D&D 4E In terms of theme, tone, and spirit, I hope 4e . . .

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Can anyone post an image from any D&D book that barely looks like anime?

No. No one ever can. In fact, every single image in this thread looks like anime.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Heck, the world looks kinda anime these days. Damn kids.

brb - the sky is falling.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Honestly, can anyone really say that any of the characters or pictures in the old editions are cool, like the ones in 3E?

Plenty of people find the current edition's obsession with kewlness to be a negative, not a positive.

"LOOK AT ME AND MY POCKETS! AND MY LACK OF PANTS! LASER BEAMS FROM MY FINGERS OMG!"

Yeaaaaah, no thanks. Emirkol the Chaotic could turn Mialee over his knee, and should.

 

[Dr. Prunesquallor]

LOOK AT ME AND MY POCKETS! AND MY LACK OF PANTS!

Maybe this is just me, but I thought Mialee was a nod back to what I perceived as the older "Chainmail Bikini" theme in D&D art. With the other Iconics they seem to have tried to represent their gear at least to some extent. I get the feeling that when they looked at Mialee and Hennet they said, "Hey, no armor! Art Department, get me some skin!" Why Ember got away is anyone's guess. IMO, they're the two worst Iconic images.

As to Emrikol, maybe if I knew more about him the image would be more evocative. I got into the hobby in the late 80's, and he looks a bit like a photoshopped panel from "Prince Valiant" to me.

I guess I'm one of the young turks on this topic.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, sometimes the older pics are better, right?

(click the pics for larger view)










The images are from the 3.5 PHB and the Revised Printing of the 2e PHB. Both in the class section. If you were just getting into the game, which would be more evocative to you?

(I'd also like to point out the profound lack of demi-humans and females in the 2e iconic pics)

 

[HeinorNY]

Yeah, sometimes the older pics are better, right?

The images are from the 3.5 PHB and the Revised Printing of the 2e PHB. Both in the class section. If you were just getting into the game, which would be more evocative to you?

(I'd also like to point out the profound lack of demi-humans and females in the 2e iconic pics)

My picks:

Wizard - 3E (i don't like to make old characters, but the pic is nice for a NPC)
Rogue - 3E (2e is just a thief, a rogue is much more than that)
Paladin - None (2e is a terrible image, I always hated it. 3e doesn't look like a paladin, simple.)
Illusionist - None (It's too easy to make a wizard character look imponent using an old man image, characters are young people mostly. I don't think the 3e looks like any kind of mage. maybe a gnome tinkerer)
Fighter - 3E (2E looks like a spanish invader, he is ok for a warrior. 3e is what a dwarven fighter looks like!)
Druid - 3E (2e looks more like a ranger, he doesn't look so 'mystic' as a druid should be)
Cleric -Both
Bard - None - 3.0 bard (3.5e is too feminine, with that leg and that hand... 2e looks like he is ready for some brazilian carnaval!)

 

[Nifft]

"LOOK AT ME AND MY POCKETS! AND MY LACK OF PANTS! LASER BEAMS FROM MY FINGERS OMG!"

Yeaaaaah, no thanks. Emirkol the Chaotic could turn Mialee over his knee, and should.

You do realize that Emirkol is the dude shooting laser beams from his fingers, right?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Wormwood]

Yeah, sometimes the older pics are better, right?

Wizard: Unattractive as Mialee may be, the 'traditional wizard' looks like Gandalf the head-shop mascot.
Rogue: Lidda is a bad-ass, pure and simple. 2e guy is so lame that he makes the Hamburgler look like Solid Snake.
Paladin: Draw. The older version is slavishly (and boringly) faithful to D&D's medieval European war-gaming origins. At least the 3.0 team tried to venture outside the stereotype; too bad the art was sooooo poorly executed.
Illusionist: I'm gonna have to go with Old School here (although I *do* like the 3.0 version's nod toward adventuring accessories).
Fighter: Tordek for the WIN! The 2e dude looks like he was cobbled together from discarded European armor, while Tordek seems to hail from a consistent and interesting 'fantasy' culture.
Druid: D&D Druids are no longer Celts (or Europeans for that matter). Vadania reflects this new reality with style and grace.
Cleric: Jozan sure is boring, or so I thought until I saw Father Yawnbert from Normandy.
Bard: Gimble looks capable of entertaining a tavern as well as stabbing a Goblin in the eye. Can you picture 2e guy *ever* crawling through a filthy dungeon, ankle deep in Kobold guts?

 

[Piratecat]

You do realize that Emirkol is the dude shooting laser beams from his fingers, right?

Cheers, -- N

Nifft for the win.

 

[Xyxox]

Yeah, sometimes the older pics are better, right?

<images removed for brevity>

The images are from the 3.5 PHB and the Revised Printing of the 2e PHB. Both in the class section. If you were just getting into the game, which would be more evocative to you?

(I'd also like to point out the profound lack of demi-humans and females in the 2e iconic pics)

The 2e pictures. Hands down. Again, this is taste, but they evoke my idea of a swords and sorcery or high fantasy game, not the new artwork. Dungeonpunk is not my idea of D&D. Never has been, never will be.