Exclusive: D&D Dungeon Master's Guide alt cover channels every DM's inner schemer

The hype for this year's new D&D rulebooks is coming to a boil, and GamesRadar+ can exclusively reveal the alternate cover for the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide.

Featuring Lolth the Spider Queen as she bundles up a hapless adventurer in webbing, this Dungeon Master's Guide alt cover celebrates the machinations of Dungeon Masters everywhere. Seeing as DMs are always pulling strings and setting traps (it's literally part of the job description in D&D), that's nothing if not fitting.

You can take a look at the alternate 2024 DMG cover below, which was made by Olena Richards and will be available this November.

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Suffice to say, it's quite a departure from the standard version (which delivers some big '80s nostalgia) revealed earlier in May. Much like the Player's Handbook alt cover which showed adventurers chilling with one of the game's redesigned golden dragons, this is distinctly more mellow. It still puts a big-name Dungeons & Dragons villain front and center, though. Lolth – a spider-legged elf deity worshiped by many drow – has been a thorn in the side of players for literal decades. Actually, she can trace her origins back to the beginning of the game; she was made by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax in the late 1970s when it was only just earning its reputation as one of the best tabletop RPGs.

Interestingly, Lolth was designed for the long-neglected setting of Greyhawk (one of D&D's earliest worlds) before transitioning over to the Forgotten Realms of Baldur's Gate 3 fame. This high fantasy universe has been making a comeback recently, and word is that it's being featured heavily throughout the new core rulebooks. That certainly makes sense; officially, Greyhawk was D&D's second and default universe at the beginning of its life, so revisiting it for the game's 50th anniversary is logical. Actually, the 50th anniversary logo appears on the back cover of this alt artwork.

Speaking of which, I'm a fan. It's thematically spot on due to the Machiavellian nature of DMs, and the golden glow to Lolth's hair contrasts beautifully with the art's muted purples. As I said about the Player's Handbook standard cover, I'd argue that it's a promising start to the game's big update.

You'll be able to add the new Dungeon Master's Guide to your collection of D&D books this November 12, 2024.

For something to play before then, why not check out the best board games or the best card games?