Exclusive: First Look at the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Monster Manual Cover [IGN]

Today, IGN can exclusively unveil the cover art for the upcoming 2024 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons 5E Monster Manual. The core rulebook, which will serve as an essential bestiary for dungeon masters, is one of three Fifth Edition D&D books that will be getting an updated version, and marks the first such update in ten years.

So without further ado, here’s a look at the front cover in all its tentacle-covered glory:

Josh Herman, head of art for D&D, told IGN, “We were inspired by the 2014 cover, including the Beholder, which is just so iconic, but we wanted to kinda pull out a bit and show the epic action of D&D versus the close-up. So instead of this sorta ‘run for your life’ and horror vibe from the old version, we wanted to put players in the center and showcase a couple flavors of hero fighting off this army of monsters.”

Veteran dice rollers and Baldur’s Gate fans will also notice some familiar heroes amidst the cover’s villain stew, including Minsc and his furry friend Boo (both of whom seem quite undeterred by their current predicament), but there also appears to be a less fortunate hero in the clutches of a tentacle as well. Who might that poor soul be? According to Herman, that’s up to you:

“We’re really trying to push open storytelling, so we took the opportunity to include the player as a concept. So the hero in the clutches of the tentacle, we thought ‘Well, maybe that’s you.’ It’s really important to us that players feel like they’re a part of this universe and these stories, so, who knows, maybe this will serve as inspiration to a dungeon master out there who includes a scenario like this in their campaign.”

Meanwhile, the back of the monster manual focuses entirely on the beasts themselves:

Though you’ll find many familiar foes among the crowd, from owlbears and dragons to hags and mind flayers, you won’t find any new faces just yet, like the blob of annihilation and vampire warlock teased in the rear cover’s description. It seems we’ll have to wait until the 2024 Monster Manual debuts later this year to come face-to-face with those horrors.

D&D has seen a whole lot of renewed interest since the massive success and popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3 last year, though Larian Studios won’t be working on DLC or a sequel. The tabletop game has also been in the news for their “mistakes” surrounding the use of AI in D&D art, and for their recently announced crossover with live-service FPS Destiny 2, which is getting D&D armor and other cosmetic items today.

Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his games coverage here.