Dungeons & Dragons has a new black dragon. Earlier this week, Screen Rant revealed an official first look at the new black dragon that will appear in the new 2024 Core Rulebooks. The new black dragon design features a totally redesigned facial structure, with new horns that sweep form and a pointier snout. The wings have also gotten a redesign, with more pronounced tips that jut out farther from the wing flaps. Additionally, the dragon’s face is now a bone-like shade of white, a reference to the acid breath weapon the dragon uses that slowly sloughs the skin and scales off the dragon’s face over time. You can check out a look at the new black dragon below, with the art by Chase Stone.
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All ten of the chromatic and metallic dragons are getting redesigned as part of D&D’s 50th anniversary. While dragons in Dungeons & Dragons have had a standardized look over several editions (thanks to iconic designs by Todd Lockwood), the D&D art team set out to give the dragons more varied body structures and looks, as all ten dragons largely kept to a similar Welsh dragon look.
In a recent interview with ComicBook, Herman explained some of the reasons behind the changes. “We wanted to provide more options and let players choose which one fits their vibe for their game or whatever the one they like the most,” Herman said. “Whenever I design something, I prefer that people have a favorite. And right now, I wanted to give people in this design project more favorites that they might be attracted to. Whether it was the way it was expressed or the color or the shape or something. And if you don’t like one of them, that’s okay. I hope that you like one of the other ones a lot. That’s the intent of giving you a cast of characters that you can play with. So yeah, we’ve really loved it.”
