D&D 5E The cover of the 5E PHB: What I'd like to see

[Alfred Lord Denizen]

The first time I DMed we ran the 'Dwellers of the Forbidden City'. I remember taking a moment to describe how the city spread out through the gash of the mountain, how the massive overgrown trees swayed recklessly about, how the old stone buildings, moldered and collapsing, held secrets and treasure beyond an average man's reckoning.
Even at 13 my friends and I took a moment to consider it, to picture it in our mind's eye: 3 intrepid souls standing at the edge of a sheer cliff, gazing out at unknown adventure.
THAT'S what I want the next edition's art to capture.

 

[patrick y.]

A sweeping wilderness vista that encompasses both the front and back cover. There should be a crumbling ruin reclaimed by nature in the near distance, and a crooked tower high atop a mountain in the background. An adventuring party of four or five should be making their way towards the ruins, situated far enough from the "camera" that they look like something out of one of the travel montage shots from the Lord of the Rings. Flying high above is a dragon, banking down towards them, conveniently situated so that its body and wide swept wings form the ampersand in the Dungeons & Dragons title block.

 

[dd.stevenson]

Something that shows how D&D characters do more than can ever be written on a character sheet.

Back in one of the 2E books there was a picture of a woman who had chopped up an ogre's club, and the ogre was gulping as she pressed the point of her sword against his throat. That picture did more to capture my imagination than all the dragons ever painted.

 

[GX.Sigma]

Either something with "sense of wonder" involving exploration, as Morrus said, or something totally freaking rad, like this:

Definitely not "one monstrous male and one sexy female posing for the camera."

 

[Sadras]

What about a pair of armed goblins standing over, searching through, poking with their weapons, stealing the boots of a happless party of four traditional adventuring party members...with a hobgoblin admiring his shiny new sword he just picked up.

 

[variant]

How about the four common races/classes at in an inn?

 

[Klaus]

Four adventurers, in a dungeon, with a dragon. Like this:

or this:

 

[Nebulous]

i'd actually prefer it to NOT have a dragon in the picture. just a party of normal looking mixed adventurers looking at some interesting vista, or after a battle, or something strange happening.

PS - although i do like those pics claudio posted.

 

[delericho]

A party of four adventurers newly victorious over a band of vicious goblins. The rogue and the wizard are deep in conversation, perplexed - where have that statue's gemstone eyes gone?

 

[bouncyhead]

Adventurers running for their very lives from a horde of slavering nasties. The wizard has a hand clamped over his hat to stop it falling off.