The best adventure module cover art

[possum]

Other than ToEE, which is just an awesome cover, I'd like to introduce a little Star Wars to the thread.

How about Tatooine Manhunt, with cover art by legendary Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie? Depicting look-alikes of the bounty hunters from Empire Strikes Back in a group.

Here's the full cover art.

 

[Derulbaskul]

I really liked the covers of D3 Vault of the Drow and S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. I think they're both Erol Otus covers.

I also like the cover of Temple of Elemental Evil but I still consider that one of the greatest disappointments of all time (yes, I know I am in the minority there) so I am biased against it.

I really liked the Hellgate Keep cover in the 2E era and The Wyrmskull Throne, both my Todd Lockwood, IIRC. He did a great cover, IMO, for 3.5E's Sons of Gruumsh too.

 

[RangerWickett]

Of all the adventures in War of the Burning Sky, I was most fond of the cover art for The Festival of Dreams:



I love the digital painting style, and it showcases the climax of the adventure (a rebellious festival in a besieged city, centered around a 90-ft. statue of the recently assassinated invading emperor) without spoiling a big surprise.


As for adventures I wasn't involved in, I really loved the peril in the cover of The Forge of Fury.

 

[Bullgrit]

As for adventures I wasn't involved in, I really loved the peril in the cover of The Forge of Fury.

But doesn't that image give away the final encounter?

Bullgrit

 

[Kannik]

Not necessarily the best, nor the most inventive, but module H4 certainly got the point accross for players and DMs:

"There's'a bad stuff a'comin... "

Kannik

 

[RangerWickett]

But doesn't that image give away the final encounter?

Bullgrit

Does it? I never played the durned thing. But if it does, awesome! I would love to be in that situation in game. At worst, it gives away the identity of your foe, and a vague location, but hopefully a good adventure would still surprise you with the reason you're there, and how it all turns out.

(Of course, this was the 2nd adventure published for 3e, so I wouldn't be surprised if the 'reason' was "you want treasure.")

 

[Grymar]

I'm a bit of a heretic because I wasn't a fan of much of the original D&D and AD&D art.

The Dragonlance covers were exhilarating in their day, far different art than anything I had seen up to that point. Notably D2 and D4 are truly impressive, IMO. Adventures in Blackmoor also had a unique feel that I liked.

There is one that I don't remember the name of that had a skeletal mage holding a fireball faced off against a female sorceress/wizard. I loved that cover, but I can't find it now. <EDIT> I found it - The Secret of Bone Hill </EDIT>

Not a module, but the cover of the Green Box D&D Expert Set with a knight on a mountain top facing a green dragon is my all time favorite image.

 

[Klaus]

But doesn't that image give away the final encounter?

Bullgrit

I don't see that as a bad thing.

For far too long in D&D, dragons have been used as "surprise" final encounters. I think it's much more fun to let the players know beforehand that they'll be facing a dragon, and see them worry to bits about it.

 

[Storminator]

It's not really the encounter. It's a mash up of a couple encounters in the module into a very cool picture.

PS

 

[jaerdaph]

FR1: Waterdeep and the North

I fell deeply in love with Waterdeep and the Forgotten Realms when I first saw that cover.