Unveiling the New Face of Green Dragons: A Sneak Peek at Dungeons & Dragons’ Next Iteration
The age-old adage holds true: you can’t have Dungeons & Dragons without dungeons and dragons. And in this next chapter of the beloved tabletop role-playing game, dragons are taking center stage. Wizards of the Coast is releasing a new set of core rulebooks, bringing players a dragon-infested world where they’ll encounter these magnificent creatures in all their glory.
The Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual are all available for pre-order via D&D Beyond before their respective launch dates this year and early next year. Early birds get the worm, however, or in this case, a whole hoard of goodies: a new dice skin for D&D Beyond, a digital miniature of a Gold Dragon for the upcoming beta version of Beyond Virtual Tabletop, and The Dragons of D&D, a digital art book dedicated to celebrating these mythical beasts.
And to kick off the excitement, io9 has an exclusive first look at some of the artwork from the Green Dragon section of The Dragons of D&D.
Green dragons, notorious for their solitary nature, are masters of conspiracy and trickery. They revel in manipulating and deceiving their prey, lurking patiently in their woodland domains, their cunning eyes watching, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But despite their classic D&D persona, these enigmatic creatures are getting a design refresh in this new era.
“For the green dragon we made some large changes to its design, hoping to better show off the personality of the dragon,” shared Josh Herman, Head of the D&D art team at Wizards of the Coast, in an interview with io9. “We also wanted to give the green dragon a new movement style unique among the cast of the chromatic dragons. Their movement shows the cunning and duplicitous nature of the green dragon while also tying into a more serpentine look.”
Herman and his team looked to the Fifth Edition Monster Manual for inspiration, finding a potent and intriguing descriptor: "The most cunning and treacherous of true dragons, green dragons use misdirection and trickery to get the upper hand against their enemies.”
Herman continued: "That is such a rich piece of info! It also states that an ancient green dragon has an Intelligence of 20—which means that it has the highest intelligence of all the chromatic dragons. Those two things alone told us a lot and spoke to what we’d like to see in the updated design, as well as a lot about how this creature might function, or act, in the world. Being more intelligent than the other chromatics and being the most manipulative brought to mind animals in the real world that we associate with those traits, like a snake."
A Serpentine Evolution
In a further glimpse into the design process, Herman elaborated on the design philosophy behind the Green Dragon’s new look:
"I like to imagine that a green dragon would constantly scheme and plan to seize power, but being that it doesn’t have the raw power of a red dragon, it would need to go about those plans differently. So, rather than kicking down the door and burning the town, it would lure people into the forests where it could manipulate and deceive them, telling lies about why they were brought there and spinning tales about how they needed to help the dragon. A green dragon would use its intelligence and other regional effects to make it appear as invisible as possible, because it knows that being forward about its goals wouldn’t help it accomplish them.
Green dragons love to collect sentient creatures, and relishes in corrupting and bending them to their will. That felt like a great connection to a more serpentine design that you could imagine the dragon slowly encircling, and coiling around someone until they were too deep to escape.
For the project overall, the green dragon was also the first dragon design that fell into place on the dragon project. Early on in the process, we worked with several artists, but the person who got this one to “click” was the artist Simon Lee. Simon is a traditional sculptor, who sculpts in clay, and did lots of small clay sculptures exploring how dragons could move, and how they could express their personality. He created a sculpt of the green dragon that had this long neck with a compact body, and a long tail. We were drawn to it right away – it’s a visual that we’re familiar with for dragons but we hadn’t seen in the D&D dragons. This also opened up, and cemented, the idea that each dragon could have a different body shape, or something special about it from a physical biological perspective.
Big thanks to Simon for the work on this project, along with all of the other artists and illustrators!"
This serpentine influence, combined with the Green Dragon’s cunning nature, has resulted in a captivating design that perfectly embodies its deceptive personality. The new Green Dragons are a sight to behold, showcasing a sleek and elegant silhouette that emphasizes their stealthy approach.
The new Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks are a testament to the ongoing evolution of this beloved game. As D&D prepares to enter a new era, its creators have poured their heart and soul into crafting an experience that will captivate players both old and new. The Green Dragon, with its redesigned appearance and intriguing backstory, promises to be a formidable foe, adding new dimensions to the game’s already rich world of fantasy.
With the release of these new books just around the corner, prepare to encounter dragons like never before, where cunning and treachery are no longer mere whispers, but tangible aspects of the game’s intricate fabric. The D&D multiverse is ready to unfold its wings and soar into a captivating new era, filled with stories, adventures, and the undeniable allure of dragons.
