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.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Yes, Sacrosact, It's a great thing. I'm glad more people are being welcomed into the game too. A rising tide floats all ships, but scuttling people's childhood memories does not.

 

[Reef]

Yes, Sacrosact, It's a great thing. I'm glad more people are being welcomed into the game too. A rising tide floats all ships, but scuttling people's childhood memories does not.

Scuttling childhood memories? Because they released a miniature with a different interpretation than you had? Because suddenly you can no longer imagine yourself in that picture, because 40 years later, someone said “hey, maybe that could also have just as easily been a woman”?

If your childhood memories are so easily scuttled, I’d be surprised you have any left.

 

[Dire Bare]

I apologize about the clipped sentence, but yes--it's petty, as in, it's a small thing that is unimportant. My point is that it is a small, petty thing that they didn't need to do. It's just one of the growing number of petty things to add to the pile of discord between old players and new players.

As an old player myself . . . I find your pique ridiculous. It's not WotC's intention to leave any fans in the dust, but . . . I'm okay with folks who get upset at this sort of thing pushing themselves out of the hobby.

 

[dave2008]

Yes, Sacrosact, It's a great thing. I'm glad more people are being welcomed into the game too. A rising tide floats all ships, but scuttling people's childhood memories does not.

You do realize what scuttles yours may also be reaffirming or inspiring to others?

Of course I don't really get how it scuttles your memories. I have the same, or nearly so, memories of the red box from my boyhood. This new idea about the warrior couldn't possible change my memories of the past. Of course, maybe that is because I always identified more with the dragon!

 

[Dire Bare]

The D&D Basic Set with this Elmore painting on the box cover was my first D&D purchase. I've got a lot of memories and nostalgia wrapped up in that product, and that painting!

I assumed the warrior in the painting was male, most folks did, it's clearly coded male, and we later learned that this was certainly Elmore's intent when painting it. So?

I think WizKids reinterpreting the warrior as female is freaking awesome! I love it! It's clever, it's inclusive, and it breathes new life into a classic painting decades old.

WizKids isn't changing canon . . . this is just a reimagining that sits alongside the original intent and interpretation, it doesn't replace it. The character in the painting wasn't a named character in D&D lore anyway, there is no canon to change!

This new interpretation doesn't ruin my childhood or my fond memories of discovering this boxed set. I still have and cherish all of that. Well, the actual, physical boxed set is long gone after many moves . . . but my memories remain.

WotC isn't trying to exclude me (white, cis, straight, male . . . and old), but they are trying to include others who haven't always felt seen in our fandom and community. The only folks "left behind" are those uncomfortable with D&D including a wider diversity of folks into the fandom, and that feeling of exclusion is misplaced and says a lot more about those "excluded" than it does about WotC or newer fans.

Is there a game in the OSR space that caters exclusively to old, straight, white dudes? Go play that game! Modern D&D is for everybody . . . young and old, white and brown, straight and queer, cis and trans. The only folks modern D&D is not for is folks who just can't handle that and need to be catered to exclusively. I'm okay if they end up getting left behind, it's not WotC pushing them out, they are pushing themselves out.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yes, Sacrosact, It's a great thing. I'm glad more people are being welcomed into the game too. A rising tide floats all ships, but scuttling people's childhood memories does not.

I understand this is important to you, and I don't want to belittle that. I guess I just don't understand. 40 years ago sometimes I'd pretend how awesome it would be if I could transform like a transformer. But I haven't thought about that in slightly less than 40 years. I guess I can see how you would see that hero and envision them being you, but that was 40 years ago, right? You've had a ton of time to enjoy that imagination. Nothing about 1983 to 2023 got taken away from you, right?

I guess I'll use this analogy. I grew up on Battlestar Galactica. The original. When the new one came out and Starbuck was a woman, I didn't think they were being petty by "scuttling" my memories. I still have my memories of playing with the toys and pretending I was Starbuck.

 

[Dire Bare]

I understand this is important to you, and I don't want to belittle that. I guess I just don't understand. 40 years ago sometimes I'd pretend how awesome it would be if I could transform like a transformer. But I haven't thought about that in slightly less than 40 years. I guess I can see how you would see that hero and envision them being you, but that was 40 years ago, right? You've had a ton of time to enjoy that imagination. Nothing about 1983 to 2023 got taken away from you, right?

It STILL hasn't been taken away! A dude can still look at that wonderful painting and envision themselves in the role of the warrior! This new miniature doesn't take that away, it takes nothing away. It just welcomes in a wider variety of folks.