D&D 5E Meet Ravenloft's Harkon Lucas and Rudolph Van Richten

imagineGod · May 12, 2021

Everyone arguing yo defend the tit l artist mess of D&D 5th Edition art fails yo offer any logical reason that our D&D 5e core book absolutely refused to showcase a hero in jeans and baseball cap. Remember that jeans are just trousers and a baseball cap just a hat, both common items. Someone here even suggested the Wizard's spellbook is like a computer tablet, then why do we never see art in the core book or even extras like Xanthar's Guide to Everything? Why have a crystal ball in the art but no portable computer in the art? After all there is magic in D&D.

Remember some people argue that fantasy is fantasy and does not rule out anything. So a computer device easily fits such a definition. Yet for some strange incoherent reason even simple things like baseball caps are still missing in 5e core book art.

I would not ask for that in Legend of the Five Rings art because the art direction is obvious as one not to embrace computers.

But people here are implying that D&D stands for anything goes in art direction.

imagineGod · May 12, 2021

Faolyn said:
No, because D&D is "medieval-ish fantasy," not "modern-ish fantasy."

And they do have motorcycles. Ish.

View attachment 136800

The problem is, people expect D&D to have real-world aesthetic when it, in fact, has D&D aesthetic.

Okay thanks for playing slog. Thoughr that does not look like finished art. From which official D&D 5e book did you get that? Because any internet artist can draw anything and claim it is D&D.

Hence my argument to see more jeans, bicycles, mobile phones in D&D 5e core books since there seems to be no defined aesthetic that represents D&D.

Voadam · May 12, 2021

Faolyn said:
That's because it's all in color. Traditional RL art is black-and-white

Faolyn · May 12, 2021

imagineGod said:
Everyone arguing yo defend the tit l artist mess of D&D 5th Edition art fails yo offer any logical reason that our D&D 5e core book absolutely refused to showcase a hero in jeans and baseball cap.

I already did: D&D doesn't bill itself as modern fantasy. Denim is a relatively modern fabric. Baseball caps are also relatively modern. D&D chooses to stick mostly with Iron Age to Enlightenment-style clothing, materials, modes of transport. Don't know why you chose to ignore that.

D&D does have a consistent aesthetic: fantasy rule of cool. Neither denim nor baseball caps fit that. But if you want someone in your setting to have invented either of them, go ahead.

imagineGod said:
Okay thanks for playing slog. Thoughr that does not look like finished art. From which official D&D 5e book did you get that? Because any internet artist can draw anything and claim it is D&D.

Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus. I realize it's a bit hard to look up, since there's apparently an actual D&D Motorcycles out there, but did you even try? I mean, BGDiA was billed as Dante's Inferno meets Mad Max.

Faolyn · May 12, 2021

@Voadam, those are covers. Interior art for Ravenloft was always B&W, with red spot color.

Remathilis · May 12, 2021

Meh, I say we go back to AD&D 2e PHB art:

Doesn't that make you want to go adventure! A bunch of white male humans* dressed in period-appropriate garb!

(EDIT I stand corrected, the illuisonist is, infact, a gnome).

Dire Bare · May 12, 2021

Estlor said:
I find it refreshing that this thread turned into an argument over clothing in fantasy RPGs and not an angry tirade over the lazy race-swap they did on Harkon himself. At least with the gender-swapped Darklords they appear to have massaged their backstory enough to make them unique takes on the trope. Since they went through the trouble there, if they were looking to add a Darklord of color, I would have preferred they went a bit farther to make an actual, new character to replace Harkon. Oh well.

That said, his new race plus his attire plus him being a "loup garou" and not a wolfwere is giving me strong Creole vibes for this domain.

The ethnicity change for Harkon doesn't bother me in the slightest. Hard to call it lazy, when we haven't seen the full treatment in the book. Remember, changes that you don't personally care for are not the same thing as "lazy".

imagineGod · May 12, 2021

Faolyn said:
I already did: D&D doesn't bill itself as modern fantasy. Denim is a relatively modern fabric. Baseball caps are also relatively modern. D&D chooses to stick mostly with Iron Age to Enlightenment-style clothing, materials, modes of transport. Don't know why you chose to ignore that.

D&D does have a consistent aesthetic: fantasy rule of cool. Neither denim nor baseball caps fit that. But if you want someone in your setting to have invented either of them, go ahead.

Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus. I realize it's a bit hard to look up, since there's apparently an actual D&D Motorcycles out there, but did you even try? I mean, BGDiA was billed as Dante's Inferno meets Mad Max.

If you want aesthetically consistent proper Dante's Inferno from artists and creators who actually understand art direction, do not purchase a WoTC product. Instead purchase from third parties with Italian artists known for their art unlike the American mishmash art directors at WoTC.

It seems Wizards of the Coast faces that classic American problem playing the "rule of cool" card but cannot even define what fantasy direction to take. I mean fantasy cannot rule out denim jeans since there is no obvious time period in 5th Edition D&D that is lined to the real world.

The fallback yo "rule of cool" but then a failure failure to add jeans and baseball caps is WoTC contracted D&D artists is a lazy way trying to show they have some art direction when in reality they have no logical one.

Here is art from a proper Dante's Inferno with consistent Italian art not made in America. Consistent aesthetics are not impossible if you put some effort into getting there.

Voadam · May 12, 2021

Faolyn said:
@Voadam, those are covers. Interior art for Ravenloft was always B&W, with red spot color.

Mostly.

When saying color Ravenloft pictures seem off because it has all been black and white art, the numerous Ravenloft color cover art pieces seem to be counterpoints.

Plus there are things like the lush color maps.

And the interior cards in the 2e Realms of Terror Boxed Set:

Tonguez · May 12, 2021

Dire Bare said:
The ethnicity change for Harkon doesn't bother me in the slightest. Hard to call it lazy, when we haven't seen the full treatment in the book. Remember, changes that you don't personally care for are not the same thing as "lazy".

Harkons ethnicity was never determined in previous versions and the art was B&W so even though he was presumed white it was never explicit. Even moreso as a shapechanger he can alter his skin tone if he wants to
The whole argument and any outrage is stupid

D&D 5E Meet Ravenloft's Harkon Lucas and Rudolph Van Richten

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