Grimstaff
Explorer
I did a little retrospective of D&D covers recently, and invited folks to chime in on their favorites. Not surprisingly, Otus and Trampier were frequent favorites, along with Pete Mullen's fantastic Swords & Wizardry cover:
Rant about the cover of the 4e Player's Handbook
- Thread starter kolikeos
- Start date
Nebulous
Legend
I dunno, i'm not a big fan of WAR (i agree with the OP, the cover art for the PHB is bad) but i found the 4e Darksun cover quite passable. I mean, it IS a landscape; a foreboding pyramid and a blazing sun and a looming dragon. It's no Brom though....
RangerWickett
Legend
The Shaman
First Post
Quoted for troof.
I hate WAR's artistic style, and the "two adventurers striking a pose" does not interest me in the least.
1E had the best PHB cover to date. The execution was a little amateurish, but the scene perfectly captured the flavor of D&D, and it made me want to get into the game.
2E had okay PHB covers. Not as exciting or interesting as 1E, but there was at least a sense of something going on - adventurers actually, y'know, adventuring.
3E's PHB cover was quite good, albeit in a very different way. The whole "arcane tome" thing was nicely done.
4E's PHB cover is just... disconnected. No sense of anything going on, just two characters posing in a cave. (Also, the dragonborn looks ridiculous.)
What I'd like to see is something depicting an entire adventuring party (4-6 PCs) mid-adventure. It doesn't have to have the rogue prying the jewel-eye out of a statue, although that would be a bonus, but there should be a sense of context, and a feeling that there are things to do here, adventures to be had.
And while some of the PCs should be female, they should not be depicted as sex objects. It boggles my mind that WotC is apparently trying to attract female gamers, yet puts this crap on the PHB cover.
(Note that the distinction between sexy and sex object is an important one. It's the difference between "tough, competent adventuring woman who's really hot" and "stripper who happens to be carrying a sword." Hint: If she's about to pop out of her top, she's not an adventurer.)
1E had the best PHB cover to date. The execution was a little amateurish, but the scene perfectly captured the flavor of D&D, and it made me want to get into the game.
2E had okay PHB covers. Not as exciting or interesting as 1E, but there was at least a sense of something going on - adventurers actually, y'know, adventuring.
3E's PHB cover was quite good, albeit in a very different way. The whole "arcane tome" thing was nicely done.
4E's PHB cover is just... disconnected. No sense of anything going on, just two characters posing in a cave. (Also, the dragonborn looks ridiculous.)
What I'd like to see is something depicting an entire adventuring party (4-6 PCs) mid-adventure. It doesn't have to have the rogue prying the jewel-eye out of a statue, although that would be a bonus, but there should be a sense of context, and a feeling that there are things to do here, adventures to be had.
And while some of the PCs should be female, they should not be depicted as sex objects. It boggles my mind that WotC is apparently trying to attract female gamers, yet puts this crap on the PHB cover.
(Note that the distinction between sexy and sex object is an important one. It's the difference between "tough, competent adventuring woman who's really hot" and "stripper who happens to be carrying a sword." Hint: If she's about to pop out of her top, she's not an adventurer.)
Last edited:
Nebulous
Legend
They changed the art.
Was
You're F-ing kidding me.
Sometimes i really hate WotC. Good job Wayne, another carbon copy of your other stuff.
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