D&D General One Piece of Art V (Places)- What Piece of D&D Art Inspired You to Love a Place

[J.Quondam]

Artist: Jim Holloway
Source: cover of I5 - Lost Tomb of Martek
Locale: The Skysea
Rationale: It's got a weird boat, a crystalline lake, a starfield, and a big purple shai-hulud wannabe. The image tickles the gonzo sea-faring itch, while the module trilogy is the one that launched my love of desert adventures.


* This topic was tough, too! Turns out there's plenty of "iconic" D&D imagery in my head, but little of it matches what's in the books. My memory is plagued by, umm, "embellishment."

 

[Enrico Poli1]

I'm the third one to post Brom's Dark Sun, but really can't think of another

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I'm the third one to post Brom's Dark Sun, but really can't think of another

Huh.

So, apparently, this should have been titled:

One Piece of Art V (Dark Sun)- What Piece of D&D Art Inspired You to Love BROM?

 

[Maxperson]

Huh.

So, apparently, this should have been titled:

One Piece of Art V (Dark Sun)- What Piece of D&D Art Inspired You to Love BROM?

Because I already used the other one.

 

[grimslade]

I'm the third one to post Brom's Dark Sun, but really can't think of another

There are so many though...

 

[Yaarel]

For a place, maybe this one. Eberron, Sharn. The soaring landmotes. The bustling city life. Each level of the city being a city within city. Include parks and rooftop gardens. Awesome.

 

[J.Quondam]

There are so many though...
View attachment 258103

I love how, in DarkSun, mighty thews! is as much a feature of the landscape as a volcano.

 

[James Gasik]

The Jungles of Chult are frightening in the dark
All the dinosaurs are running wild
What a crummy weekend this has been

I'm afraid those things'll harm me
'Cause they sure don't act like Barney
And I think I'm their dinner, not their friend
Oh, no!

 

[Malmuria]

Sigh, ok, you've forced my hand. I will post more planescape art

NOT by Diterlizzi this time. The cover for Planes of Chaos was done Robh Ruppel. I have no idea what or where this image is supposed to be but it's big and weird and shares the color palate of The Downward Spiral (both released in 1994) and thus was perfect for me at the time.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Stephen Fabian’s interior art of the glass skimmers of Taladas. The cover of the Taladas box was dreadfully boring. But Fabian really set the tone for Taladas and this piece of art did its job. So much of Taladas could have used better art, like the gnome citadels of the lava sea, Hithekel.

But a whole sea of actual smooth obsidian glass, and a society that sales on it! I’m in!

 

[Malmuria]

Stephen Fabian’s interior art of the glass skimmers of Taladas. The cover of the Taladas box was dreadfully boring. But Fabian really set the tone for Taladas and this piece of art did its job. So much of Taladas could have used better art, like the gnome citadels of the lava sea, Hithekel.

But a whole sea of actual smooth obsidian glass, and a society that sales on it! I’m in!
View attachment 258301

Are you talking about this cover?

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Are you talking about this cover?



View attachment 258305

Yeah. It just does not sell Taladas at all, IMO.

 

[Malmuria]

Yeah. It just does not sell Taladas at all, IMO.

I can see what you mean about it not being about Taladas, but I love that image. There's something melancholic about it in a way that you don't often find in dnd art

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Yeah, I don’t think I had ever seen that sort of mood or vibe in a D&D cover before, it is very nice.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Yeah, Dark Sun. But not Brom... talking 4e now!

Artist: Kerem Beyit

The world may be a desert, but it's anything but dull.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

It's a bit obscure relative to most of the others here, but there's an image that got burned into my mind well before I knew that it was specifically connected to other things I like (specifically, it's a remnant of the fallen dragonborn empire of Arkhosia.) It's the intro image for the adventure Remains of the Empire, where an over-zealous dragonborn fanboi of Arkhosia has gone off the deep end and begun worshipping Zehir (deity of poison, darkness, snakes, and secrecy) in a mad effort to revive the fallen empire.

And it has a floating fortress.

I am a huge, huge sucker for floating islands.

 

[pukunui]

Artist: Michael Komarck
Source: D&D 3.5e Player's Handbook II
Location: Caves of Chaos

This piece has stuck with me for a long time, I think in large part because it was one of the only 3.x era pieces reminiscent of the grand fantasy landscape art from 2e that had first drawn me into the worlds of D&D.

I must admit, though, that I haven’t really got any special connection with the Caves of Chaos. That said, this piece makes me want to go see what's in all those caves.

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

Artist: Rick Sardinha
Source: Slumbering Tsar Adventure
Location: Cover Art

This piece just gives me the awe of exploration of the unknown and the promise of adventure.

 

[Scribe]

Sigh, ok, you've forced my hand. I will post more planescape art
View attachment 258251

NOT by Diterlizzi this time. The cover for Planes of Chaos was done Robh Ruppel. I have no idea what or where this image is supposed to be but it's big and weird and shares the color palate of The Downward Spiral (both released in 1994) and thus was perfect for me at the time.

 

[Lidgar]

I always liked the cover art for the 2e Ruins of Greyhawk: