D&D 4E 4E FRCS Cover: NOOOOOOOOOO!

[Nellisir]

I like the more colorful cover. I didn't dislike the old cover, but this is interesting. No confusion between 3e and 4e.

 

[Nebulous]

No one was confused by the cover of the 1E PHB or DMG.

"What's this giant red guy? Is he a dungeon master? And what if I want to do things other than climb up and down orange statues? These covers suck!"

But that cover oozed atmosphere and depicted our beloved characters doing stuff. If the 4e FR cover had Drizzt climbing that same red demon statue i would have LOVED it.

 

[Uzzy]

*sigh*

I've nothing more to say. Just.. *sigh*

 

[Irda Ranger]

NOOOO! DO NOT WANT!!!!!!!!!!

At first I thought the same thing. But you know what? I can't imagine what to replace him with.

The Forgotten Realms is BIG. And there's no central thing (like Sigil, or the City of Greyhawk, or the Heroes of the Lance) that really captures the whole setting. The only alternative I could think of would be some massive, almost abstract mosaic of gods, symbols, cities, races, etc. etc. that make up the Realms. That could be cool, but it would be really "busy" and not iconic. I can see why they made the decision they did.

What I am sure of is that I prefer Drizzt to Elminster, and that the art itself (taken on its own) is not bad at all. Drizzt may annoy some people, but as "High Level NPC's" go, he's the least interfering of the ones they could have picked. Since he can't teleport into your campaign at will, and he's pretty focused on his own little part of the world, he's very unlikely to actually interfere with a particular group's adventuring shenanigans.

I would have preferred a Drizzt "in the world" though, not with the background all fuzzed out. This is a Campaign Setting book after all, not a folio of NPC's (I hope). Drizzt on the walls of Silverymoon, or at the gates of Mithril Hall would have been far superior (IMO).

I am also disappointed that the book looks like "Just another D&D Rulebook." I always thought the setting books should have their own visual style, so as to help establish their own identity. Yeah, FR has got its history, special races and rules, etc. etc., but people form opinions emotionally (it's not a rational process), and how the font, page layout and logos influence a reader all impact their opinion of the setting. I fear that if Eberron (and whatever books they release in the future) have the exact same layout and such, then they will lose part what makes them unique settings.

 

[Aristotle]

He is iconic enough. I guess if you have to have a character on the cover, he is the best choice.My issue is with the new cover trend in total. The "magic tome" look was cool in my opinion, although maybe getting a little tired by the end, but I'm not happy with the "D&D magazine" look from the get-go. It doesn't play to it's markets, old or new, in my opinion.

 

[DaveMage]

I am also disappointed that the book looks like "Just another D&D Rulebook."

This surprised me as well.

I think they should have had Driz'zt and Elminster both on the cover.

 

[Irda Ranger]

However, one cover rocks (IMHO). The cover of the Character Record Sheets.

QFT.

I like the MM cover, and the DMG cover is decent, but right now my plan is to print the artwork used on the CRS on tacky paper and re-cover the PHB with this artwork.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I think they should have had Driz'zt and Elminster both on the cover.

Somehow the word "NO!!!!!" simply doesn't capture the intensity of my disagreement with this opinion.

 

[Nebulous]

This surprised me as well.

I think they should have had Driz'zt and Elminster both on the cover.

Even Drizzt, Wulfar and Regis posing in front of wilderland setting would have been better. And get rid of that ugly white bar at the top, i find it distracting.

 

[Fifth Element]

I am also disappointed that the book looks like "Just another D&D Rulebook." I always thought the setting books should have their own visual style, so as to help establish their own identity.

I think I like the idea of a unified style for all books. 3.X kinda-sorta had that at the beginning, and then mostly did at the end as well, but to me it looks "cleaner" if the covers are of a consistent style.

Who knows, maybe sales of campaign setting will increase if the visuals lend them to being "D&D" more than the specific setting. The setting fans will buy them, and maybe a few more non-fans will give them a shot as well.