D&D (2024) New D&D Edition's Player’s Handbook Alternate Art Cover Reveal

Polygon revealed the alternate art for the 2024 Player's Handbook.

"Illustrated by Wylie Beckert, the alt art cover of the Player’s Handbook (2024) features a party comprised of D&D’s four iconic classes — the fighter, the wizard, the cleric, and the rogue — all gathered around a friendly gold dragon, sharing tea. This gentle scene stands in stark contrast to the mainline Player’s Handbook (2024), which will have a bright, bold cover by Tyler Jacobsen with similar characters posed in the moments before striking a blow."

 

[Henadic Theologian]

These days, it is uncomfortable to see all of the characters be White.

I feel the cover should reflect the target audience, in this case, represent the US demographic.

That said, these days, I appreciate seeing a White male as part of the group.

That is very American centric.

 

[DarkCrisis]

why don't you draft one up and we can commission an artist?!

Don’t go cheap on the artist. I expect quality.

 

[Nikosandros]

You aren't imagining that, and I don't recall it being specifically addressed. My assumption has been that the decision to stagger the releases of the core books across five months probably freed up enough printing capacity to be able to do the special covers.

I also remember something about this, but I wonder if the statement was about doing a limited deluxe slip case, like they did for the 2014 core three some years ago.

 

[Parmandur]

I also remember something about this, but I wonder if the statement was about doing a limited deluxe slip case, like they did for the 2014 core three some years ago.

They said no FLGS covers, but could be the demand was enough to make them make it happen.

 

[dave2008]

Don’t go cheap on the artist. I expect quality.

View attachment 363391

It seems we have a Lich on a dragon - is that a dracolich?

 

[Nikosandros]

They said no FLGS covers, but could be the demand was enough to make them make it happen.

Another factor might be that they started selling the bundles on DDB. Without the alt-covers, stores are penalized even more. At least, they keep this exclusive that can drive (I believe) quite a bit of sales.

 

[Burnside]

I certainly like this one better, but I don’t love it. I enjoy the colors and the border designs, but the image is a little boring. It’s not a mess like the standard cover though. Will definitely be getting this one.

Edit: my initial reaction was too negative. The more I look at this one, the more I like it.

 

[Yaarel]

Oh man... why is it uncomfortable? Not everything needs to show everybody

Because, I live in a global world. I have friends from various ethnicities. We play D&D.

and if you are doing US demos, majority should be white, sheesh.

Majority? I am looking at Wikipedia. The US has odd ethnic categories for historical and legal reasons.

The United States is about 62% "White" (an American pan-ethnicity). But this includes about 4% Latino White, 1% "Middle Eastern" (various ethnicities), and whoever 38% "Other" are.

Say around 60% of the US is Pan-European White. That is a majority, but not a defining majority. 40% of potential customers arent. 40% of potential friends arent.

African (an American Pan-African ethnicity) is about 12%

"Asian" (very many diverse ethnicities) about 6%.

Indigenous about 1%.

Other about 9%.

"Multiracial" about 10%.


If there is a picture with five US characters, maybe three are White, but two wont be.

I feel one should never ignore the majority. But it is good to make room for minorities, and even overrepresent them, especially in a fantasy game, where the minorities can offer interesting perspectives.

Out of five characters in a US fantasy game, probably two are White, even with a majority demographic in mind. One will probably be African American, one Asian American, and the fifth a choice of other, perhaps Indigenous.

The US is ethnically diverse.


This is just a glance. With a 100 pages of illustrations, the representation can become more inclusive, with better resolution of the diversities within each group.

And I don't even see this as "all white", they are left a bit ambiguous, which is nice.

Both women look clearly White. The man sitting has blond hair. The man standing is probably White.

And, yes a white male being included is fine, they are still the majority of the d&d player base.

Honestly. To prevent a backlash, the US entertainment industry does well to remember its White male customers. And. Be more inclusive of other identities.

That is very American centric.

Yes. Intentionally. It is a US company, whose customers are mostly Americans. Plus, the US is ethnically diverse, so there is some outreach.

 

[Cadence]

I can imagine my son will shortly be figuring out how to get one...

 

[DarkCrisis]

It seems we have a Lich on a dragon - is that a dracolich?

I was thinking a red dragon but sure why not