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

[Wolfspider]

I'm addicted to that stupid game!

Okay, now this is just getting creepy.

Tee hee. I'm the Mirror Universe you!

I even have a goattee. Then again, what gamer doesn't?

 

[Wolfspider]

It's like West Side Story. I think it's very romantic.

Or its inspiration, Romeo and Juliet.

He's a Mont4gue, and I'm a Capul3t....

 

[Wormwood]

Or its inspiration, Romeo and Juliet.

He's a Mont4gue, and I'm a Capul3t....

When you're a J3t
you're a J3t all the way
from your first AoO
to your last TPK...

 

[Dausuul]

Another point I'd like to make. How many people who are already fans of D&D are going to even care what the cover looks like. I don't know if I've looked at the covers of any of my books that seriously over the years; I'm more interested in what was inside. For people new to the hobby this would be a real concern, but since I think we are all already fans we're not in a real position to make predictions on what new folks would like. That's for the marketers.

I dislike this cover art intensely, to the point that I flat-out refuse to have my Player's Handbook look like that. I'll either glue some other art down over it, or just paint the whole cover black with "Player's Handbook" in fancy red and gold lettering.

As for the impact on sales, I'm still going to buy a 4th Edition PHB, certainly... but the odds of me buying a second or third (which I normally do, since there's always somebody at the gaming table who either doesn't own a PHB or forgot to bring one) are much reduced if it's going to look like crap. I'm apt to get into the bookstore, look at the book, and think, "It would be kind of handy to have another book... man, that thing is ugly though. Eh, maybe I'll buy one next month."

 

[Steely Dan]

I dislike this cover art intensely, to the point that I flat-out refuse to have my Player's Handbook look like that. I'll either glue some other art down over it, or just paint the whole cover black with "Player's Handbook" in fancy red and gold lettering.

Well, as I have said before, I am so excited about 4th Ed, that once I get my grubby little carnie hands on that PHB, I'm going to shove it straight up my bottom!

…So, that could alter the cover slightly.

 

[EATherrian]

I dislike this cover art intensely, to the point that I flat-out refuse to have my Player's Handbook look like that. I'll either glue some other art down over it, or just paint the whole cover black with "Player's Handbook" in fancy red and gold lettering.

As for the impact on sales, I'm still going to buy a 4th Edition PHB, certainly... but the odds of me buying a second or third (which I normally do, since there's always somebody at the gaming table who either doesn't own a PHB or forgot to bring one) are much reduced if it's going to look like crap. I'm apt to get into the bookstore, look at the book, and think, "It would be kind of handy to have another book... man, that thing is ugly though. Eh, maybe I'll buy one next month."

But why? When you're playing the game you never look at the cover. When you're reading the book you never look at the cover. Many books have bad covers, but pasting over them is just an over-reaction to me. I don't like the cover, but to adjust the old saying a bit, I'm more concerned about what's in the book.

 

[EATherrian]

Well, as I have said before, I am so excited about 4th Ed, that once I get my grubby little carnie hands on that PHB, I'm going to shove it straight up my bottom!

…So, that could alter the cover slightly.

I don't think they'll take it back after that, even with a receipt.

 

[johan_seraphim]

I'm not so concerned about the cover, but whats BETWEEN them.

 

[Steely Dan]

I don't think they'll take it back after that, even with a receipt.

Take a D&D book back…?

Madness!

 

[Dausuul]

But why? When you're playing the game you never look at the cover. When you're reading the book you never look at the cover. Many books have bad covers, but pasting over them is just an over-reaction to me. I don't like the cover, but to adjust the old saying a bit, I'm more concerned about what's in the book.

Sure I look at the cover during the game. Any time somebody says, "Pass me a Player's Handbook," as inevitably happens no matter how many PHBs we have, I see the cover. When I dig through the heap of books on the table next to me, looking for my PHB so I can re-check the text of some power I want to use, it's the cover that identifies it to me.

If it weren't the PHB, or if it weren't quite so hideous, I'd probably just deal. But the PHB is the book I will be reaching for every other minute during play; it's the book I'll be picking up any time I get together my stuff to go play somewhere outside my apartment. Its image is going to be branded into my brain.

Even though I love undead and use them all the time in my campaigns, I dislike Libris Mortis, and part of that is because I have a visceral, negative reaction to the cover art. My dislike of the art taints my perception of the book itself. Rational? Heck no. But that doesn't change the fact that I react that way... and I doubt I'm the only one. A few bucks for paint and a few minutes to apply it is well worth not having such a reaction to the most important book in the game.