D&D (2024) Here's The New 2024 Player's Handbook Wizard Art

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Well, it cleaned up the beard anyway...

Face is a little younger looking...

 

[gorice]

I mean, from an in-universe perspective, no, being a woman of color doesn’t necessarily indicate that she had to sacrifice anything to attain magical power. I’m just calling attention to the fact that this depiction of a woman of color with power doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If you like, you could say I’m “injecting real-world politics into the game.”

I get that. Again, depicting a woman of colour looking powerful is fine by me. But, I think the depiction of magic power as something effortless that belongs to people who are superior to mere muggles is fundamentally elitist, not to mention boring. At least the old Vancian wizards had to work for their power, sometimes at great personal risk, and by sacrificing other parts of their lives.

I’m not sure I understand. Who’s innately superior to whom? Wizards to common folk?

Common folk.

I didn’t say I don’t care, I just think if you’re seriously concerned that characters being depicted as super-powered in media is somehow a bad influence on those who consume it, you may be putting a bit too much importance on what is ultimately just an enjoyable pastime. There exists a happy medium between “this is entirely frivolous and not worth caring about” and “this is a danger to impressionable youths.”

I'm somewhere in that medium. It's a complex issue and my thoughts are half-formed, so I'll leave it there.

 

[gorice]

There is so much going on in this post.

Please don't make snide insinuations like this. If you have something to say, say it.

For the record, I think librarians are great, but the ones I've met tend to dress very practically.

 

[Cadence]

For the record, I think librarians are great,

I confess the glasses and class concept did make me think librarian when the glasses were first brought up in the thread.

 

[Charlaquin]

I get that. Again, depicting a woman of colour looking powerful is fine by me. But, I think the depiction of magic power as something effortless that belongs to people who are superior to mere muggles is fundamentally elitist, not to mention boring. At least the old Vancian wizards had to work for their power, sometimes at great personal risk, and by sacrificing other parts of their lives.

Ok, I see what you’re saying now. I mean, by D&D’s lore, wizardry is supposed to be possible for anyone to learn, it just takes dedicated study and experimentation. Depending on the setting, there might also be social and/or financial barriers. But age being a requirement will never make sense as long as players are free to choose their character’s age and multiclassing exists. Also, she could be an Aasimar or something and be much older than she appears. Would explain the glowing eyes too.

For what it’s worth, I do emphasize with your concern, as inherent magic, particularly when it runs in bloodlines as with the D&D sorcerer, has some potential eugenicist implications. I just don’t personally see this particular piece being the key art for wizards as indicative of that concern.

 

[mamba]

but also found this cool piece from Bigby

huh, don't think I have seen that in Bigby's....

 

[Parmandur]

huh, don't think I have seen that in Bigby's....

Actually, his description suggests it might be a marketing piece...?

 

[Clint_L]

I had a player create an elderly wizard, but they were a halfling.(the wizard, not the player - edited for clarity)

Heh, players are another story. Lots of us are starting to approach Gandalfian appearance.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Looking at the Wizard Art thread the one difference I see is that old school wizards are just standing there or just hovering over a tome or alchemy stuff or casting a spell.

The new is “more powerful” which is what 5E is. The whole power fantasy thing.

so I’d say it fits 5E pretty well.

 

[Autumnal]

hear the word 'wizard'. Old bloke with a big beard is the quintessential wizard.

Not for fantasy of the last half-century. The period starts with Stephen Donaldson, Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Raymond Feist, among others, all of whom have powerful young magical students and/or mages at all stages of adulthood, often with mature, established magicians who aren’t yet middle-aged.

In comics, wizards and their ilk have likewise been all over the map. Dakeem the Enchanter and Jennifer Kale defined some age boundaries early on at Marvel, folks like Brother Blood, Raven, and Mysa Nal/White Witch doing the same at DC.

Harry Potter speaks for itself, of course, and all the magic academy stories in its wake.

Grimdark fantasy generally does magicians as peers of their colleagues in whatever group they’re in.

Goodreads’ fantasy list is topped by Patrick Rothfuss, J.K. Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, Christopher Paolini, Joe Abercrombie, Cassandra Clare, Brent Weeks, Kristin Cashore, Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer, Peter V. Brett, Jonathan Stroud, Jacqueline Carey, Wein Morganstern, Naomi Novak, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan, and Stephen King. That’s the top 50 of all time.

Zooming in on the highest-rated of the 2020s so far, we find Brandon Sanderson, V.E. Schwab, T.J. Klune, Sarah J. Maas, Joe Abercrombie, Susanna Clarke, Naomi Novak, Rebecca Roanhorse, S.A. Chakraborty, N.K. Jemisin, Nghi Vo, R.F. Kuang, Rebecca Yarros, Travis Baldree, Leigh Bardugo, Jim Butcher, and Tamsyn Muir in the top 20. I haven’t read more than about half of these, so I read reviews about the others.

There are ageless old-looking guys in this bunch, Abercrombie’s the most fascinating and scary of the bunch to my taste. And there are non-ageless old guys, often bearded. But there are a lot of magical students here, and their faculties in all stages of maturity, and there are a lot of young adult and simply adult magic-workers in leading roles. Which is to say that both the 2014 wizard and this one are fairly typical, this one a bit more so, and (to my taste) pleasingly more active.