The Roleplaying Things That Shall Not Be Named

[JAL_1138]

I have no idea on what that is and I'm scared to "Google" it.

In 3e, drowning creatures had their HP set to 0 when they started to drown. So if they were at negative HP, you could "heal" them up to 0HP by drowning them. It was quite silly.

No it's 2e that should be ashamed!

What with its gaudy color and those dang-blast-it horned helmets!

2e art was hit-or-miss. When it tried for realism or seriousness (particularly realism and seriousness), it usually missed pretty bad. But when it got Tony DiTerlizzi's storybook-esque sketches and watercolors, it knocked it out of the park. Toss-up between him and Erol Otus (B/X and some early-ish 1e era) as to who did the best D&D art, to me.

I'm inclined to agree. Later-edition art, in my opinion, often suffers from "awesomeness inflation," with the exception of 5e halflings, which go in the opposite direction of "incredibly creepy."

"Awesomeness inflation" is a good term for the issue I have with a lot of it. It tries too hard to be cool or badass or amazing or what-have-you and ends up feeling overblown.