The Glup Shitto-fication of Dungeons & Dragons
The new covers for D&D’s 2024 sourcebooks promise a future yoked to brand promotion.
The cover for Dungeons & Dragons’ 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide was revealed by the UK newspaper tabloid, the Mirror, of all places, showing off fresh artwork for the tome every overworked DM will leaf through for the next decade as they scribble stat blocks on notecards, sketch out dungeons rooms, and fill pages with sticky note reminders.Illustrated by Tyler Jacobson and designed by Wizards of the Coast’s art lead Josh Herman, the new cover trades the 2014 edition’s menacing lich for a slightly different composition. Where the previous book showcased the dread sorcerer Acererak raising recently slain heroes to carry out his horrid bidding, this upcoming guide portrays an army of skeletons flanked by a shadowy dracolich and three contrasting villains descending a staircase.
That noise you just heard was every dedicated fan sitting up in their seat, Leonardo DiCaprio style, and yelling, “Oh, my god! That’s Glup Shitto!”
Alright, no, everyone’s favorite Star Wars character isn’t joining the ranks of the world's most commercially successful tabletop RPG, but that’s how it feels to see people excited over Skylla, Warduke and Venger gracing the 2024 DM’s Guide front cover. The trio hail from different sources, from 2021’s The Wild Beyond the Witchlight adventure book to the classic 1980s cartoon, but have been redesigned in a dramatic high fantasy style to sell the idea of “D&D's iconic villains brought to life,” as Herman told the Mirror.
