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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Grendel_Khan" data-source="post: 8582112" data-attributes="member: 7028554">I think a few things are simultaneously true:1) For some people, myself included, the main cover for this book isn't appealing at all. I don't personally demand that every game book cover feature something perilous, terrifying, etc. But I'm definitely drawn to images that show a situation or environment that gets my creative juices flowing, and specifically where I can imagine being a player, or running a game/encounter. To me, the Radiant Citadel cover is like a spot illo that accidentally made its way to the cover. I don't care if that dorky creature escapes with its ill-gotten produce. I wouldn't care as a player, and if I described that scene as a GM, it'd be of no interest to my players. And the environment pictured? Again, who cares? A bazaar! Not a backdrop for tales of derring-do, however grim or hopeful. Maybe a place for a dreaded shopping run or other logistics before the adventure actually gets going.2) Those noting that you shouldn't literally judge a book by its cover are right. Even the additional art that's been shared in this thread shows that there are many tones available in this book, and that the setting is a place where adventures can happen. It's not all rascally Pokemon and (imo) not-so-well-rendered people delighted by fruit raining down on their heads.3) And yet, covers are a very big deal in TTRPGs. They're like all the other elements that makes a book more than just a plain text file. Layout, information design, illustrations, are a big part of why Free League has become such darlings, and why so many WotC books are considered so "polished." Great covers become iconic, in part because they set or reinforce the tone for the game, and because they spark the imagination. In my opinion TTRPG covers have a greater impact than novel covers (novels being solely about the text, with covers just a marketing element) or movie posters (again, pure marketing, and usually not reflective of the film's moving images). I think gaming book covers are a lot closer to comic or graphic novel covers, or even magazine covers, which are incredibly important, tying into the visual style of the contents.Given how rarely WotC publishes (compared to a monthly magazine or comic, for example) it's not like we can assume any covers are accidental, or anything but carefully planned. So reading a lot, maybe even too much, into every cover they produce is, I think, understandable. What is this cover trying to do? Who is it trying to appeal to? What does it have to do with how you'll use the book? From the smallest indie game to the biggest, covers matter. And if they establish a tone or play mode or whatever else that seems cuddly and drained of traditional types of adventurous pretend-play, I don't think that's so easily brushed off, or strictly about critics supposedly pining for nothing-but-grimdark. The covers for <a href="https://possumcreekgames.com/products/wanderhome" target="_blank">Wanderhome</a> and the <a href="https://magpiegames.com/pages/root-rpg" target="_blank">Root RPG </a>are plenty cute. Cuter than a pile of puppies. But they also make me want to play those games, to get into adventures. The bazaar on the Radiant Citadel cover? Um...guess it'd be a good backdrop for a rad no-filter selfie?</blockquote>

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