D&D (2024) What do people think of the new dragon designs?


log in or register to remove this ad

Stormonu

NeoGrognard
I'd rather go back to the days when the artist could pretty much draw them how they wanted and didn't have to stick to a design sheet template. You could have as many variations of how a red dragon looks as there are different expressions of beholders. Or humans, for that matter.
 

I'd rather go back to the days when the artist could pretty much draw them how they wanted and didn't have to stick to a design sheet template. You could have as many variations of how a red dragon looks as there are different expressions of beholders. Or humans, for that matter.
That would make perfect sense for a game like D&D that doesn't have just one bespoke setting. Instead of having fixed "canonical" dragons, give us different ideas of what dragons might look like in your setting.
 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
I'd rather go back to the days when the artist could pretty much draw them how they wanted and didn't have to stick to a design sheet template. You could have as many variations of how a red dragon looks as there are different expressions of beholders. Or humans, for that matter.
For better or worse, Hasbro wants D&D to be a brand that can support ancillary products, so coming up with consistent prominent NPCs, consistent art styles, etc., is something they need to do, just like Star Wars has to have that kind of consistency.

I do think making all of the D&D worlds look so similar as a result definitely means losing some of their individual character, though.
 

dave2008

Legend
Only design I don't really care for is the new blue dragon... It doesn't say "desert dweller" to me in the way that the 3e-era design did, with the mixed blue and yellow/tan/gold color scheme.

Looks more like a "storm" dragon design, perhaps even ocean-dwelling, like the bronze.
Blues are already storm dragons and my games so I would be happy if the moved them that direction.
 



Arnie_Wan_Kenobi

Aspiring Trickster Mentor
Brass, Bronze and who else? I remember from 4e on how there was some concern and confusion regarding Brass and Bronze dragons and ho w they looked. Some felt that the two looked alike while ignoring some of the more obvious differences in their appearance.
I've always felt like the problem is that when translating metallic hues to more flat (matte?) colors in art, Gold and Brass are both yellow-ish-with-some-brown, then Bronze and Copper are both brownishyellow-ish-with-some-green, so there's blending needed...and then we end up with four that look exactly the frickin' same and one that's sorta pale. (This gets even worse with Draconians.)

Oops, ETA: Hence I'm ALWAYS thrilled when the metallics get distinct muzzles/horns/bodies. Then we can at least tell 'em apart a little.
 
Last edited:

dave2008

Legend
I gather from your responses that something like "realism" is important to you. it is not to me. If it were, I wouldn't be advocating city sized dragons for the PCs to fight.
Just want to clarify that the image you liked was not close to city sized. Heck, Godzilla is not city sized.
 

dave2008

Legend
They look pretty similar. I think Artist differences can be taken into account.
Sure, and both could be artistic differences to the red we have had since 3e. The one thing that is different with the new design, and you see it in the PHB cover too, is that the new red had 4 horns and not 2. So I think 4 horned red dragons are the new standard. Maybe the grow more horns as they age. I was already giving my Tiamat red had more horns, so this lines up with what I was doing already.
 

Remove ads

Top