New Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide Art and Details Revealed

The marketing cycle for the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is underway. Wizards of the Coast has released the first video and accompanying article previewing the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Wizards has already told fans what's actually in the new 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, so there's not much in terms of actual new details. The video/article revealed that the Bastion system got another look from designers after its initial Unearthed Arcana playtest, that there will be a DM's Toolkit for everything from "alignment to traps," now arranged in alphabetical order, and that there will be 400 "new and improved" magic items.

The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide will also be the home of rules for crafting magic items and a new Greyhawk campaign setting guide, with a focus on showcasing how Greyhawk can be customized or be used as a model for homemade campaign settings. Finally, the Dungeon Master's Guide will contain a lore glossary and a full chapter about D&D cosmology, the latter of which helps to drive home the idea of the D&D multiverse.


While much of this information was already known, the video and article did show off a LOT of new art, some of which can be found below:

 

[Dire Bare]

They really are leaning heavy into the cartoon. Too bad for them that I have zero nostalgia for it--the only episode I've ever seen is this brilliant reworking:

To bad for THEM that YOU aren't nostalgic for the cartoon?

Eh, I think WotC will manage.

For folks who are nostalgic . . . cool, we get some neato callbacks to our childhood. For those who are not nostalgic . . . cool, you get some neato art of fantasy characters that are new to you. Fail to see the problem here.

 

[jayoungr]

To bad for THEM that YOU aren't nostalgic for the cartoon?

Eh, I think WotC will manage.

In case you couldn't tell, I was being tongue in cheek.

It does make me feel kind of left out of the lovefest, but that's my problem.

 

[Greg Benage]

I think all of the artists we've seen are very talented. I can't say I'm a fan of the art direction, overall.

 

[Distracted DM]

None of these are supposed to be AI because of WoTC's policy.

These days, the majority of art is created using computers, a graphic tablet and an electronic pen. It's all artificial but human-made. AHM Art.

Yeah WotC really has made their stance clear on AI art after a few missteps in the past. I ?think? most people know that most of the art that they see nowadays is created on a computer/tablet/etc, but there's a big gulf (IMO) between that and AI-generated art.

Anyone who thinks any of this looks like AI art does not understand how AI art works or looks.

I understand how AI art looks, and when someone said that the nighttime city/docks piece of art looked AI-ish I could see why they'd say it- I said it earlier, but that "look" has been conflated with AI-generated art. When you examine that piece it's clear that it's not AI-generated! But it seems closed-minded to say that someone that knows what AI art looks like couldn't possibly make that mistake at a glance.

I keep telling everyone to look for signs of brush strokes, that's currently how you tell if it's done by a person or not.

I'm pretty naiive in the actual creation of digital art- I know that stuff like procreate uses "brushes" of all sorts, but do you still see brush strokes with digitally-created art? I don't know if I know what to look for in that case, that's pretty interesting.

 

[Parmandur]

I understand how AI art looks, and when someone said that the nighttime city/docks piece of art looked AI-ish I could see why they'd say it- I said it earlier, but that "look" has been conflated with AI-generated art. When you examine that piece it's clear that it's not AI-generated! But it seems closed-minded to say that someone that knows what AI art looks like couldn't possibly make that mistake at a glance.

I saw the piece. Ignorance of AI art is the most charitable interpretation of such a statement.

 

[Lidgar]

I think all of the artists we've seen are very talented. I can't say I'm a fan of the art direction, overall.

This. The art itself is mostly really, really good. It's some of the depictions and themes that I have issue with. I don't mind some whimsy, but so far the art has been more about the whimsy, less about adventuring in dangerous places battling evil monsters. At least the PHB weighs heavily this way, we haven't seen all the art in the DMG yet. Maybe I'll be surprised (or they are saving it for the MM).

 

[Stormonu]

I like that Ringlerun picture, it looks like he's just activated the mayhem that's about to begin in this picture...

<EDIT> Or is that Par-Salian, from Dragonlance ... his tabard's gold, not red like Ringlerun's above.

 

[UVAtom]

Another piece of art

View attachment 381436

Something about this guy’s haircut just bothers me. I have a feeling that in 30 years someone will look back at this haircut the way I look at older depictions of Kitiara, or the one where Tina Turner plays Lolth.

 

[sevenbastard]

I don't mind some whimsy, but so far the art has been more about the whimsy, less about adventuring in dangerous places battling evil monsters.

Agreed. To many people are smiling and having fun in the PHB. Players have fun, charachter suffer and die. Give me some grim determination and anguish.

 

[Kannik]

The piece with the dragon looks like it was paint by numbers. This is going to be one ugly book

I have continually been playing (A)D&D since 1988. I remember the art, from B&W to colour, from the detailed to the off-proportioned. I still have all the full-colour dividers from the Monsterous Compendiums, I have the Elmore trading cards, I have a giant poster of Parkinson's red dragon, I bought the AD&D calendars for 12 months of D&D art on my wall.

And I find the new art just fine. I like that piece with the dragon; it's a neat and evocative illustrative style that makes me wonder about that world. Not all the pieces are to my tastes -- I wouldn't expect them to be! Nor would I want them to be, for I know there'll be pieces that others enjoy more and that's great to bring in more people! Nor were all of the old arts to my tastes either, and many of them as noted above I thought were not drawn all that well either.

This is not "an ugly book". The art is not childish nor paint by numbers. It contains pieces done in a number of styles that likely fit the current artistic zeitgeist of tastes. It's great this is a game that has the budget to be so chock full of art.

(And if you say "that's just your opinion man...", EXACTLY.)