A few months ago I posted a cover for Gauntlgrym by R.A. Salvatore, the 7,345th volume in the Drizzt Do’Urden Saga. Turns out that was just placeholder art (likely for a catalog) and Wizards of the Coast was still working on the real cover.

It’s not my favourite artwork from Todd Lockwood, but it’ll surely appeal to its audience. For some reason, I get no sense of inertia or energy from the painting, it all just seems so static and lifeless to me, like a piece of sports photography shot at too high a shutter speed.

On the plus side, that title still makes me laugh, and I liked Neverwinter Nights when I played it years ago, so the setting might be cool. Still, I left Drizzt and co. behind many, many volumes ago.