Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes Showing Up In The Wild -- See These Preview Shots!

That tweet seems to have disappeared quickly - I can't find it on his account, unless I'm missing something. And it's not surprising if it has been removed as it's a month before even the FLGS release date!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Are people taking the other characters "seriously" now...?

The Halfling art isn't the standout in the PHB (I like the Guild Artisan image, and the raccous musician piece), but it isn't any more or less "cartoon character" than the Elves or Dragonborn, say.

It’s vastly more cartoonish than either. Neither elf image, nor the DB image, is cartoonish at all. At the closest. They just look like fantasy art.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, now you have.

The best D&D halflings are, of course, Dark Sun halflings. They live in the jungle and are likely to eat you if you trespass on their territory (contrary to popular belief, they are not​ cannibals - they never eat other halflings). The second-best halflings are Eberron halflings. They are plains nomads who ride on dinosaurs. After that, it's the regular semi-nomadic/river-rat 3e/4e halflings - they're OK, but nothing special.

Old-school/Tolkien halflings? Meh. They're boring. They should stay in Middle-Earth where they belong.

But this is on a forum: I've never met anybody in the flesh who objected to the style.

 

[Parmandur]

It’s vastly more cartoonish than either. Neither elf image, nor the DB image, is cartoonish at all. At the closest. They just look like fantasy art.

Okay; I don't see much, if any difference.

 

[Jester David]

4 year old children aren't fully grown though. How huge are the heads of 4 year old halflings? Do they have special pillows to keep from breaking their necks?

Or their heads grow more than humans.

The art direction is terrible and should feel bad. Though we do get to tease my wife about her gross halfling rogue abomination, so I guess there is that.

Better than the weird miniature humans where you can’t tell a halfling standing beside human barbarian furniture from a human standing beside ogre furniture.
That’s smart art direction, as it learned from experience of 3e and 4e where they kept having to add details to ensure people knew what they were looking at.

That is cartoonish. An adult with the proportions of a 4 year old is cartoonish.

The idea that a race with the agility and coordination represented by +2 Dexterity has the proportions of a 4 year old human is just absurd.

No more cartoonish than a human with horns and a tail. Or giant pointed ears. Or a dragon head.

When my son was 4 he could be pretty sneaky. Coordination is more about learning your body than proportion.
And at least with human sized heads it makes sense that they can be intelligent rather than having 1/4 of the brain mass.

 

[Parmandur]

That is cartoonish. An adult with the proportions of a 4 year old is cartoonish.

The idea that a race with the agility and coordination represented by +2 Dexterity has the proportions of a 4 year old human is just absurd.

My toddler is taller than any Halfling: somebody that short with precise normal human proportions would be way stranger to me.

 

[darjr]

Several podcasters have the book to record the Podcasts of Foes!

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?634025-Podcasts-of-Foes&p=7400180#post7400180

 

[Zarithar]

The halflings in 5e are actually a return of sorts to their 1e and 2e forms (Hobbits). The only thing missing is the hairy feet. As for the book... well count me as one old grognard who can't wait!

One more point I need to bring up: I've been playing D&D since 1979, and I will say quite honestly that:

1. This is my favorite edition of the game. Period.
2. I love what is happening to D&D overall right now.
3. There has never been a better time to be a D&D or RPG player in general.
4. I've never had an easier time finding groups, players, and just folks interested in talking about the game.
5. Not all of us older players are "get off my lawn" types. I embrace change and welcome a new generation of players to keep D&D going strong hopefully far into the future.

 

[dave2008]

The art direction is terrible and should feel bad. Though we do get to tease my wife about her gross halfling rogue abomination, so I guess there is that.

It is not really my cup-of-tea either, but I wouldn't call it terrible. As mentioned by other's there is precedent. Also, despite not really caring for the proportions of the halflings, i think that art itself is some of my favorite (the picture in the FG preview). I really love that particular artist style and wish he/she did more art for 5e.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Talk about passive-aggressive...

I'd like to, but I can't. Just don't make fun of my nap time, ok?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Tieflings and Dragonborn aren’t cartoonish. “Not real”/=cartoonish.

also, modern science has pretty much abandoned the notion that brain size, or even brain size relative to body size, determines intelligence.