know.

- Larry Elmore​

Whether or not Elmore's intent was for the character to be a man, it seems that officially she's a woman. Either way, it's an awesome miniature. And for those who love the art, you can buy a print from Larry Elmore's official website.

 

[Konrad13]

As has been pointed out, the "iconic female" characters from the era are designed for the horny adolescent hetero boy audience. (Where did all of the hair product come from in Karameikos?)

This warrior is a different sort of character, a closer analogue to Brienne of Tarth, a character type absolutely not present in TSR D&D art, but a type that definitely has an audience in 2024. (Brienne, in fact, is probably one of the most popular characters in Game of Thrones/ASoI&F.)

I never watched GoT so I will take your word for that. And I never felt that Aleena was designed for "that demographic." Her art is tame and lacking a lot of the more "iconic 80s sexy warrior lady" aesthetic (chainmail bikinis for instance, a look I could never fathom myself). And she is really iconic, having inspired me to make clerics named Aleena (or Alan when I rolled them as male/male identifying) several times even.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Where did all of the hair product come from in Karameikos?

Likely from one of the great merchant houses of Darokin or a variation on the Grease spell.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Likely from one of the great merchant houses of Darokin or a variation on the Grease spell.

“It’s Flumph Organics. Use the shampoo and the conditioner, and when the hair is damp — it’s not wet, OK? When it’s damp — do four puffs of the Drizzt Do'Urden spray.”

 

[Jahydin]

As has been pointed out, the "iconic female" characters from the era are designed for the horny adolescent hetero boy audience. (Where did all of the hair product come from in Karameikos?)

I see this line of thinking popup all the time (as if it's even a bad thing), but disagree that it was designed for horny adolescent hetero boys anymore than the scantily clad, muscle dudes were designed for horny adolescent non-hetero boys.

I just think at one time we were all in agreement that we all liked beautiful people in general. To be clear, I still think we all do, but for reasons that are beyond me it is now polite to pretend that we don't.

I think a much healthier take is beauty is just one of many desirable traits and by far not even close to the most important. Paizo does an amazing job of getting this across with their characters I think.

 

[TheGlen]

I see this line of thinking popup all the time (as if it's even a bad thing), but disagree that it was designed for horny adolescent hetero boys anymore than the scantily clad, muscle dudes were designed for horny adolescent non-hetero boys.

I just think at one time we were all in agreement that we all liked beautiful people in general. To be clear, I still think we all do, but for reasons that are beyond me it is now polite to pretend that we don't.

I think a much healthier take is beauty is just one of many desirable traits and by far not even close to the most important. Paizo does an amazing job of getting this across with their characters I think.

The art is very much product of its time. Conan the barbarian had not too long ago hit the screen. Boris and Frank had given us some of the most iconic fantasy art ever. Burly barbarian men were all the rage. It's not the only time TSR modeled their release after what was popular. Kung Fu movies were hitting their stride so we got Oriental adventures. Larry drew his men to look like Arnold. His women tended to look like Sahndal Bergman. Only shorter

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just think at one time we were all in agreement that we all liked beautiful people in general. To be clear, I still think we all do, but for reasons that are beyond me it is now polite to pretend that we don't.

The second sentence should suggest to you that the reasoning in the first sentence is flawed.

TSR D&D art was 100% built around the male gaze. That doesn't mean viewers were supposed to be drooling over Aleena necessarily, but she's created to be imaginary girlfriend material for male hetero viewers -- not surprising, since that's who most of TSR's decision makers were, and how 1980s pop culture was generally constructed, plus or minus a Rocky Horror Picture Show showing at midnight at the local cineplex. (RHPS, of course, also features a scantily clad Susan Sarandon at arguably the height of her hotness, so even there ...)

Brienne, and now WizKids' warrior, have other stuff they're worried about. If you want to date them, you'll need to let them clean off all the dragon blood first. There are plenty of people who find burly warrior women super sexy -- including hetero dudes -- but it's not necessarily the same people who found Aleena attractive. The "we" in your argument has expanded to include other points of view not catered to by the traditional male gaze.

 

[Hussar]

For me the most surprising thing is that in all the years of seeing that picture…

I never noticed the dragon only had one horn.

 

[Jahydin]

@Whizbang Dustyboots
Agreed with what you wrote, just not the way it's presented.

"Built around the male gaze" sounds much more nefarious than just "created what came naturally". The former sounding like a conscious decision to be exclusionary in my mind.

Which is why I'm not thrilled about this miniature, because it is a conscious decision to be exclusionary pretending to be "progressive". A trend I'm seeing more and more in WotC products and public announcements.

We can be representative of others without it being at another's expense.

 

[occam]

@Whizbang Dustyboots
Agreed with what you wrote, just not the way it's presented.

"Built around the male gaze" sounds much more nefarious than just "created what came naturally". The former sounding like a conscious decision to be exclusionary in my mind.

Which is why I'm not thrilled about this miniature, because it is a conscious decision to be exclusionary pretending to be "progressive". A trend I'm seeing more and more in WotC products and public announcements.

We can be representative of others without it being at another's expense.

It's not at anyone's expense. If you want a miniature of a sexy slender lady in a dress with a slit up to her waist, or in a chainmail halter top, WizKids and others have produced metric ***loads of them for you to buy. A burly barbarian woman is harder to find as a miniature, so this helps expand the options.

If you view greater diversity of representation as "exclusionary"... perhaps you should consider some other perspectives.

 

[Queer Venger]

All art is interpretive. It's one of its defining traits. And I can even see how the figure in question might be interpreted as a woman. But given the nature of the product this change strikes me as a deliberate attempt to revise history, especially if the ones responsible start claiming it's always been so in some official capacity. And it isn't the folks critical of this change who are doubling down on wishing organ failure on others, dismissing women weighing in on how they're represented, or claiming gender is defined by what's between your legs.


Not sure why you'd prioritize the claims of a corporation over the original artist, but OK.


One can only wonder why #WizKids enables this sort of thing.


Because somethingsomething male gaze somethingsomething.


Still boggles me that anyone gives those institutions that power, especially in a hobby like this.


Art is also iconic, the image in question is an icon, and the sculpt in question is from a set called 'icons of the realms'.


And we still do, given how #WizKids felt the only thing they needed to do to 'purposefully and clearly' present the character as a woman was to add boobs. But please do tell how we're supposed to convey the concept of feminine/masculine without a shared cultural lexicon.


Are we still allowed to?


Indeed.


Agreed.


Which had nothing to do with Starbuck's gender.


So what can we glean from this sculpt given the artist and time in which it was made?

we are using different definitions for icon, you the artistic, I the religious