The new edition of Dungeons & Dragons books will make direct reference to classic heroes and villains from the tabletop role-playing game's past.
The Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide artwork for the next edition of D&D has been revealed. (Thanks GameInformer.) The artwork featured in both the Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide will include modern depictions of characters from the role-playing game's 50-year history, such as the characters featured on the cover of the Player's Handbook.
According to the article in which the artwork was revealed, the cover illustration for the Player's Handbook for the new edition of D&D features characters such as Yolande the Elf Queen, a character introduced in Dungeons & Dragons' Greyhawke setting, a queen of the kingdom of Celene, Strongheart the Knight, the founder of the Valor's Call order and a member of the '80s D&D action figure line, Elkhorn the Dwarf Warrior, another entry in the classic toy line and one of the first notable “good” dwarves in D&D history, the cleric Mercion, a human who does not follow any particular deity but believes in helping those around her, and the good-hearted thief Molliver, another entry in the '80s toy line.
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Nearly all of these characters are members of the Call of Valor, a group of morally good adventurers whose duty is to help those in need. Strongheart the Knight has appeared in several classic adventures published for the fantasy role-playing game, such as Quest for the Heartstone (which was published for the Dungeons & Dragons Core Rules in 1984) and the 1983 supplement Shady Dragon Inn. The knight has had a long-standing feud with the character of Warduke, one of the most iconic villains in fantasy role-playing.
Several of the characters featured on the cover of the upcoming D&D Player’s Handbook have recently been grouped together in the Dungeons & Dragons 5e adventure book: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. Set in the fey realms of the tabletop roleplaying game’s world, Wild Beyond the Witchlight includes appearances by Strongheart, Elkhorn, Mercion, Warduke, and Molliver, who now identifies as nonbinary.
According to the studio’s art director Josh Herman, the new D&D Player’s Handbook will feature a multitude of illustrations depicting various characters. “Almost every chapter opening features a different hero, or a group of heroes in a different setting. So you have Dragonlance and others, like Ravenloft; you have a whole series of them.” Herman also confirmed that the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the next edition of D&D will be “entirely about villains.” […] You will be able to see many of our famous locations and some of our famous villains.”
The Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook is due out on September 17, and the D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide is coming on November 12, both in time to celebrate the TRPG’s 50th anniversary this year, before the Monster Manual (a book featuring a rogues’ gallery of enemies) is released on February 19, 2025.