The New PLAYER’S HANDBOOK COVER Has Gamers Divided
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- I have mixed feelings about the cover of the new Player’s Handbook for D&D (50th anniversary edition). I wish I could love it, but it doesn’t quite work for me. This video is a (slightly rambling) analysis of the piece, basically walking through the thoughts that came to me as I took in this illustration.
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The 3e book looks like, we don't have money. 4e says, fuck we want to be like World of Warcraft.
I love the 3e book covers, my favorite ones.
@@esperthebard I like the 3e art a lot, and the idea of the game books being a book from the in game world, but to me, the 3e PHB cover in particular is unclear as to what it exactly represents.
@@esperthebard It's the dullest of the books. It doesn't beat the janky arm barbarian from the cover of the 2e LOL. I just see your complaints as arbitrary to some of the facts. The New book is a typical DEI mess but it's good art. I'm not going to fault it.
Thought 4 and 5e looked shockingly cheap, the interior art and the page making were so much worse than 3e.
I think 3e art is amazing, but I like the heavier use of dark contrast, and I have never enjoyed the clean art of 5e exept when I started getting into D&D and only had that as a reference (got into it during 5e).
I like that Strongheart, Mercion, and Elkhorn are on the cover, but I wish they had made the red dragon more prominent and left out the gold.
This is my feeling I think replace the Gold Dragon with the red and add in more monsters swarming the heroes. Maybe a exit in the distance we can see asking if the players will escape?
Who are Strongheart, Mercion, and Elkhorn?
@AKJRees Strongheart is the paladin, Mercion is the cleric, and Elkhorn is the dwarf. They been around since the 80s. Their adventuring group is called Valors Call.
From a jaded grown-up point of view, it's easy to see the intent behind every aspect of this cover. They try to appeal to girls (with a mostly female party) - because that's their target growth demographic. Making sure that every character ticks a diversity box (taken directly from the Blizzard Entertainment checklist) is done to fall in line with the general zeitgeist and to maximize the potential target audience. Finally, we have the completely covered up knight, which will look cool to little boys without openly risking showing a non-diverse character and a "traditional" dwarf to throw the older fans a bone as well. To a jaded old-school player, this looks like corporate BS, but it might just work well enough to advertize D&D to the future audience they are going for.
With all that out of the way, the art is clearly meant to highlight the uniqueness of each party member first and foremost - each with a completely distinct look and starkly contrasting color scheme. By sharing the spotlight equally between the heroes, the piece functions as a "character select screen", with many appealing choices - with the dragon in the background representing the role of the DM. The monsters are very intentionally just window dressing.
It may be surprising to veteran players, but the covers of the 5e core books are actually way too frightening for children to look at, so there certainly are some upsides to having a decidedly non-scary artstyle.
There will never be a time where inclusivity elves don't completely break verisimilitude.
And look at the piece of interior art with the silver dragon. The author took the time to depict a black baby on his white father's shoulders. It's like the same people who make all of the drug commercials now are directing D&D artwork.
@@JediNiyteEXACTLY!
I'm a father of 4 (two 8 year olds, 12 and 14) none of my kids would be "frightened" by the artwork of 4e or 3.5e... and its not corporates job to get girls into dnd its the friends, maybe the boyfriend or the brother who's job it is to get them into it
Your analysis of the art is how I see it too. But the corporate side I don't care much for. It's a company trying to sell their product. If that intent stopped one from buying stuff, what could anyone buy?
@@ODXT That's fair enough. I think what disgruntles people like Esper and myself is the realization that the thing we like is getting into something we can't get behind anymore - and that the creators of D&D clearly don't mind alienating their loyal crowd when given the opportunity to court a different audience.
Of course, us old-school players can always just play whatevr version we grew up with, but of course we're not happy to miss out on getting shiny new stuff (rules, classes, spells, etc.). It'S fun to be part of the D&D community - so it's a shame when you feel like you're getting pushed out.
But at least we get Mystara back. Those characters are canonically part of the known world
Please no, don't put that thought out into the world. You're conversion of Mystara is masterful, we don't need WotC to water down what is essentially the best damn setting in all of D&D
Just some context Esper. All of the PHB art is meant to represent the perspective of the PLAYER ie. the good guys hence the focus on the heroes and the big gold dragon. The DM guide will be the perspective of the DM ie. the villains.
Then why the gold dragon? Are they teasing dragon player characters? I don't think so.
@@HenriFaust The gold dragon is there to represent the golden anniversary of dnd
@santiagosaracho2271 and to help signify that some dragons are good and will potentially ally with the players.
@@HenriFaust Serves 2 purposes, the 50th anniversary and to remind players that dragons can be good guys too.
Honestly, . . . don't care. It failed, and I really don't like it.
What I like about this illustration is that something about it brought some old school vibes, but other parts have a very modern, flashy look. I think it's a bit too busy with the colors, but it's nice that the Player Characters are the focus of the PHB cover again. It's not the best PHB cover we ever had (Ad&d 2e and 4e were my favorites), but it's a solid one.
However, I do think the Gold dragon was a weird choice there. I can imagine a new player not familiar with d&d dragons seeing the cover, and questioning if that dragon is a friend or foe, and not in the good way, just straight-up confusion.
The characters look very "Old-School Pulp Fantasy" to me. Their clothes and armor, for some reason, especially the dwarf in the background. The *characters* almost remind me of that one illustration with the baby dragon they just killed. I like that art.
But the motion in the piece, which makes everything super busy, is definitely a modern trait. The dragon sort of implied to slither out from the smoke behind them, the kobold leaping from the ledge, the kobold running in the extreme foreground, the spell casters casting as the warriors strike a pose. A lot going on, as I said.
But, man, recently it just bothers me how clean everything always is in modern RPG art. Look how shiny that knight is, how intact his cape, how gleaming his sword. How far into their adventure are they? And they still look like they are fresh out of costumes and make up?
It's not the worst but it definitely is still trying to convey that superhero fantasy vibe... Which, to be fair, a lot more people probably want than "dungeon grundge."
The characters on front are callbacks to some AD&D Toys.
Strongheart the "Good Paladin", Elkhorn the "Good Dwarf Fighter", Mercion the "Good Cleric Female " and Molliver the "Lawful Thief"
In earlier drafts it looks loke the center sorceress was supposed tp be Ringlrun "The Good Wizard" but was replaced with the Elven Queen
Yolande from Greyhawk (which feels very tacked on like they designed her first and then gave her an identity)
Someone in Molliver cosplay, perhaps.
For me, I really like both the primary and the alt covers for the new PHB. For me, the gold dragon represents the DM watching over the adventure of the players, whose party is front and center in the image, as befitting a book that focuses on characters.
That approach takes agency away a lot.
I mean, if the ratings are up to the appearance (and the size difference doesn´t help either), the Gold Dragon can shove everything antagonistic in that scene away with a minor sneeze through one of its nostrils. That gives deus-ex-machina vibes that are more or less an antithesis of what you are saying.
It´s more like "Look at my little ones, aren´t they cute? ...and sooo competent!"
(If anything goes wrong, Big Mommy Dragon will intervene, like a soccer mom if her snowflake is fouled at the game.)
I don't _necessarily_ think cluttered art is a bad thing unto itself - as with all things artistic, it's very much dependent on the surrounding context.
I would be interested to see almost.. Boschian D&D art considering how chaotic and disorderly the settings of D&D tend to be. Feels like it could fit quite nicely in its own way.
6:00
There have been statements from older editions that elves can have the same skin tones as humans, and this isn't the first illustration of an African-looking elf, I've see another one from 3.5e Player's Guide to Faerune
A fun thing about this cover, is that 4 out of the 5 characters are members of Valor's Call from the 80s show, the only missing character from Valor's Call is Ringlerun, an old human wizard, it was replaced by the brownish elvish wizard. The concept art confirms this, as Ringlerun appears on the first concept art and is replaced in the middle of the process.
I wonder why they replaced the old human wizard by an elf (we all know why)
D.E.I - Definitely Empty Inside
Is the 80’s show called Valor’s Call?
@@mitchryan257 No, it was simply called "Dungeons & Dragons", Valor's Call is the name of a group of heroes within the tv show. They also appeared on the Wild Beyond the Witchlight 5e adventure a few years ago.
If it was an old human wizard, it might give new players the idea that its a gandalf-like character. Like it is either the main character or a mentor, not something that a player can choose to be necessarily.
There is a raw muscularity to the forms in the art, waiting to be filled by player creativity. It says, “here be power” and gives you the baton to run.
i am the only one that thinks the quality of artworks in D&D 5e and Magic the Gathering goes down more and more?
It’s crap, just low effort crap.
I don't think that's true.
They have a lot of artists, so some are going to be more appealing to you than others, but I think that in general every new MTG card looks far better than how they look earlier, in pure technical aspects, not just the artstyle.
You maybe like the art of Raging Goblin from Brian Snoddy more than the version of Jakub Kasper for personal preferences, but it's not by any means lower in quality, just a different art direction that you could like more or not.
@@paperknigth2263 look at the details and color gradient at the earlier books like the players handbook or the monster manual and compare it to this one. Its like the final step of finalisation was skipped to finish faster and make them cheaper. Thats not a matter of taste, its a matter of expense. to still like it is a matter of taste, but not the quality level. And with magic cards its the same, when you see the artworks in full size you will recognize that the level of detail and quality drops more and more
This is something I've thought about a lot. It goes beyond just D&D and MtG. Aesthetics have been trending toward being ultra-detailed and high complexity, yet shallow and hollow and forced to serve corporate politics.
check out alpha/revised art then check out anything in the last 5 years, the new stuff is MILES ahead.
I hate to contradict a great mind such as your own, but I ask that you please hear me out Sir Esper. I believe that the lack of a focal point on the cover is actually a good thing. Blasphemy, I know. Now, I don't mean to undermine your authority as an artist. I, after all, can't even draw stick figures accurately. However, I ask you, does Dungeons and Dragons have a focal point? Is their a star player amongst the players who serves as the protagonist while the other characters exist only to provide support? I think not, at least not in any game I would play. The beauty of a TTRPG is that every player, every character is special and plays an equal part in the adventure, sharing in the conquests and spoils of war as well as risking life and limb and failing together. If their was a focal point to the cover, it might convey that the game has a focal point, which I say it doesn't, or at least shouldn't. By having an image on the cover without a primary focus, I think that this new cover really conveys the message that the game is about the entire party, the world, and their adventure, rather than one specific character or characteristic of the game. That said, I do agree with many of your critiques. There is something lacking here and a sense of incongruity that I do not enjoy. The art style is nice, but it is not what I think it could have been had you been on the design team. Still, I hold that the lack of a focal point is in fact a strength and not a weakness of this cover. What say you to my argument, Esper the Bard?
I pretty much agree. Having a distinct focal point is not what makes or breaks a piece. Either approach could work if executed well. And your interpretation is cool-it could represent the various aspects of D&D all together.
I think the issues are that it's a bit too incoherent/confusing and a bit too much coporate politics instead of true artistic inspiration.
@@esperthebard
"Corporate politics"?
I understand the corporate part, these are all products from a company.
But here's what I see: old characters from lore being used to represent some races and classes. They're bringing Greyhawk back with this. So there's an old school look with modern style. (That's an attempt to hit old-school gamers).
There's a Gold Dragon, which you made a video about how important it is. It's a Dragon which is half the title of the game. It's a good dragon showing that not all dragons are evil. Might represent the GM (since it's an NPC with the party).
There are enemies, including a Red Dragon. But they aren't the focus.
Feels like a stretch to say that "politics" has any focus here. At most I can see the attempt to appeal to older players in a cynical light. But I'm open to hearing you out, can you elaborate on what you mean?
@@esperthebard With that I wholeheartedly agree. Everything looks good on it's own, but it is hard to see how it goes together, like an overreaching GM who hasn't quite figured out the plot of the game and is just throwing anything at the players for fun. And their is a lack of soul, likely as a result of those corporate politics you mentioned.
Side note, I am glad you liked my viewpoint. Also, I hope you know I meant no disrespect at any point in my comment. I sometimes get wordy and sound condescending, but never write in meanness.
@@ODXT I can only speak for myself, obviously, but I feel as though politics comes through on a couple notes.
Firstly, as you yourself alluded, it is definitely a political power move to grab for old players with some of the characters and shunt them into the new system and style.
Secondly, when looking at the characters one can't help but notice several females, and several different skin colors. I'm not saying this is bad, but being very conscious of skin color and gender within a piece like this I think has some political connotations.
Thirdly, and tying in with my second point, look at the dwarf. The shield could just be an art flop, or it could be a result of a disabled adventurer with a shield prosthetic. D&D has been politically moving to include disabled characters, for example, building ramps into dungeons, in order to be more inclusive.
And lastly, at least from the major points that I see, the dragons. It is my take that making the gold dragon so big and majestic as compared to the almost non-existent red dragon is a sign of politics in response to recent events. I think it might be that WOTC feels they are the gold, a big and powerful force behind the players and game itself, while those who are rising against them with new systems (Paizo, Daggerheart, etc) are the red dragon, a small opposing force rising to stand against them. And the little kobolds could be a representative of the small time third party producers, such as Esper, who are hardly worth their attention, drawing the ire of only 1 paraplegic dwarf.
I might be looking at things wrong, but when looking for politics, this is what I see. What say you to my interpretation?
@ODXT The party featured on the new cover is Valor's Call. The topmost character initially was the party's wizard, Ringlerun, who is a classic bearded wizard. See Tyler Jacobson's works in progress, and Ringlerun was originally there. But then corporate politics stepped in and made him swap out the party's wizard for Yolande the elf queen and made him race swap her from the grey elf she had been all along to now look like a black woman.
This is done to give the appearance of virtue on behalf of WotC, but forcing such an agenda does not make them them virtuous.
That Sorcerers left arm is wonky AF. Looks broken.
It's too pop. That's exactly the problem with it. You found exactly the words I couldn't place! Thank you! 8:00 It really does look like a board room designed it.
One major knock against the original 5e covers is that while the uniform colors look good once you've been sitting with the illustrations for like half an hour they do also make it reeeeaaally hard to notice all the details. Like sure the old PHB cover is technically good but i didn't even notice the second guy until months after buying it and it's overall difficult to tell what's going on.
This new piece instantly grabs your eye with the vibrant colors of the sourceresses spellcasting, then guides you down from her to Strongheart and then the rest of the crew. These are the heroes, YOUR heroes. The gold dragon lends mystique, especially for new people who don't have any idea of the disposition of metallic dragons, and the kobold hoard presents a clear threat. To a new player, this looks like an incredibly dire situation. Then they learn more and the piece gains more nuance, which is neat. The array of colors section off different parts of the piece so everything is easier to read and the composition is honestly really nice, sorta simulating the dungeoneering experience by making the whole piece darker the further down you go. My biggest gripe with it is the thing you mentioned with the red dragon, it reeaaaally needed to be more visible. In the text-less larger version it IS much more visible so it'd really unfortunate that the cropped version fucks them over so much.
It's a cover meant to draw in new players and that i think it does really well. As a seasoned player tho, the alt cover is just leagues more enticing.
I really like the new cover in my opinion. I like the art style, it makes me feel if I would be living my own tales of adventure, danger, fun and madness. Like the start of a Odyssey. Yes I know that 5e doesn't have all the features that were in 3e and can have lack somethings. But if there is problems we must help to solve them, or make them fix them, no just get angry and just cry about. All of us love this game for something right.
I personally like that it focuses on a group of adventurers, thus putting focus on the party as a whole and highlighting the team-based nature of the game, but I agree that it lacks a sense of peril. The absence of real menace adds to the ‘pop’ effect, which I don’t really mind for interior art displaying the inside of a tavern or a group of non-hostile npcs, but it doesn’t fit the with an epic battle they’re trying to imply.
It feels like no part of this image cooperates with the rest.
The gold dragon wants to horde the entire cover.
The mage in the middle is just...overdoing it?
Why does the mace of the lady on the left have a magic bubble around it?
Dwarf is so far in the background you barely notice them.
Blue knight is ok. I don't like his friend's studded leather though.
Red dragon is making a stealth check.
What are a couple of kobolds doing here?
Personally, I like this cover better then 2014
Actually looks like the PLAYER'S handbook now. That 2014 version kept me from buying it at first.
I like parts of the jungle temple illustrations. It has quite realistic proportions.
Making D&D less cartoonish is always welcome.
I think most of the problems with this would be solved if the Gold Dragon was replaced with a red, and the red dragon in the corner was replaced by more Kobalds. It would add more urgency and danger. Maybe some better layout would help. I don't mind all the elements involved in this piece, but I can certainly see the issue of framing.
I would’ve had the party fighting kobolds in the forefront and the red and gold dragon duking it out in the background/distance. Show off the difference in scale between the two conflicts.
I tell people 5e is just Marvel super heroes with fantasy aesthetic.
5e is so obsessed with doing what it thinks will make the pcs feel special and powerful that it loses the soul of older editions.
Yes it's nothing like the first two editions of dnd it's not dnd
That's a great summary of why I don't like 5e.
and hopefully no one listens to that tired, trite opinion
@@error404idnotfound3 You can't feel special and powerful until you earn it. People also develop a psychological tolerance with exposure to titillation, so it isn't a reliable way to build and maintain an audience in the long term (sorry, Rian Johnson).
I understand having all the characters front and centre, as it's meant to show the reader, especially if they're new to the game, the sorts of characters they can make. But the gold dragon, as awesome looking as it is, seems pointless. If the book had that same party fighting the red dragon (the most iconic D&D dragon) that would be so much better imo
I'm with you on this one. Despite the gold dragon looking great imo, I'd rather have a tense fight between just the party and a menacing red dragon.
I have been absent for far too long. It feels great to be back, if under a new name. Please forgive me for not being more present Esper. To this day you remain one of my favorite D&D UA-camrs.
Welcome back!
The artwork itself is objectively good. If I tried to draw that no one would be able to recognize what it was supposed to be. However, I don't like it. It's too colorful. It lacks the central theme that the original 5e books had. It has a lot going on unnecessarily. And, most importantly, it leans into everything I hate about modern D&D. Like you said, the game is trying to be like pop music. However, it was originally supposed to be, and really needs to be, hard rock or metal. D&D needs to get out of its taylor swift phase and embrace its Within Temptation roots.
It’s a little weird just how much friendly dragon art there already is for 5.5E.
Looks like the cover of a superhero rpg.
8:46 I actually like how ominous the red dragon is, lurking just outside the adventures' sight, the golden dragon looks to be pointing at the red one, and the adventure's just noticed
Golden dragon: "You thought it was just kobolds I came to fight with you? Look below you!"
The composition seems odd. There's also some errors, like the way how the paladin (Strongheart) holds his sword. Make it looks like AI art. They turned Molliver into Helga (or Holga, don't remember) from that D&D movie. And lastly, that dark skinned elf was supposed to be Queen Yolande of Celene, from Greyhawk. But nothing in her reminds us of the gray elven queen of fair skin, silver hair and purple eyes.
Imma be real the alternate cover(actually the first one I saw) while equally static hits the spot for me because unlike this one I'm not given the impression anything is or should be happening in it
I am 52 and have been playing since ‘78. My 11 year old asked me to run a game for him and his friends. Out of 4 boys and 3 girls, the three girls and one of the boys are INTO it. Just a snap shot from the ground. Also, if I wasn’t represented in D&D art I would want to be. Regarding this specific piece, it is a bit cluttered and the colors are all over the place. But I really enjoy the gold dragon. Nailed that.
I run an off and on campaign for my nieces. It started when they were 11, now turning 14. It's a wondrous and joyful experience!
I migrated to Pathfinder 2e and I love the system but I really don't like the stile but the same goes for 5e. Some of the older Eberron pictures hit the right spot between high fantasy and gritty
Just play parfinder 1e. Its old and beautiful dnd3.5, but enchanted.
I felt that way for PF2e Remaster but the Player Core illustration is quite readable and has a good them.
Overall though PF2e is just better in term of quality. 5e was a mixed bag, with awesome arts like the cover of the DMG to very questionable JPEG-like pictures of the lord of hells like Jubliex.
Question: May I request the name of the song playing at the end of the video, please? :3c
Don't like it. It's not the craftsmanship, it's the art direction. It's everything that I dislike about modern D&D. It's the Seattle hipster theatre kid superhero tone to it. Not for me.
Is it bad for the game to get popular?
@@theblazingredcomet1954 As with any piece of intellectual property that gets bought up by a huge corporation (who didn't create it themselves), you risk diluting its soul and essence when you commercialize it to have "four quadrant appeal". We've seen it with countless nerdy movie and TV franchises over the past decade, fantasy and science fiction. Ironically they end up being for no one. They create apathy in the audience.
@@theblazingredcomet1954 It's not bad that it gets popular. But it's an awful feeling when the thing you always wanted for everyone else to love with you, is now loved for not having the things that made you fall in love with it in the first place.
@NisGaarde there's a difference here with Dnd because it's not media to be consumed in that way. It's a game that takes place 90% in our imaginations. Having art that allows for wide appeal is good to get people into the hobby, and from there, people can extrapolate things to fit their themes.
I dont think that this art ends up being for no one as last I checked the poll that was made before this video showed that most people liked the art. I think the people complaining are the minority here.
I like gritty themes, but I also like people getting into the hobby. Personally if I had my way with this, I would showcase multiple styles and themes to show that possibility is endless with TTRPGs.
Wokeness has killed it, The OSR is where the legacy of dnd is at not wotc.
The old saying "I may not know much about art, but I know what I like" applies for most people. I am not a fan of Mr Jacobson's art. Nor am I a fan of most of the art which has adorned the D&D books - inside or out. The cover for the 1e AD&D Player's Handbook cover may not be great art but it does a solid job of telling the buyer what the game is likely about.
It's baffling that "old school" apparently means going back to a cartoon which many people don't know anything about and a line of toys that, to my knowledge, never made it out of the US.
Neither of the new PHB or DMG covers have grabbed me. They may be colourful but they're also boring.
i dont think the gold dragon is on their side. i think they are surrounded with no way out.
you rock Esper
Love the art, not the content of the art.
The paint style is definitely one of my favorite styles though.
The lizard folk stealing the painting might have been a better cover-piece.
Too many colorful, too busy, looks like a theme park. No focus... there, you just said it... The sorceress is the enemy - obviously she lost control over her two destructive spells - crazy facial features, eyes about to explode, the left hand doing something the right hand is trying to suppress.... I get it: it's a warning against using magic. Go back to the blades, forget about shiny, a sword is more honest than tricksy arcane lies that are whispered into your ears. Magic disrupts reality, a disrupted reality allows evil cosmic forces to creep in....
Oh well, I guess you realize I hate magic. DnD with a lot less shiney magic - now that would be something I'd like to play. Like the cover of the good old DnD Basic box. THAT was DnD art.
All the characters' faces should be shown here.. Is that a paladin or a fighter? 😮 The foreground character should be readily recognized.
^^^ Found the kobold archer ^^^
Give Dwarf his due or have a Half Orc Barbarian cleaving through kobolds with a great axe or sword
I’m not buying any of the new edition stuff. I will stick with 5e and and older. I’ve bought all dnd books for years but I’m done except older ones on EBay. The cover I absolutely hate the style and it not th artist fault WOTC has sanitized until there is nothing left for me
2e despite its flaws, is still the pinnacle of D&D. _Pathfinder_ is 3e but better. 4e was a wash from the start. 5e started with good intentions, but quickly went off the rails.
I don't have any faith in WotC after they fired the team responsible for _Baldur's Gate 3._ It's just a good thing that WotC couldn't get their grubby mitts on Larian Studios to ruin that too.
I do agree that the art is cluttered. But the subjects are perfect. It reminds you that the players aren't alone in the world, that they can also collaborate with some monsters, not jus go and kill them all. I would have changed the golden dragon for a silver one and given a little more prominence to the red dragon to balance the piece. Also it would have been good that all party members where focused on something we can see.
I really dug and still dig Tyler Jacobson's art. It's way better than the rather ugly videogamey 4e style. That being said: uggggh... hadn't seen that abomination of "art" at 07:01 since yet. That is terrible beyond words ^^ and surpasses 5e's harmless and lame stuff in terms of "Oh my..." ;D
An african inspired elf?? Sun elves have existed in forgotten realms forever and they have brown skin, "bronze-colored" to be specific.
It's probably more like a wild elf. Sun elves have always been depicted with golden bronze tanned skin.
@@Celadonis-the-Lore-Seeker If its your natural skin tone it's not a tan lol. Bronze can be a very dark brown. I don't see why they wouldn't add reasonable diversity of skin tones to all "species", not just humans.
@@epiclids Oh sure they should do that, it's better than having subraces for every skin tone. ^^
Race is more than just skin color, you can clearly tell by the shape of that face it’s an African elf. But based on how you responded to the other replier, it’s obvious you were just trying to obfuscate.
@@asepsisaficionado7376 Where is Africa on the map of the Forgotten Realms?
I thought that she is creating an illusion of a dragon standing behind them to scare of the red dragon. And yes- tooo colourful in a very happy Disney way. Lighting seems fake this way.
I love the new art style, but the composition of the piece could be better. It is quite busy and doesn't evoke the same sense of danger and action as the 5e or pathfinder covers. Nor the mystery of the 3e and 4e covers. The art is beautifully drawn but the way it has been laid out doesn't seem focused.
I agree on all points. Well said. The technique is masterful, though the art direction and subjects leave something to be desired.
The gold dragon portrays a contorted confusion, like the rest of the image, with out of place hands and an uninspiring gaze and twisted look. The scene's party muddles things further and lacks the excitement they so desperately want to convey.
As Esper points out, what exactly is going on here? Who could know. Was the red dragon really supposed to be rising from the bottom like that? Who thought that was a good idea? Does the artist know the answer, or was merely directed to this result? Who can say?
But there are other details, like the misaligned sword hilt, that just shouldn't be found in a professional work like this. Obviously the artist is skilled, but some elements feel lazy or perhaps hurried. Again, who can say. At least the artist does know the answer to this one.
I agree with you Good Bard! well said and a very interesting video! are those Kobolds or are they Dragon-kin? I thought they were the latter. Very interesting indeed.
The art and color choice are good but the composition is quite lacking. For example, the golden dragon is just awkwardly placed in this scene and he has nothing to do for a fight against Kobolts.
If it was a desperate/epic fight, sure, but it doesn't appear as is. There are no real threat. And if the figure on the bottom left is indeed a red dragon, it doesn't seem threating at all.
I wish my hobbies would go back into the basement. I hate this soulless corpo slop.
i don't like that the first thing that comes to mind with this cover is the fact that i think of people screaming "ForCeD DiVErsiTy" whenever there are woman or POC displayed.
I Just Want to Enjoy the art peeps, no meaningless fuzz.
But yeah it looks a bit cluttered and the action is everywhere and no-where. i like the back cover more to be honest :3
I hate the Disney Pixar presents: Dungeons and Dragons era of D&D right now.
That cover looks very disney meets D&D...
Look, I like a lot of your videos and I know you care about D&D and it's direction. I do as well and everything that Has brought and WOTC her the past couple of years annoy me. All that being said, I think that D&D as it is now is not the game you want to play. You like gritty and even in 5e before it gets it's rules overhaul was not gritty. It was high fantasy.
I think a lot of the pain you are going through with the shifting of the game is just the genre shift the slowly happened. I respectfully think you should try more OSR stuff or be generalized fantasy rpg because I just don't see this design system going back. I am sorry that I am being negative. You just seem really disappointed every time something comes out as it isn't gritty and too "Pop" as you said.
This is a big topic and a lot to consider. Rest assured that I am discerning my moves with care. Thank you for the support!
I remember reading a bunch of older GMs and players saying "we should be good and welcoming envoys for the newbies. This is going to be the first time they hear about Greyhawk for many of them."
I feel this shift in the channel. How before, although the faults of the company were pointing out, the focus was on the game and lore. More and more the videos feel like complaining that the game is bad now.
That's a fine opinion to have. But after a while it starts to feel grating. Like an old uncle who constantly complains about how things are now vs how they used to be. Other creators (including this one) used to give advice and homebrew on stuff.
Dungeon Dad had a video about how it's BS that Steel Dragons (my favorite dragon) were removed from 5e, then he gave us a stat block.
It's fine to go to another system that fits what you like. Or create/promote homebrew for making it closer to your style. Redirect people towards old-school stuff by using the lore (like the Greyhawk example).
But idk, I don't feel like I need 10+ minutes of this. In contrast to almost an hour long video about a Dragon tier list from this very channel, which I ate up.
@ODXT Did you watch the new monster ranking video I put out less than a week ago? (CR 5 monsters)
@@esperthebard
It's on my list to listen today, I usually listen to your stuff while I drive to work or back home.
I don’t understand how someone can both over analyze and oversimplify a single piece of cover art. But here we are.
Do you prefer the alt cover?
I think the cover exhibits exactly what new DnD is all about....the players and the players only. For me old school D&D was about the story modern D&D is completely about the players as if we are playing our own TV Show where the players are the center of the attention and the story comes lastly.
That is an interesting point to consider. Thanks for this comment, I'm going to be thinking about this.
I think the cover looks awesome and I like it much more than the 2014 cover.
I am curious. What do you like about it?
@@joze838 I like that it includes a full party and that there’s a greater contrast of colors than the 2014 version.
For anyone who needs to hear, Elves can just be black. Love Esper, but doesn't have to be a new African themed elven races we already have 85 variants of them.
Thanks esper
Ne hand books problem isn't the artist but what it represents.
3 women & an androgynous knight-paladin with only 1 male character that is a dwarf.
This is a propaganda & ideological piece of art & nothing to do with a TTRPG.
Even the kobolds & red dragon don't look like a threat but just observers watching an arts fartsy display.
I look at the gold dragon & he looks like he asking the viewer to help him out of this awkward scene.
The last books a bought was Fizban's Treasury of Dragons & The Wild Beyond the Witchlight: A Feywild Adventure as 2021 was a mixed bag but 2022 & 2023 5e releases are awful or re releases that no one really wanted.
If they fvck Vecna: Eve of Ruin then I'm out & sticking to older content & other TTRPG's.
So when art doesn’t have enough men in it it’s propaganda? Are you sure you aren’t just gay or something?
@@thatonediodude4904 Are any of female characters attractive in the art?
A lot of entities art also borders on androgynous.
Just look at the cover of ''Call of the Netherdeep''.
it is propaganda=''any organization or plan for spreading a particular doctrine or a system of principles.''
Alphabet people are incapable of making any enjoyable content as they can't help but put their ''particular doctrine or a system of principles.''
@@thatonediodude4904
''Are you sure you aren’t just gay or something?''
I am heterosexual & since when I was child had gays call me 'pup' among other things I am not found of them as they gr@@med a friend into self d@letion.
My brother is bisexual which even he can admit their is much wrong with that community which he wants noting to do with.
I can approve of my sibling unlike many in that community as he denies that community.
He just shags effeminate men which is not something I understand but each to their own as he unlike many today keeps it a private affair.
I do not approve of pederasty in any sense which is why Gays should have nothing to do with children's entertainment or child education.
History is enough of a reason to argue against being normalised in such institutions!
I don't trust any of them near the young from personal experience which my brother in contrast dislikes the young having nothing to do with them.
He doesn't even want kids which is a good thing as he would make an father.
My position is founded in reason & 1st hand experience & I do not ignore what is obvious for peoples sentiments even of my own family!
@@thatonediodude4904 Are any of female characters attractive in the recent art or effeminate?
A lot of entities art borders on androgynous.
Just look at the cover of ''Call of the Netherdeep''.
it is propaganda=''any organization or plan for spreading a particular doctrine or a system of principles.''
alphabet soup are incapable of making any enjoyable content as they can't help but put their ''particular doctrine or a system of principles.'' in everything they touch.
That was a great analysis of the subject, Esper.
This kind of quality is what brings me back to your channel, again and again.
You did not seem to care for the alt art cover, but I did like the 4e art, and that alt cover was reminiscent of that, at least to me.
really cool
I won’t be buying anything new from this point forward. I did purchase the limited edition vecna book. Unfortunately for wizards of the coast that’s my last official DnD book.
oh no they will collapse! lmfao
@WCPFISH Hey, fish. What's that supposed to mean? I could care less if the company makes money or not. I have all the content and then some to play for the rest of my life. Plus the company is moving in a direction that just isn't for me. I wish the company well and to whomever likes the new edition.
It feels too much of the times-- the current state of dnd, which sucks. It looks like stock office photos but with elves and lizard people n shit. You said it yourself with cosplayers.
Would love to see an artist rework this cover art. Maybe turn the gold dragon into swirling golden/back lit mist, then add in walls/ruins, and rearrange the placement of the book text for better placement. Perhaps change some of the facial angles, and fix that annoying misplaced dwarven shield. It might be an interesting little video to watch someone do that sort of thing.
It would be nice if we just relegated WOTC to the irrelevance that it deserves. They provide nothing to the hobby, that other sources don't do better.
keep on cying like the cry baby you are
I have yet to find a ttrpg that does fantasy as well as I'd want. They always tend to have a flaw that's a holdover from something or other
@@ethans9379 WOTC R also a bunch of worthless thieving shit holes. I'm never forgetting the OGL, where they tried to destroy all 3rd party publishers. Their CEOs proudly claim their desire to extort as much as possible from their customers. They continue to insult their customers. The only good D&D is a D&D without WOTC. They R run by shit holes.
They are irrelevant already the OSR is where the hobby is at
@@underfire987 Glad to hear it! Have U looked at Dark Fantasy Basic? This rule set makes me wish it was the OG rules.
As an artist myself, I can appreciate the work done. But the image for me is kind of..... off. Is the Gold Dragon with the party of hero's that seem to be looking off in different directions? The way you put it about cosplayers posing for a photo op seems about right to me.
My feeling when I look at the old art such as the cover of the Red Box is that it depicts this fantastic world that I want to be a part of. My first thought with the new art is that they met their corporate DEI mandate.
Fifth edition has been the most successful edition but its popularity has been built on the nostalgia of the previous editions when D&D was cool. With the later years of 5e, D&D has become lame. My concern is that will only get worse with this new release. At some point, that’s going to devalue the whole D&D brand.
Yep. The NANOSECOND I see an inclusivity elf, I'm out.
@@JediNiyte
3.5e has art of an elf with dark skin and dreads. Some elves have been described with Bronze skin for decades now.
Guess you can homebrew them if it bothers you so much.
@JediNiyte oh no! Santa has inclusive hiring practices now!
What about that awesome homage to the D&D 80s cartoon, though!!
What about it?
Good stuff
For me Esper, it's like they feed Jacobson's art to an ai art generator, and then made the new cover. That means they can say it's still his work and get by with it, and he can even take credit for it. That dragon is just too disproportionate for me to be Jacobson's work. Just my opinion.
It's definitely not ai art.
The artist is great but I hate what’s being depicted.
What is the contention?
@@theblazingredcomet1954 you know exactly what his contention is, just curious if he won't be a coward and just straight up say "waaaah where's my all-white, all-male party, waaaah we're being pushed out by the gay/democrat/disney agenda...waaaaaah".
Gold and red dragons are meh. Would it have killed them to use some of the more unique looking dragons? The blue is unlike any ancient representations of dragons. It's firmly a D&D-style monster. Having it narrowly avoiding the party with its breath of lightning would be sweet. XD
Wotc dnd is not real dnd, the true legacy of dnd is the OSR in culture, game mechanics and art. Don't support people who hate you ( wotc) go and support the OSR creators who vastly out do wotc in content alone
True
This image looks like he was checking off a list as he was making it on what must be present to be "Diverse". It's just trying too hard. @8:00 exactly. I wrote this comment before I even watched that part of the video.
D.E.I. - Definitely Empty Inside
Nah, I really like the "Avengers-like" party hero pose in the center. Those look like characters players would make and design. I agree though that there's too much going on and it isn't clear what's happening in the scene.
I don't even want a new phb. The old one is fine.
I disagree. Maybe this isnt the best direction, but dwelling in the past will only allow for so many stories. Its good to evolve and change things. Conversely its good to look back and experience what has been made.
There are nuggets of truth i think in what you say about the commercializing of the game but ultimately that will just get more people into the hobby and allow for more people to make wonderous stories. The tones and style they take up later is their choice. The games are what we make of them because we own TTRPGs not any company. Our inaginations rule. Go create your more rougher and darker fantasy, hell i'll even join you in that camp. But let the newbies have fun with their power fantasies and happy go lucky adventures.
If I ever make a TTRPG or a third party book for D&D it would be filled with gritty, black and white illustrations to really set the mood.
Hmmm, love just thinking about it.
@Takeda10K sounds cool man.
Change for change's sake is not a good thing. It is dilution and defilement of what came before. Incremental improvements is how things grow over time, but radical changes like scrapping the successful original vision nine times out of ten just cause division and the destruction of communities.
@HenriFaust there is no destruction of communities. dnd is doing better than ever in terms of people wanting to play. And there are more varied styles of games and themes than ever. You're not worth my time, go complain about wokeness elsewhere my friend and I hope you come around.
@@theblazingredcomet1954 Why did you think my comment was about wokeness? Does this have something to do with your disingenuous comments in the other thread? If caring about changing the race of the characters is the behavior of casuals, why are you unwilling to also admit whitewashing is OK? One position follows logically from the other, does it not?
12:40 this is why I love your videos! I am a relatively new D&D fan and the more I learn about it, the more I’ve realized that “classic” D&D is what appeals to me, not this sterilized corporate boardroom crap we’ve been getting lately. I feel like fantasy is at its peak when used as set dressing for tackling real human issues and experiences rather than just being another forgettable, whimsical romp through fairyland. Both have merit it’s just about finding the right balance.
Ok before i finish the video, i want to give my thoughts unfiltered, because i have been avoiding anything dnd, only taking in some bits and pieces thanks to Dungeon's and Discourse, but i must say i do love the cover artbook. I love the posed heroes, it gives me the vibe of "we're the heroes ready to strike" like from a 90's cartoon adventure or something, i love that stuff, the dragon there does look like an ally, maybe a projection giving some sort of advice like "you must pass this way" or something cryptic like that. The dragon is fucking badass, which is what a dragon of such stature should be. I love the colours, they are vibrant, but they are not overwhelming, at least for me, there is a an air of "realism" though it's a bad word, i can't put my finger on it, there is just something about the colour that does it for me, maybe it's a lot of the yellows and sandy kind of colours that i'm a sucker for, because desert settings are my jam. It almost reminds me of the SCAG cover with the heroes there, even as much as hate the book gets, i'm happy to have it in my collection. If i would look for a phb, this is what i would expect the phb cover to look like. Imho the 5e phb cover is nice, but i don't think it fits as a phb, we can pretty much only one player character, when the whole party should be in the forefront, it would fit on some adventure book instead of a phb. But that's just my opinnion.
With everything that dnd is going through, i really dig this cover, fantastic job on everything, all it needs is a tiny speaker hidden somewhere that plays a powermetal high pitched scream and a solo when you look at it.
Let me add on this, yes hasbro has been doing a lot of corporate shit and appealing to mass audiences, but the cover itself does not scream "we just want everything at once" the cover says "this is a party on an adventure with high stakes. Even with a dragon behind their back, every single character is poised for a serious strike, everyone is taking the situation seriously even with all that going on. It is not as pop-y especially when you showed those other pictures for comparison. Sure the colours do make the tone lighter, definitely, but it's not as cheerful and glee happy as those other ones.
The dragon's face is crooked! The lighting doesn't make sense. I don't even think they flipped the canvas; there are obvious flaws that would have been caught earlier if the artist did.
The art, while amazing as expected from such a reputable artist, is just not right for a cover, let alone for the D&D that older players grew up with. I would expect to see the front/back art on an inside page, not on the cover. Tyler is amazing at his craft, but this new cover is a reflection of what D&D has become, and it just isn't for me.
Well said. From what I inspected, the new covers indeed look chaotic & less attracting for me. Hell, even the 3rd edition covers are better. To say in general about DnD's future, I'm glad that the game is no longer interesting for me, because I can explore the many other rpgs out there!
Like the colors and the dragon. The group looks absolutely ridiculous. Of course, it’s “for modern audiences” 🤦♂.
WTF are you on about, these are old characters and with their old-school look. It is literally an appeal to old-school gamers.
@@ODXT No idea who these guys are they look like the diversity stock pics in my english book in school 20 years back. Not really that nostalgic to me.
@@BanjoSick
Then it's not for you, this is for old-school players. The point isn't that you have to like it, it's that it's not modern (it is literally the opposite).
@@ODXT Playing since the 90‘s and black female PC‘s are not old school, quite the opposite as are groups with a 50/50 gender ratio. Oh, and they changed the old white magic user før diversity sake. Clear signal for all to see.
It's a cheap homage used to offset the very obvious DEI requirements that everything requires now. Try to be a little less dense, yeah?
I don’t like any of the modern fantasy art. It’s not that it’s sanitized and made to appeal to the widest amount of people possible, but it’s just so generic. It says a lot about 5e and the current state of D&D.
artwork sux - plain and simple; if that was my first encounter with DnD then I would not event spend any second longer thinking about it... it is to say how uncaptivating it is.
I mean it’s fine, it’s decent by my standards, but it’s not really my favorite, it gets a pass in my book.
I keep kinda mocking the Capra face of this dragon that makes it look much more to me like a kirin.
black elves are a thin. It's fantasy. People will scream WOKE, or DEI, whenever white males are not the focal point. Why is it hard to understand that times change. There are more and more women and people of color playing DnD. I'm forever AD&D with some things taken from other editions. This cover reminds me of the DND cartoon, and I'm here for it. I am an artist and publish monthly comic, and this looks like something where the heroes gather. Not a DEI checklist. More than one POC can exist on a page, lol.
I know you were trying hard to not make it seem like women and poc bad, but we do exist in more than groups of 1.
Sure, Esper, the part Cherokee and Lenape guy who is trilingual, has a multicultural family, is married to and has kids with a black latina immigrant, who studies world cultures passionately, who has friends and colleagues from across the globe, who is a world builder that loves developing all kinds of different places and people inspired by every type of culture-that's the guy who thinks women and persons of color are bad. Ok sure.
@@esperthebard This wasn't aimed at you personally. I am also multi-lingual and multi racial, having lived in multiple countries growing up also. This is aimed at the chads in your comments who would take what you said as "THE AGENDA" whatever those morons mean.
So it was not an attack on you, I normally like the videos, but pointing out that some of the stuff you critiqued, exist. Elfquest had the Sun tribe. nothing but black elves and matriarchal at that. But sometimes in your comments the chads who aren't wordly or even educated need something to be mad at.
Hence the part, where I said you were trying hard to not do the thing, you think I'm accusing you of doing. Might be my bad on the mis communication part. I don't sub to dude-bros and antiwoke grifters. I wouldn't be subbed if I thought you were one.
I loved this dudes videos man why does he have to be one of those types 😭
is it just me or does every even edition of D&D have something happen to it and the odd edition get all the good stuff?
Well technically it's still 5e. It's really a 5.5, but WotC is refusing to call it that.
That cover looks AWFUL. The dragon head in particular. Oof
It actually looks like a "Player's Handbook" now. Plus you have a fucking Gold Dragon. It's a win for me.
Bump
Any company that trades it's niche for a wider audience is trading their whales for a fist full of tadpoles. Just saying.
have you seen the prototypes of this art? There you can see that the dwarf and the rogue have been swapped. Probably because the rogue is black and cant be in the background she must be in the front line and the dwarf fighter (with shield clearly a tank) must be in the back...?
Love the casual whinging about the race of the characters. Calm down son, it's a drawing.
@@theblazingredcomet1954 i am a poc myselfs and i think its fundamentaly racist. Just switch the colors and you would know what i mean
@@theblazingredcomet1954 So it's perfectly fine to whitewash all of the characters and call it an improvement, right? Because you don't care about race, right? Criticizing whitewashing would be the behavior of a filthy casual, right?
@HenriFaust hey, I'm over here! you're yelling at a strawman.
@@theblazingredcomet1954 I have a migrational background myself and I am sick of this racism against white people.
Just reverse the skin color and everyone would be pissed, but this way, because its a white character its okey?
Pls think for once like a human