New Player's Handbook Cover Art!

[Vayden]

I need a hi-res version of the new art before I can judge it, but I definitely like it better than the green dragon piece. The green dragon one is waaaay too freaking busy for me - nice illustration inside a book, grating and annoying if it's sitting on the cover every time I pick up a book.

 

[Jdvn1]

So do you think they will change the contents of the crystal ball on the DMG cover to match the new PHB art?

They did already.

 

[small pumpkin man]

They did already.

specifically

http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Products/?doc=217507200

 

[Quantarum]

I think I would like to see a party of four on the cover, what with it being fourth edition and all.
I personally can't get enough Wayne Reynolds, he and Lockwood are the iconic artists of D&D for me now. Not much point in arguing aesthetics though, one man's beauty is another's beast.

-Q.

 

[Terramotus]

See, this picture would be a disaster, because it sends all the wrong messages to new players. Regdar is obviously going all Leeroy Jenkins on the Dragon. This tells young people that this is a game about foolhardy action that shafts your buddies who are dumb enough to go after you.

The Rogue chick behind him is obviously his girlfriend. She was right behind him when he ran in, but when she saw what he had stirred up, she had second thoughts and is running away. This tells young people that this is a world where love cannot survive adversity.

Not to mention the mercenary qualities of the other two members of the party. The Elf is moving away, but at least has the grace to glance back at his teammate - or is he glancing back at the Rogue who he's been courting on the side? The Dwarf, however, is halfway out the freakin' door, and is waving goodbye with the mace in his right hand. He obviously knew that Regdar was prone to this sort of behavior, and has no intention of getting killed because of it. He clearly didn't talk Regdar out of it, though. This tells young people that you can't count on your friends to stop you from making bad mistakes - they'll only abandon you.

I applaud WotC for choosing a cover for the PHB that shows more moral rectitude and doesn't send the wrong message to young people, or their parents with their hands on the purse-strings, I might add.

In all seriousness, I like all of the covers I've seen, but I'm not blown away by any of them. On balance, I like the changes.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Hmm, actually it be interesting if "Redgar and gang" are new Iconic Characters for 4E.

 

[Mortellan]

Hmm I like the green dragon illustration better unfortunately. All I truly hated about the old cover was the color bands that trapped the image. At least they took note of that and started to 'magazine overlap' the illustrations with the title bars.

 

[Kaodi]

I am kind of disappointed that a female warrior was traded out for a female wizard. Say what you want about the silly armour, or the less than amazing tiefling companion, at least there was an attempt at recasting that particular gender role on the cover of the most important book in D&D. But no more. Now, just back to the old cliché.

 

[psionotic]

Now that I've seen the mock-up, I'm convinced. The party v. green dragon pic *IS* D&D.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I like WAR well enough, but all these covers seem more like nice, full-page interior art, not something I'd use for a book cover. DMG seems closest to having the right balance for that.

The new PHB picture also suggests to me that it's part of a larger picture, like there should be two more characters standing off to the right.

Lastly... get rid of the white background for the logo! It needs a nice textured leather or dragon scale look to it, colored to complement the cover illustrations better.