Mock-Up Cover for the Princes of the Apocalypse Player's Guide

This morning I was kicking around on the Princes of the Apocalypse Player's Guide when I noticed that the cover was that cropped version of Raymond Swanland's painting. There's nothing wrong with Swanland's painting, in and of itself, but the way that Wizards of the Coast cropped it has just always felt a bit lackluster. So I thought that I would mock-up one based on some of my favorite book covers. 

I patterned it off an old A Canticle for Leibowitz cover that Bantam Books put out back in 1976 that I just loved. That cover, I believe, was done by Richard Powers. Powers was a fantastic artist whose work is featured on so many covers that it's hard to list them all but just know that the guy was an amazing artist who should far better known. In fact I like him so much that I used another one of his paintings, this one from the War of the Worlds, for this mock-up cover. Lord knows it's a hell of a lot creepier than the one they're using now. Oh, and on the spine and on the front cover I used the old TSR wizard and put Wizards of the Coast under him because I like that logo a hell of a lot more than the one they're actually using.

The cover is a jpeg and is set up dimension wise for the 6 x 9 US trade which should make it possible to use. Either way I hope that you cats like this mock-up because I might be doing a few more.

Princes of the Apocalypse Release Date and Pre-Order Prices Revealed!

Princes of the Apocalypse cover (low res)

Wizards of the Coast has finally released the street date for Princes of the Apocalypse! On April 7, 2015 you'll be able to launch yourselves into battle with the Elder Elemental Eye once again - only this time the battle will be set in the Forgotten Realms instead of the World of Greyhawk. The single volume adventure is designed to take players from level 1 - 15. Alongside new spells the book will also feature the genasi as a playable race.

The book has been developed in association with Sasquatch Game Studio. For those of you unfamiliar with the relatively new studio it's actually comprised of former D&D designers Richard Baker, Stephen Schubert, and David Noonan. Between the three designers they have contributed to more than 200 novels, adventures, and rpg books for TSR, Wizards of the Coast, and Paizo.

The full image of the Princes of the Apocalypse cover

Princes of the Apocalypse has a suggested retail price of $49.95 ($58.00 in Canada) if you wait to buy it at retail stores. However you can pre-order it on Amazon for $34.33, on Books-a-Million you can pre-order it for $49.95, and it is not currently available at Barnes & Noble. As the pre-order prices change over the coming weeks I'll correct the current prices so that you can lock in the lowest rates.

You'll be able to get an early look at what the adventure has in store for you through Wizards of the Coast's D&D Encounters in-store program.