D&D (2024) New Dungeon Master's Guide Cover Features Venger (From the D&D Cartoons)

The cover of the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide has been unveiled.... in the Mirror, a mainstream newspaper in the UK.

The cover art features villains (as opposed to the heroes on the Player's Handbook cover revealed last week), with skeletons in the foreground, the classic villains Skylla and Warduke in the mid ground, and then Venger from the 1980s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon looming in the background, and right at the back lurks a dracolich.

The DMG will be released November 12th, 2024.

 

[Stormonu]

Is this the final cover or the pre-production art? It looks smeared, blurry or unfinished for some reason.

I would have never guessed putting Venger on the cover, but just adds one more point to getting this to replace my old copy (+new index, Warduke, new reorganization, bastions, expanded pages and Greyhawk map).

 

[Osgood]

I like the cover. Like the PHB, it's a simple, centered composition that reminds me of earlier editions. I think reversing the colors on the spine is great, simple visual cue that its a variation of the same edition as the past decade.

I know Venger and Warduke, not sure about the third. While, they wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, I do like focusing on specific villains rather than more generic monsters or archetpyes, like wizard. Having the dragon in the background is a nice callback to the PHB cover. It makes me wonder if we will see yet another dragon in the back on the MM.

 

[darjr]

Interesting!

Cool!

I do wonder what this means. If anything.

 

[Eric V]

I like the cover. Like the PHB, it's a simple, centered composition that reminds me of earlier editions. I think reversing the colors on the spine is great, simple visual cue that its a variation of the same edition as the past decade.

I know Venger and Warduke, not sure about the third. While, they wouldn't necessarily be my first choice, I do like focusing on specific villains rather than more generic monsters or archetpyes, like wizard. Having the dragon in the background is a nice callback to the PHB cover. It makes me wonder if we will see yet another dragon in the back on the MM.

I was going to ask if anyone knew the third...

 

[DavyGreenwind]

Is this the final cover or the pre-production art? It looks smeared, blurry or unfinished for some reason.

I would have never guessed putting Venger on the cover, but just adds one more point to getting this to replace my old copy (+new index, Warduke, new reorganization, bastions, expanded pages and Greyhawk map).

I dug around the website, but that was the highest resolution I could squeeze from it.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I am slightly annoyed.

I did not want to buy in. My 5e stuff is still in service.

But…they keep making choices that tempt me. Taking away the nostalgia (which is there. Had the LJN toys and watched the cartoon!) this looks like a D&D encounter in our games.

Bad guy, evil minions, undead. I was only planning to get the DMG. Then the PHB was enticing…

Guess I will crack one open for inspection but the art is a winner for me.

 

[DavyGreenwind]

I was going to ask if anyone knew the third...

The website says it is Scylla, one of Warduke's friends

 

[Warpiglet-7]

The website says it is Scylla, one of Warduke's friends

There was an evil female spellcaster back in the day. They did not make a 3 1/4 inch figure like kelek but weirdly, they included a small plastic miniature of her.

Not sure if anyone remembers those—-but they we like painted plastic army men. Strongheart et al were included as was she.

But she never made it to the big figures…

Aha!

Skylla, Evil Magic User

The Other Side Blog is a game design blog from Timothy S. Brannan

theotherside.timsbrannan.com

 

[el-remmen]

Maybe a clearer image of it will change my mind, but I don't like the composition at all.

Then again, the art matters almost nothing to me in terms of getting a game book should I decide I want it.

 

[MockingBird]

I like it. I like the PHB cover more though. I really like the spine and the color reverse.