Summary
- Dungeons and Dragons's art director addressed the changes being made to the Blue Dragon's design, which have been met with controversy among fans.
- Dragons are iconic in D&D with diverse colors and powers, serving as powerful foes or allies in the game.
- The Blue Dragon's redesign was inspired by desert creatures, making it leaner to fit in arid regions.
The art director of the Dungeons and Dragons 2024 Core Rulebooks has recently addressed the controversial Blue Dragon, explaining why its visual changes were made. While most fans were excited about the redesign of most dragons in the new Dungeons and Dragons edition, the Blue Dragon was polarizing due to how much it changed, and fans have been wondering why Wizards of the Coast decided to depict it this way.
Dragons are essentially the most iconic monster in Dungeons and Dragons. Not only are they part of the game’s name and brand, but they also come with different colors, powers, and personalities, serving as powerful foes or allies that can be inserted in distinct regions. Naturally, dragons were the first monsters whose redesign was announced while marketing the new edition to players, but not all dragon designs were equally loved by fans.
Dungeons and Dragons' Nine Hells Explained
The Nine Hells are one of the oldest parts of Dungeons and Dragons' lore, and they're fleshed out by volumes upon volumes of material.
Now, Dungeons and Dragons art director Josh Herman spoke about the Blue Dragon’s polarizing design in an interview with ComicBook at Gen Con. Herman revealed that it was already expected that some of the 10 new dragons would not be loved, especially ones with big changes, such as the Blue Dragon, which lost its “spikiness” and became much leaner than before. According to Herman, this new design was intended to make the Blue Dragon fit into the deserts where it can be commonly found. The new design is inspired by “desert creatures, like horned toads,” as well as birds of prey who live mostly in the air. However, Herman also reminded fans that anyone can keep using the old designs if they want instead of using the new dragons of Dungeons and Dragons, and that there are 10 years of official art depicting the previous style.
Dungeons and Dragons' Blue Dragon Design Was Controversial With Fans
During the same interview, Herman also revealed that Demons and Devils will be visually overhauled in D&D 2024. Like dragons, these monsters will gain new designs that will focus more on making each side distinct from each other, which makes for exciting news for D&D fans who are curious about the upcoming Monster Manual.
While the Monster Manual will only be available in February 2025, fans will soon gain access to the new Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook, which will be released on September 17. Some fans, however, will gain early access to D&D’s Player Handbook, by pre-ordering the digital edition via D&D Beyond, and could access them as early as September 3, if they are part of the Master Tier of the service.
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
Created by Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop game in which players craft their own worlds and band together to take on adventures through mysterious realms outlined in companion materials. One of the best role-playing games ever made, it has been adapted into a variety of video games and other media.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info