D&D (2024) D&D Preview at Garycon

[Shardstone]

That wizard image is amazing. Finally some real good art for the phb!

 

[mach1.9pants]

Yes that art is fantastic, not my style for DnD, I prefer gritty and realisticly equipped adventures. But that is a beautiful piece of work

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah whilst I laughed out loud at the table being moved to stop it intimidating people and still find it a funny concept, there is no question whatsoever that starting with a big, cool picture of a member of that class is the right way to get people to want to play that class, and by putting the table on third page is does mean you'll always see at least two pages of more approachable and cool material before getting to the grittiest mechanical stuff.

This weirdly makes me more positive about the 2024 PHB because it's the sort of basic good design D&D has, historically, completely overlooked or even sometimes seemingly actively opposed.

I also notice the Wizard image, whilst a bit modern-dressed for my liking (also a bustier, really? I mean it's quite Fashion but...), is at what I would consider "Magic The Gathering" levels of quality, rather than "D&D" levels of quality which is to say much HIGHER than 4E/5E art quality typically has been (I know, @Parmandur or someone is going to point out it's been improving for a while - and it has, but it's good to see that continues).

Yeah, I remember at some point they gave some number for how much bigger the art budget is for these books than 2024, and I don't remember but it is definitely a lot.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

One other thing of note re: the art style - both the pieces they've shown have a very particular style, which is distinct from both the "purple-pink clean modern" style which permeated not just 5E but a lot of fantasy art (including in videogames) of the last decade (it even emerged before D&D). This is more like a sort of "ornate luxury" style, at least in these pieces (the wizard and the dragon). I'm very interested to see more 5E 2024 art to see how the overall look has moved. It also means my prediction that they might go a bit more Dark Souls/Elden Ring was wrong - rather they've gone a bit more Arcane (the TV series), at least in these pieces.

 

[Stormonu]

That wizard image is amazing. Finally some real good art for the phb!

Hey! I really like the 5E art in the PHB!

Well, except for the halflings ...

 

[Shardstone]

Hey! I really like the 5E art in the PHB!

Well, except for the halflings ...

But now its better!

 

[Parmandur]

One other thing of note re: the art style - both the pieces they've shown have a very particular style, which is distinct from both the "purple-pink clean modern" style which permeated not just 5E but a lot of fantasy art (including in videogames) of the last decade (it even emerged before D&D). This is more like a sort of "ornate luxury" style, at least in these pieces (the wizard and the dragon). I'm very interested to see more 5E 2024 art to see how the overall look has moved. It also means my prediction that they might go a bit more Dark Souls/Elden Ring was wrong - rather they've gone a bit more Arcane (the TV series), at least in these pieces.

S lot can be said about WotC, but their art directors have a strong history if being on trend with the latest fantasy art fashions. In 2014, the biggest fantasy property was Game of Thrones or Joe Abercrombie, in 2024 it's the Cosmere or Legends & Lattes.

 

[Demetrios1453]

But now its better!

Have we seen any 2024 core book halfling art yet?

 

[Parmandur]

Have we seen any 2024 core book halfling art yet?

Noooope!

 

[Azzy]

Even though I'm likely to place a pre-order for the Vecna book, this is a move that I really appreciate.

Yeah. I will buy it just to support the decision.