D&D General D&D Red Box: Who Is The Warrior?

The Dungeons & Dragons Red Box, famously illustrated by Larry Elmore in 1983, featured cover art of a warrior fighting a red dragon. The piece is an iconic part of D&D's history.

WizKids is creating a 50th Anniversary D&D miniatures set for the D&D Icons of the Realms line which includes models based on classic art from the game, such as the AD&D Player's Handbook's famous 'A Paladin In Hell' piece by David Sutherland in 1978, along with various monsters and other iconic images. The set will be available in July 2024.

Amongst the collection is Elmore's dragon-fighting warrior. This character has only ever been seen from behind, and has never been named or identified. However, WizKids’ miniature gives us our first look at them from the front. The warrior is a woman; the view from behind is identical to the original art, while the view from the front--the first time the character's face has ever been seen--is, as WizKids told ComicBook.com, "purposefully and clearly" a woman. This will be one of 10 secret rare miniatures included in the D&D Icons of the Realms: 50th Anniversary booster boxes.

The original artist, Larry Elmore, says otherwise. (Update—the linked post has since been edited).

It's a man!

Gary didn't know what he wanted, all he wanted was something simple that would jump out at you. He wanted a male warrior. If it was a woman, you would know it for I'm pretty famous for painting women.

There was never a question in all these years about the male warrior.

No one thought it was a female warrior. "Whoever thought it was a female warrior is quite crazy and do not know what they are talking about."

This is stupid. I painted it, I should know.

- Larry Elmore​

Whether or not Elmore's intent was for the character to be a man, it seems that officially she's a woman. Either way, it's an awesome miniature. And for those who love the art, you can buy a print from Larry Elmore's official website.

 

[Echohawk]

For those in the thread stating that everybody knew that figure was a male, I didn't. I had always assumed that was a female warrior. I realize that I'm in a minority, but I am proof that a non-zero number of people interpreted the original art in a different way to the artist's intent.

 

[Minigiant]

Heh. When I look at the Red Box image, and am told the warrior is a woman, I cant unsee it.

The image does read as a woman. Regardless of the artists intent.

In this day and age, where about half the players are women, a serious adventurer who happens to be a woman is appreciated. That this is a classic image, even more so.

Has anyone done the Aerosmith "Dude looks like a lady" joke yet?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

For those in the thread stating that everybody knew that figure was a male, I didn't. I had always assumed that was a female warrior. I realize that I'm in a minority, but I am proof that a non-zero number of people interpreted the original art in a different way to the artist's intent.

I'm generally of the view that you can't tell the gender of someone wearing full plate. Boob plate was never a thing.

 

[ezo]

Girdle of Femininity, maybe? Did people react this way when they turned Morgan Ironwolf into a dude?

LOL when did that happen???

If I had known, I would have taken issue with that.

Has anyone done the Aerosmith "Dude looks like a lady" joke yet?

Surprisingly, no...

 

[Nikosandros]

The really important issue here is another one. The original picture is nothing short of deceptive advertising. It leads the potential buyers to believe that a level 1-3 fighter, alone, can take a red dragon...

 

[Minigiant]

The really important issue here is another one. The original picture is nothing short of deceptive advertising. It leads the potential buyers to believe that a level 1-3 fighter, alone, can take a red dragon...

D&D is built on deceptive advertising.

 

[TiQuinn]

He CREATED the guy so his word is law.

Glad to see this was your first post on the forum.

 

[TheGlen]

So around the Chainmail era? Were they being issued by WOTC after Reaper did them? I thought Mike McVey was running WOTC’s D&D in house. Thank you for your response.

I think we were doing a test run for them. They decided to go with plastics rather than pewter. We did a lot of LE stuff for a lot of companies when I worked for them. It was only for a couple of months and then they pulled the project.

 

[TheGlen]

LOL when did that happen???

If I had known, I would have taken issue with that.


Surprisingly, no...

It was an April fool's episode. Morgan had an 18 in every stat and one level in every class. The art wasn't so much masculine as wearing so many clothes so that you couldn't tell what sex she was or even if she was technically humanoid. It was an obvious parody

 

[Bedrockgames]

Conception that "this body type means male, that means female" is exactly stereotyping. That we all did it merely means we share the stereotype, not that it didn't exist.

I think we will just keep repeating the same points if we continue on this one, but even if this were the case, it isn't the central issue. Whether people were stereotyping or jumping to conclusions, the issue I took with what wiz kids did, wasn't them making the change, it was them acting like there was widespread mystery over what sex the character was. And all I said in respect to that was I think it was rather silly. And I also felt it could be viewed by the artist, and admittedly I can't read the artists mind so I don't know if Elmore is bothered by this,, but the artist did take the time to weigh in and say it has always been a man, as a statement about their talent. Can someone look at that image and see something different? Of course. When the face of a figure is hidden, when other key details are hidden, even if most of the indicators say one thing, a person can take creative license in they interpretation. But when this image came out, it was widely understood to be a man: and this is really my only point-----it is a little silly to act like there wasn't widespread agreement about this