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

Game Informer has revealed the cover to the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

The cover features a gold dragon behind the old-school D&D characters Strongheart the paladin, Mercion the cleric, Elkhorn the dwarf fighter, and Molliver the thief. Ringlerun the wizard is absent (then again he got his showcase on one of the 1E AD&D Player's Handbooks), but a drow mage appears to have joined the party!

 

[Reynard]

No no no. Obviously, this is two elder dragons playing Pokemon, pitting their champions against each other in a proxy contest. The gold wyrm's adventurers versus the red dragon's elite kobolds. The winning team's backer will claim victory, while the loser will have to cede the point of contention.

Oooh: Dragon Chess is always played with living pieces!

 

[Kobold Avenger]

No no no. Obviously, this is two elder dragons playing Pokemon, pitting their champions against each other in a proxy contest. The gold wyrm's adventurers versus the red dragon's elite kobolds. The winning team's backer will claim victory, while the loser will have to cede the point of contention.

I kid, but only partly. The piece is very much open to interpretation, and could be slotted as anything from "high level PCs assaulting a high CR dragon in its lair with their own dragon as backup" to "low level PCs fight some kobolds while the two ancient dragons bicker and lay bets, dropping many hints for the campaign to come". That's the beauty of art.

I'm of the opinion that Metallic Dragons have their own Kobolds too, but good-aligned Metallic Kobolds are generally pushovers compared to evil-aligned Chromatic Kobolds.

 

[occam]

No no no. Obviously, this is two elder dragons playing Pokemon, pitting their champions against each other in a proxy contest. The gold wyrm's adventurers versus the red dragon's elite kobolds. The winning team's backer will claim victory, while the loser will have to cede the point of contention.

I kid, but only partly. The piece is very much open to interpretation, and could be slotted as anything from "high level PCs assaulting a high CR dragon in its lair with their own dragon as backup" to "low level PCs fight some kobolds while the two ancient dragons bicker and lay bets, dropping many hints for the campaign to come". That's the beauty of art.

Or the PCs have temporarily summoned a gold dragon to help them soften up the red.

Or the gold dragon is an illusion meant to create doubt in the red's mind.

Or it's actually the 6th member of the party, a wildshaped druid of the new Circle of Dragons.

 

[Horwath]

meh,

to cartoonish and generic.

there could have been more details to the art.

Back cover is better, but marginally.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

BTW, for those that wonder why D&D doesn't have any "iconic heroes" like the Marvel Universe, you don't understand the RPG medium.

Yes, that's clearly the issue with people who've been playing D&D for 40+ years. Well-spotted.

 

[Remathilis]

I like that it puts the adventurers front and center, unlike the 5e PHB with its random giant taking up most of the cover.

But that's pretty much the only thing I like about it, the colors and composition are way too busy. And the artistic quality really isn't quite what I'd expect from the cover of the world's best selling RPG. It's not poorly drawn by any means, but I think WotC should have given the artist more time given how important this piece is.

That's King Snurre, antagonist from the Against the Giants series, and about equal on the recognizability scale as the LJN action figure characters. Which is to say, a "who?" to all but the most ardent fans...

 

[Yaarel]

The piece is very much open to interpretation, and could be slotted as anything from "high level PCs assaulting a high CR dragon in its lair with their own dragon as backup" to "low level PCs fight some kobolds while the two ancient dragons bicker and lay bets, dropping many hints for the campaign to come". That's the beauty of art.

It would be funny to have a cover like this for a book where the Kobolds are the player characters.

 

[Wolfpack48]

I liked this one better:

 

[Bigsta]

So Goliaths are just in this because of critical role, right?

My wife's first ever D&D character was a 4e Tiefling Warlock, her second, and all time favorite, was a 4e Goliath Barbarian. Long before Critical Roll. Goliaths (and tieflings) are for fans like her who started in 4e. Yes, such fans do exist.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Tieflings have been popular since 2nd edition.