D&D 5E (2014) MM Kraken Art Preivew

[MonsterEnvy]

This Kraken also has the advantage of being usable outside of the water.

 

[Christopher Burdett]

As a side note, I will be posting my work on the Fire Snake tomorrow (Friday 9-12) and on Monday (9-15) I will be posting my work on the Salamander... for those interested in such things

I redesigned both and illustrated them for the MM. The rest of my monster redesign work that I did for 5th Edition will be going up in about two weeks.

 

[SkidAce]

I like it...cool monster.

Not sure I will use it as "a" kraken, as I actually like the octopus style.

Maybe use it as "The Kraken", sort of like the Birthright monster, or other unique being.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

As a side note, I will be posting my work on the Fire Snake tomorrow (Friday 9-12) and on Monday (9-15) I will be posting my work on the Salamander... for those interested in such things

I redesigned both and illustrated them for the MM. The rest of my monster redesign work that I did for 5th Edition will be going up in about two weeks.

Cool cool. I want all of the 5e HQ art. It may be coming little by little but I am getting it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Eh. Not up my ally (I prefer a more enigmatic, brooding, squidlike evil), but glad folks are digging it. It definitely gives the impression of massive size and bulk.

 

[1of3]

Very strange. Maybe because Krake means squid in my language.

 

[MarkB]

It may be just me, but somehow, the head design and facial expression combine to make the Kraken look... cute.

 

[GX.Sigma]

I like the basic design: I'm assuming the kraken mostly uses tentacles, while the rest of its body is underwater. So, someone witnessing a kraken attack would assume it's just a giant squid. That's kinda cool. And I'm sure there's a good reason why they decided to make the other half a dragonturtle.

But, the front half looks a little off. The mouth is silly (and very inefficient when you think about it). It's weird that the turtle shell doesn't cover the whole turtle part.

 

[Lancelot]

My initial response was surprise, which usually isn't good. I didn't immediately associate the picture with a kraken. Maybe a wastrilith demon, or something similar. A kraken for me has always been a giant squid.

Having said that, I'm growing to like the new depiction. A lot. There are several clear improvements for me...

Firstly, this thing looks intelligent. Previous kraken descriptions could have had squid (i.e. animal) intelligence, for all I knew, which didn't mesh well with the kraken having super-genius level intellect. This thing, on the other hand, has a face that looks smart and actively malevolent.

Secondly, the new kraken looks amphibious. It looks like it could move about on land; maybe a little less well than it could swim, but still. This is a terror that can crawl up out of the sea and go on a rampage. That's very cool.

Thirdly, it's not a squid any more. And the more I think about that, the more I like it. D&D is a game about the fantastic and the mythical. This thing looks a lot more like a mythical beast; a titan out-of-time; an abomination that even the gods might fear.

So, cool. It challenged my expectations, and I'm willing to admit that the new depiction is (at least for me) an improvement. Nice work.

 

[Scorpio616]

I think it looks cool enough if they want to try a new look for the kraken. Not like it will be hard for the DM to describe it the old way if that's preferred.


Also since chopping off a Kraken's tentacles is kinda tradition, it is probably for the best that the monster still looks to be a credible threat when all the tentacles are severed.

Though I kinda wish it looked more like an aboleth or maybe something like this...