D&D 4E I really don't like the new 4E PHB cover

[MaelStorm]

Goodness. I think I'm just going to drop it.

I went too far with my zillion game statement. I was wrong.

 

[Dausuul]

Here are some

<snip>

Maybe there are some that you can disqualify but I could go to all the editions of the games that exist and all the video games, etc. There are zillion of games with iconic monsters with party and adventurer.

Holy overkill, Batman...

I don't like Wayne Reynold's art one bit. And to top it all off, almost every humanoid creature he depicts has deformed feet -- he did a picture of some Japanese warrior monks for Osprey, and their feet must be all of 4 inches long, but also 4 inches thick. They don't even look remotely human.

The funny thing is, he does know how to do feet properly when he chooses to. Look at any portrayal of a female character by WAR; her feet will be perfectly fine. Moreover, her clothing will likely curve to fit her body instead of being made of rigid cylinders. The female wizard on the PHB cover ain't half bad, despite the high cheesecake factor. It's the dragonborn that looks wretched.

Likewise, he's fairly good with out-and-out monsters, like the green dragon on the dragon-versus-party cover. It's only when portraying humanoid creatures that aren't explicitly female that he goes into Elephant Feet, Cardboard Clothing mode.

 

[The Little Raven]

I concur, Henry. The old "Horde is more mature" saw has been rarely borne out in my experience.

And I concur as well. I used to be part of a Horde guild, and after about 3 months of dealing with guild chat that made me want to swallow a bullet, I learned that I was the oldest member of the guild by almost a decade.

On the other hand, my Alliance guild has me pegged as the "baby boy," since I'm the youngest.

 

[brehobit]

Whoop dee do! You win, I loose.

Please note that that was sarcasm on my part. I thought it clear, sorry...

 

[Zinegata]

And I concur as well. I used to be part of a Horde guild, and after about 3 months of dealing with guild chat that made me want to swallow a bullet, I learned that I was the oldest member of the guild by almost a decade.

On the other hand, my Alliance guild has me pegged as the "baby boy," since I'm the youngest.

Let me just note that while the premise that "Horde players are generally younger" is contestable, the question was "How to get artwork that would cause an uncle to buy something for his 12 year old nephew."

In short, if heroic Alliance stuff is what sells to older market, then a traditional cover will indeed encourage parents and uncles/aunts to buy D&D books for their kids.

 

[Ultimatecalibur]

Let me just note that while the premise that "Horde players are generally younger" is contestable, the question was "How to get artwork that would cause an uncle to buy something for his 12 year old nephew."

In short, if heroic Alliance stuff is what sells to older market, then a traditional cover will indeed encourage parents and uncles/aunts to buy D&D books for their kids.

What if that twelve year old doesn't like the cover? It is possible that older style artwork would dissuade parents and relatives from purchasing the books because the covers do not look like what they believe would attract the attention of a 12 year old.

 

[Zinegata]

What if that twelve year old doesn't like the cover? It is possible that older style artwork would dissuade parents and relatives from purchasing the books because the covers do not look like what they believe would attract the attention of a 12 year old.

Firstly, like I said, the "Horde is for kids" thing is debatable, so we're discussing something predicated on an unproven premise.

Secondly, what you describe is a bit of a stretch. Yes, parents are often wise enough to purchase what their kids like. But more often than not they also enforce some form of censorship in terms of choosing which images to expose to their children. And that's why a cover with a monstruous hero will, in general, be the poorer choice among parents.

 

[The Little Raven]

Firstly, like I said, the "Horde is for kids" thing is debatable, so we're discussing something predicated on an unproven premise.

If that's what you think we're saying then you've entirely missed the point. Let me spell it out.

Doug was pointing out that the "conventional wisdom" is that "Horde is for grown-ups" and Alliance is for "12-year-old night elf huntards." Henry and I were pointing out that our anecdotal evidence disputes that, not that the inverse is true. In short, both sides are filled with quality players and morons.

 

[Zinegata]

If that's what you think we're saying then you've entirely missed the point. Let me spell it out.

Doug was pointing out that the "conventional wisdom" is that "Horde is for grown-ups" and Alliance is for "12-year-old night elf huntards." Henry and I were pointing out that our anecdotal evidence disputes that, not that the inverse is true. In short, both sides are filled with quality players and morons.

Ah. Thanks for clarifying. I thought you meant the inverse was true. My bad.

Your clarified position is my position as well.

 

[Steely Dan]

*snip*

What Children are you talking about, I'm a child of the late 70's early 80's and even then the cover of the 4th Ed PHB would have been pedestrian compared to some of the awesome toys and comics I had. And my 7 year-old nephew has some weird toys, that some, I guess might call demonic, but of course he and I know it's just a neat creature.

By saying the cover of the 4th PHB is inappropriate for children, is like saying Harry Potter, Star Wars and LotR are, oh and many, many Disney films.