D&D General D&D Red Box: Who Is The Warrior?

The Dungeons & Dragons Red Box, famously illustrated by Larry Elmore in 1983, featured cover art of a warrior fighting a red dragon. The piece is an iconic part of D&D's history.

WizKids is creating a 50th Anniversary D&D miniatures set for the D&D Icons of the Realms line which includes models based on classic art from the game, such as the AD&D Player's Handbook's famous 'A Paladin In Hell' piece by David Sutherland in 1978, along with various monsters and other iconic images. The set will be available in July 2024.

Amongst the collection is Elmore's dragon-fighting warrior. This character has only ever been seen from behind, and has never been named or identified. However, WizKids’ miniature gives us our first look at them from the front. The warrior is a woman; the view from behind is identical to the original art, while the view from the front--the first time the character's face has ever been seen--is, as WizKids told ComicBook.com, "purposefully and clearly" a woman. This will be one of 10 secret rare miniatures included in the D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary booster boxes.

The original artist, Larry Elmore, says otherwise. (Update—the linked post has since been edited).

It's a man!

Gary didn't know what he wanted, all he wanted was something simple that would jump out at you. He wanted a male warrior. If it was a woman, you would know it for I'm pretty famous for painting women.

There was never a question in all these years about the male warrior.

No one thought it was a female warrior. "Whoever thought it was a female warrior is quite crazy and do not know what they are talking about."

This is stupid. I painted it, I should know.

- Larry Elmore​

Whether or not Elmore's intent was for the character to be a man, it seems that officially she's a woman. Either way, it's an awesome miniature. And for those who love the art, you can buy a print from Larry Elmore's official website.

 

[Clint_L]

I gave the picture on the cover basically zero thought at the time, other than "well, time to roll up a new character." I am surprised at the level of emotional investment folks say they have in this picture.

Emphasis added. I suspect an awful lot of this thread is people being performative on the internet. If you are seriously invested in the gender of the red box warrior, then that's worrisome to me.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Emphasis added. I suspect an awful lot of this thread is people being performative on the internet. If you are seriously invested in the gender of the red box warrior, then that's worrisome to me.

Hey man, don't underestimate the lasting emotional effect of a fictional character

 

[Gradine]

Hey man, don't underestimate the lasting emotional effect of a fictional character

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I watched The Last Jedi shortly before I transitioned, and I was already doing things like statting up Rey in various Star Wars RPGs (I think around the time of TFA it was still SaGa Edition), but I never really cognitively thought about how important the character was to me until I took my kid to Disneyland for their 10th birthday and we bumped into the Rey actor in the park and I literally broke down sobbing.

I got to see myself in my favorite franchise before I even got to see myself as myself.

Fictional characters and representation are really damn important

 

[Scott Christian]

All this argument over a mini, and in reality, the gender swap. People are allowed to feel their way about the gender swap of anything.

Heck, if they decided to make The Icewind Dale trilogy a movie trilogy and replaced Cattie-brie with a male character because they wanted it to be about male friendship, I might get a little upset, despite the theme a good story-telling device. The point is people can feel things, and we really shouldn't tell them how they should feel.

 

[Clint_L]

Of course people are allowed to feel how they feel. But anonymous Red Box warrior that you only ever saw from behind isn't exactly Cattie-brie, is it? I have my doubts that all the outrage over the perceived gender swap is really about the character, is what I'm saying.

 

[Scott Christian]

Of course people are allowed to feel how they feel. But anonymous Red Box warrior that you only ever saw from behind isn't exactly Cattie-brie, is it? I have my doubts that all the outrage over the perceived gender swap is really about the character, is what I'm saying.

It is not the same. Also not the same - choosing Tom Cruise to play Lestat of Lioncourt for the books Interview with a Vampire evoked a whole lot of emotion in my wife. She had a lot more outrage than the people on this forum. And that was just a casting call - same gender. But certainly not what millions of readers "thought" should be the case. So she had feelings, and she was allowed.

 

[Clint_L]

Again, I feel like anonymous Red Box Warrior who never even had a face is not quite as established as Lestat, the protagonist of books that were a pop culture phenomenon and sold millions upon millions.

But sure, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe all the outrage over this supposed gender swap is really because a lot of folks had a deep emotional attachment to a character with neither a name, nor a face, nor any existence beyond that one rear shot, and not about looking for an opportunity to express outrage about a social issue on the Internet. But I have my doubts.

 

[Dire Bare]

Again, I feel like anonymous Red Box Warrior who never even had a face is not quite as established as Lestat, the protagonist of books that were a pop culture phenomenon and sold millions upon millions.

But sure, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe all the outrage over this supposed gender swap is really because a lot of folks had a deep emotional attachment to a character with neither a name, nor a face, nor any existence beyond that one rear shot, and not about looking for an opportunity to express outrage about a social issue on the Internet. But I have my doubts.

I think it's both.

Personally, I'm very attached to that painting! It's a classic, and represents a lot of nostalgia for those early gaming days in the 80s for me. I'm sure that's true for the folks upset over the gender-swapped warrior too.

But yeah, this controversy over "the warrior's" gender is definitely representative of a larger trend in fandom. Folks who used to be almost exclusively catered to, and now have to share space with the rest of humanity. There is definitely some sexism or misogyny wrapped up in this controversy.

It rears it's ugly head a lot in fandom these days, when a reboot gender-swaps characters, or even when just a strong female role is given center stage in a franchise where that didn't happen often before.

Of course, something similar happens when characters are ethnically swapped as well, or a strong character of color takes center stage . . .

 

[Sacrosanct]

From what I can tell, the issue is because that's such an iconic painting, most assumed it was a male character they could relate to, and there was no real point in changing it. I.e., it isn't a problem with making female heroes more prominent, but to go back and pull up an old image that hadn't been used in decades and change that seems unnecessary, and thus seems like it's an intentional "poke the grognard bear" so-to-speak, like THAC0 the Clown. That's what I'm hearing anyway, please correct me if I'm wrong.

So I can kinda sorta see why people might be taken aback, but I admit I don't see why it's such a big deal, for reasons I posted above.

 

[Dire Bare]

From what I can tell, the issue is because that's such an iconic painting, most assumed it was a male character they could relate to, and there was no real point in changing it. I.e., it isn't a problem with making female heroes more prominent, but to go back and pull up an old image that hadn't been used in decades and change that seems unnecessary, and thus seems like it's an intentional "poke the grognard bear" so-to-speak, like THAC0 the Clown. That's what I'm hearing anyway, please correct me if I'm wrong.

So I can kinda sorta see why people might be taken aback, but I admit I don't see why it's such a big deal, for reasons I posted above.

Was the gender-swapped warrior "necessary"? No. Was it a clever and fun way to bring some more inclusivity to D&D? Yes. Was it appreciated by some folks who generally do not feel seen in our hobby? Yes. Personally, I think the decision by WizKids and WotC to produce this mini was awesome! More please!

Were WizKids and WotC trying to "poke the grognards", push them away, show them they are not wanted anymore? While I realize that's how some older players feel, that's a ridiculous assertion.