This year is a special year for Dungeons & Dragons as they celebrate their 50th anniversary. This year also marks great changes in the popular TTRPG brand. The 5th edition ruleset that they’ve had since 2014 is getting a revision. Wizards of the Coast is launching all-new core D&D books including the Dungeon Master’s Guide. And now, fans get a look at the brand-new cover art.
We covered the release of the cover art for the new Player’s Handbook when it was announced a couple of weeks ago. It featured dynamic artwork of an adventuring party engaging in battle with a dragon in the background. The new Dungeon Master’s Guide keeps the same draconic theme. We see a scene of enemies with the villain Venger in the center. Fans of the 1980’s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon series will recognize this spellcaster. In the background, we also faintly see a dracolich. The back cover features a mind flayer dungeon being explored by an adventuring party.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide has become an essential tool for game masters. It contains tips for designing dungeons, homebrewing monsters, how to tell effective stories, and lists of items both magical and non-magical. It gets into specifics about travel times and costs, as well as breaking down complex rules. It will be interesting to see how much of this is changed, revised, or expanded on for the new book.
The 50th anniversary of the brand comes at an opportune time. After the controversy regarding the proposed new OGL rules which many said took advantage of indie creators, D&D has been struggling to win back favor. With the replacement of their president earlier this year, and a new set of core books coming out, now is the time for them to rebrand and repair the relationship with their fanbase.
The new Players’ Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual will be available for pre-order on June 18th costing $49.99 a piece.
