ToV PDF Thoughts, Part 13

Pay close attention to the symbolism in these newer games. For instance, the 2024 D&D Player's Handbook prominently features a gold dragon on its cover. This choice of imagery is not arbitrary. Could the gold dragon be not merely an adversary but a symbol of something more profound? Interestingly, the classic enemy, the red dragon, is subtly concealed behind the text, hinting at a shift in the narrative.

Uncover the subliminal message these newer games appear to convey: 'Good is bad,' or more precisely, 'good is always watching and won't allow you to act freely.' The gold dragon, a symbol of power and authority, embodies this ever-vigilant, potentially malevolent force, challenging the conventional perception of good.

The gold dragon on the cover of the 2024 PHB symbolizes Wall Street and the forces of monetization.

While the classic enemy, the red dragon, is hidden away behind some text, it is not essential, not a threat. Don't worry about the red dragon. Again, this is likely a change to appease political concerns since some may equate a red dragon with a particular nation and say, "Oh, we can't upset them."

Please hide the red dragon behind the text.

In Tales of the Valiant, the red dragon's symbolism is striking. It appears, killing a hero, a clear representation of evil running amok. The red dragon's actions, such as killing the wizard, underscore the classic battle between good and evil, a theme that resonates throughout the game.

Let the red dragon live, and Gandalf dies.

But still, ToV ditches alignment. This opens the door to better storytelling, with my forces of good being even more of a positive force and evil being even eviler. Red dragons will team up with demons and devils, orcs and trolls. It is all chaos, baby. Red dragons symbolize "might makes it right": hate, violence, power, destruction, the death of innocents, colonial wars, invasions for greed, dictatorships, and war.

The dragons are symbols of history and more significant concepts.

But I have these concepts ingrained into my mind.

I would hate for gold dragons to become "Just another monster."

But this is what the 2024 D&D PHB does. ToV also steps into these dangerous waters, going along with the crowd during the current game design de-jour. However, ToV retains the theme and concepts of evil, and even the art reflects that. The sections in the ToV Monster Vault eliminate alignment but replace it with more significant categories of "creature types" - explicitly saying all fiends are evil, and all dragons are apex predators and see themselves as "above" lesser beings.

The concept of alignment is still there in ToV, it has just moved to creature types.

There is evil in this world.

Don't let your games erase it.

Also, don't let these games tell you good is actually evil. The gold dragon should have a good heart. They aren't to be used as 'evil monsters.'