D&D General What the Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Cover Might Look Like

Below is a quick mockup of the potential cover of Melf's Guide to Greyhawk based on the Jeff Easley art revealed at Gary Con, using the current D&D 5.5E trade dress. The fonts aren't quite right, but it gives an approximate look at what the book may look like when it is released.

 

[Reef]

That's awesome. Are you guys playing through a published adventure or doing your own thing?

We're all over the map (no pun intended). There are three of us who DM. The first usually picks an adventure path and sticks to it fairly religiously. The second tends to go complete homebrew: setting and adventures are all original. I tend to split the difference: I like to have some published adventures (separate or as a path) that I can lean on as a framework/crutch, but I'll deviate and make it my own as we go...adding quests, reworking dungeons, swapping npcs etc (as needed).

 

[Jahydin]

I tend to split the difference: I like to have some published adventures (separate or as a path) that I can lean on as a framework/crutch, but I'll deviate and make it my own as we go...adding quests, reworking dungeons, swapping npcs etc (as needed).

Last one I ran was Out of the Abyss and it felt like this 50/50 split was mandatory. Are the later adventurers like that still or are they more complete like PF Adventure Paths?

 

[Jahydin]

Funny that you mention A5e, I feel that goes farther away from old school D&D than 5e or 5.5e! I have A5e but me and my group felt it was taking us away from our old school playing style so we when back to 5e.

I think for me it was less about simple mechanics, but the idea that D&D isn't just "storytime", but a game to be won. I play OSR games because I like to see players accomplish that with creative solutions and role-play. For other rule sets, I think it's cool to see players do that via smart character builds, clever battle tactics, and/or meta currency manipulation.

5e for me, especially behind the screen, just felt like the math wasn't mathing. Past level 10 I gave up trying to balance fights all together and just let them live out their super hero fantasies. Much happier with PF2e right now since it seems to be a great combination of role-play/tactics in order to overcome challenges.

Regarding the art, that isn't actually a trend IMO. There are many styles of art in 5e and in particular 5e24. I mean the following is coming from a book in June: You have blood drinking, stakes through the heart,

That picture of Strahd is absolutely gorgeous. I honestly did a double take. The last promotional Ravenloft artwork I saw was this:

So certainly took note.

Honestly, all those others pics you posted look pretty great too. I was so turned off with the Player's Handbook I never even gave the other books a look through, so glad to see this. I've only seen the Player's Handbook out in the wild, but I will certainly give the other books a flip through if I get a chance.

 

[bedir than]

I think for me it was less about simple mechanics, but the idea that D&D isn't just "storytime", but a game to be won. I play OSR games because I like to see players accomplish that with creative solutions and role-play. For other rule sets, I think it's cool to see players do that via smart character builds, clever battle tactics, and/or meta currency manipulation.

5e for me, especially behind the screen, just felt like the math wasn't mathing. Past level 10 I gave up trying to balance fights all together and just let them live out their super hero fantasies. Much happier with PF2e right now since it seems to be a great combination of role-play/tactics in order to overcome challenges.


That picture of Strahd is absolutely gorgeous. I honestly did a double take. The last promotional Ravenloft artwork I saw was this:View attachment 433136
So certainly took note.

Honestly, all those others pics you posted look pretty great too. I was so turned off with the Player's Handbook I never even gave the other books a look through, so glad to see this. I've only seen the Player's Handbook out in the wild, but I will certainly give the other books a flip through if I get a chance.

You'd probably enjoy the Melf's Acid Arrow art from the PHB too.
There's a lot of variance of style and intent within that book.
Morrus used it for the product announcement

D&D General Thread 'Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Coming From Luke Gygax & WotC'

Mar 19, 2026

At GaryCon this week, Luke Gygax and WotC's Dan Ayoub announced that Gygax was working on a book called Melf's Guide to Greyhawk. No other information is known at this time, other than that Gygax is also working on adventures.

Luke is the son of D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. The character Melf--of Melf's acid arrow fame--was his player character back in Gygax's home game in the 1970s.

Dan Ayoub: I think probably the thing that I'm excited about many things that we're going to be doing, one of the biggest things I'm most excited about...

• Morrus
• Replies: 272
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[dave2008]

I think for me it was less about simple mechanics, but the idea that D&D isn't just "storytime", but a game to be won. I play OSR games because I like to see players accomplish that with creative solutions and role-play. For other rule sets, I think it's cool to see players do that via smart character builds, clever battle tactics, and/or meta currency manipulation.

5e for me, especially behind the screen, just felt like the math wasn't mathing. Past level 10 I gave up trying to balance fights all together and just let them live out their super hero fantasies. Much happier with PF2e right now since it seems to be a great combination of role-play/tactics in order to overcome challenges.

Everyone plays differently, but that has not been our experience with 5e. For us it plays like an improved version of 1e. During 1e I had 20+ pages of house rules to make the game how we like to play. For 5e I have 1 page. With that we have no issue craft a game of strategy, investigation, danger, and roleplay. Everyone is different though and needs different things.

 

[Zardnaar]

We're all over the map (no pun intended). There are three of us who DM. The first usually picks an adventure path and sticks to it fairly religiously. The second tends to go complete homebrew: setting and adventures are all original. I tend to split the difference: I like to have some published adventures (separate or as a path) that I can lean on as a framework/crutch, but I'll deviate and make it my own as we go...adding quests, reworking dungeons, swapping npcs etc (as needed).

Im close to this. I very rarely use a unique map though now.

I've so many APs, adventures etc may as well use them right?

 

[Mournblade94]

If Gary isn't responsible for his words that were sexist and racist who is responsible for Gary's words that were sexist and racist?

And I'd agree with Luke, there's no reason for WotC to apologize for saying that the modern game should accept people of all races, faiths, genders.

Nobody else is responsible for it. All they needed was one of the disclaimers that are lame but ultimately harmless in front of older publications. They didn't need to disparage the creator for a different cultural time. Not many of those books are going to bought by newer gamers anyway, so it was ultimately useless because most of the older gamers don't worry about things people said in the past decades.

You don't need to bring up dirty laundry about older names in the business to be inclusive.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Nobody else is responsible for it. All they needed was one of the disclaimers that are lame but ultimately harmless in front of older publications. They didn't need to disparage the creator for a different cultural time. Not many of those books are going to bought by newer gamers anyway, so it was ultimately useless because most of the older gamers don't worry about things people said in the past decades.

You don't need to bring up dirty laundry about older names in the business to be inclusive.

That sounds very much like an attempt to whitewash history.

 

[Mournblade94]

I think for me it was less about simple mechanics, but the idea that D&D isn't just "storytime", but a game to be won. I play OSR games because I like to see players accomplish that with creative solutions and role-play. For other rule sets, I think it's cool to see players do that via smart character builds, clever battle tactics, and/or meta currency manipulation.

5e for me, especially behind the screen, just felt like the math wasn't mathing. Past level 10 I gave up trying to balance fights all together and just let them live out their super hero fantasies. Much happier with PF2e right now since it seems to be a great combination of role-play/tactics in order to overcome challenges.

I think 5e plays close to 1st edition and I love it for that. I have not commited to 5.5 because of getting rid of half races for coocoo reasons, and I don't like the backgrounds. They seem to definitely be doing more story time than game though with 2024 and I worry that is made more for the AP Performing Art than people that actually play the game.

That picture of Strahd is absolutely gorgeous. I honestly did a double take. The last promotional Ravenloft artwork I saw was this:View attachment 433136
So certainly took note.

Yes that was some seriously lame art, not as bad as Desert Prickly Pear harvesters or Wearing open toes in a Dwarven Forge. My problem with the character art was it looked like people I used to play with at LARPS. Just like modern people in costumes.

I have been able to do a lot with 5e. I have enough rules mastery that I can grab any of my AD&D Modules and run them for 5e with converting everything on the fly. The 5e AD&D Modules conversions are pretty good as well. When I want to link old AD&D Modules I check first to see if it is in an anthology. Tomb of Horrors was not NEARLY as deadly but that is OK because I linked it as a major adventure site for a POST Out of the Abyss campaign. I've run that module at least 10 times so it was fun using the Yawning Portal version.

Honestly, all those others pics you posted look pretty great too. I was so turned off with the Player's Handbook I never even gave the other books a look through, so glad to see this. I've only seen the Player's Handbook out in the wild, but I will certainly give the other books a flip through if I get a chance.

Honestly the setting books are better than the Core books. Even the parts of the Setting Books I really don't like such as Calimshan had appropriate art. I would just pay extra money not to have those little Snippets of Xanathar talking or Fizban Talking in books. Forgotten Realms had SOME of that but it was not nearly as intrusive as Tasha's, Xanathar, or Dragons.