"Vorel" is the draconic word for beautiful. I don't think there's a more appropriate way to describe the new artwork for the upcoming Dragon Delves D&D adventure anthology. Revealed by Wizard's of the Coast at the recent MagicCon: Chicago, the artwork of this dragon-focussed D&D supplement looks like it'll do justice to these legendary creatues.
The standard cover is by Greg Staples, whose work features in one of the best card games around, Magic: The Gathering. It illustrates the anthology's proposed contents perfectly, aside from its omission of any metallic dragons which are certainly likely to feature somewhere in the anthology. His cover art features an ornery Red Dragon breathing fire, surrounded by four of its chromatic dragon kin who stand perched on rocks and towering over an adventuring trio.
The thing that really got me going, as a blacklight art enthusiast, was the alternative cover art from Justine Jones. It shows a red dragon bathed in pink and yellow hues perched, head low and snarling, on a purple spiked rock. It's wings aloft and surrounding the book's title in a membranous embrace.
Print it, now. I want it on my wall.
The Dragon Delves anthology is set to include 10 different adventures featuring dragons in and around dungeons, each one illustrated with its own distinct art style from a variety of amazing artists. These include Luke Eidensink, Dominik Mayer, Ed Kwong, as well as the two previously mentioned. On top of that, the book will include a section marked "The history of D&D dragons", dedicated to showcasing a selection of dragon art as it's evolved over the past half-century.
Also included will be three campaign options that DMs can use to link the standalone adventures together, and each adventure will be designed specifically for parties ranging from levels 1–12. Astute dungeon delvers will note – especially considering the tweaks to legendary monsters in D&D 5e Monster Manual (2025) – lower level parties may well struggle if caught in combat with any one of these dangerous foes.
Not to worry. Not every adventure in the Dragon Delves anthology will involve head-to-head combat with such legendary creatures. Some dragons will likely appear as lower level versions of these fearsome beasts, while some are only likely to be embroiled in the party's affairs somehow. That means as long as they don't try to attack it they should be fine. Unless you're looking to arrange a TPK? Dragon Delves is set to release on July 8, 2025, so stay tuned for more updates around one of the most anticipated D&D sourcebooks of the year.
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