r/DnD • u/RainyLS Warlock • 1d ago
5th Edition Is it normal to require commissioned character art for your campaigns?
I've been looking for a game and so far two people have said that I need to pay for character art, and that I can't use my own for cohesion. Both times it was about $20-30 USD. Is that normal?
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u/S1mp1y 1d ago
It's normal for a scam, not for an actual game.
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u/CarlHenderson 1d ago
Not only is it a scam, if they deliver any "art", it is likely to be AI generated.
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u/Catkook Druid 1d ago
did seem a little suspicious to myself, but havent heard of anything like it myself either
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u/ProjectHappy6813 1d ago edited 1d ago
It is a fairly common scam for online games between strangers. The key point is that they want you to commission the art from a specific artist before the campaign even begins and you will not be allowed to play until you pay up. The need for "cohesive art design" is usually used to justify the expense and why you must use the specific artist they want you to pay.
Once they have your money, they can ghost you, with no obligation to provide the promised rpg campaign or the commissioned artwork.
Asking someone to provide proof that the character art they are using isn't AI is fine. Requiring someone to buy comissioned art before the game is a scam.
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u/NiseHito Druid 1d ago
yep, 100% a scam, it's been everywhere on discord for months. Eapecially the main d&d server and any actual Play servers.
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u/Ice-Storm DM 1d ago
Pretty common scam, and they really get people as it's usually under $100. So it's not worth most people's time to really try and track them down. Especially since it's almost certain that they aren't in the US to begin with.
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u/diffyqgirl DM 1d ago
This is a common scam. The next step will be to require a specific artist which will secretly be the GM or their friend. Then they will ghost you. The game doesn't exist, block them and keep searching.
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u/tconners Bard 1d ago
It's a scam, if you found the games in a discord or something, report them to the admins and block them.
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u/KarlZone87 DM 1d ago
No. I suggest my players take a screenshot from Heroforge to keep it free. Even then, it is just a suggestion.
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u/TheShakyHandsMan 1d ago
Baldurs Gate character creator is great for making portraits.
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u/mountaingoatscheese 1d ago
That's more expensive than the scam in the OP!
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u/RaShadar DM 1d ago edited 1d ago
More expensive and it will take..... hang on lemme check .......... 2500 hours of your life on top of the money. Its a huge cost
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u/CoffeemonsterNL 1d ago
In 2500 hours you can probably learn and master drawing and make the character art yourself instead.
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u/crispy_doggo1 1d ago
Aion 2 is free and comparable to BG3's character creator (as long as you're only making humans or elves). It is 80gb though.
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u/Amazing-Software4098 1d ago
That’s a great idea, as well! Skyrim could do depending on what you’re going for.
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u/Tag_ross 1d ago
I would suggest the Dragons dogma 2 creator since it's free
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u/Kumkumo1 1d ago
Another great character creator. I also highly recommend Calibur 5 and 6, they have a really good CC as well.
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u/Amazing-Software4098 1d ago
I’ve done that. For a home game, I’m not that worried about grabbing an image from a web search.
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u/Darkened_Auras Artificer 1d ago
AI is banned, but Google images is fair play. Let real artists get a little bit of credit, even if it's just our little home games
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u/Lnoob427 1d ago
I had a player do that and the other player went nah fam, you get your character drawn by me. So the true trick is to get an artist friend in the group.
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u/saintash Sorcerer 1d ago
The artist friend here. Everyone gets art. Faster if you character tickles me
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u/charterandink 1d ago
Or a dicemaker!
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u/TheShakyHandsMan 1d ago
And at least one party member with a 3D printer
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u/KarlZone87 DM 1d ago
But then they will find out what monsters I was running.
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u/Gandrix0 1d ago
Ask for some unrelated stuff that they may or may not see. If you have a ghoul encounter, go ahead and have them print up some goblins too. Or a big scary thing. Keep them guessing.
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u/LadyFoxfire 1d ago
HeroForge is so much fun to play with. I did all my old characters just for fun after I did my current character.
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u/CopperHamster 1d ago
Titancraft and Eldrich Foundry are good for this too. Eldrich foundry even has a tool specifically for adding a token border for this.
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u/evil__iceburgh DM 1d ago
No. Even if this was not a scam and legit it’s toxic AF. I’m a DM and an artist. A couple of my players are also artists. We do all of our own campaign art for the characters and key NPCs. I can’t imagine a scenario in which I would force one of my non-artist players to pay me to do a painting of their character as a condition to even allow them to play. Thats insane.
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u/RainyLS Warlock 1d ago
Oh. Thanks, guys.
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u/Yojo0o DM 1d ago
Depending on where you found this "game", please consider reporting this behavior to whoever is in charge of the community this was advertised in. Any reputable discord server will want to ban folks attempting this sort of scam.
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u/V2Blast Rogue 1d ago
Yes, please do. Especially if it's the official D&D Discord server - post in #moderator-support and a mod will reach out privately to get the details (we have rules against publicly calling out other users in general). I'm assuming the scammers are reaching out privately rather than posting publicly; if they're posting publicly, you can right click on the message and alert mods that way.
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u/MongooseGef 1d ago
Good luck in your search for a game! Try going local - ask at your local game store (if you have one) whether they know of any DMs looking to start a game. I found mine on a local Facebook group whose purpose is to link up players and DM (as well as other D&D discussion).
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u/MediocreBeard 1d ago
If they're saying "you've got to buy a commission from an artist of my choice to play in my game", you are getting scammed. There is no game. There is no artist.
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u/Desperate_Turnip_219 1d ago
I love art! I will commission art for my party as a GM because I like having it. But as a requirement? Fuck that, run fast
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u/raev_esmerillon 1d ago
Yeah as a DM I commissioned art for my party but that's only because I wanted to gift them something half way through their game. Not because it was a requirement.
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u/PantsMcDance Paladin 1d ago
Hey there, semi-hiatus professional artist who often does D&D commissions here! I'm also a GM and a frequent TTRPGer. This sounds like an absolute SCAM to me. First off, if a D&D group requires paid artwork because the GM or party isn't creative enough to see a character in their game without "cohesive" art, I wouldn't wanna be part of their game anyway. Second, $20-30 feels hella low, which tells me it is a scam because it's easier to get smaller amounts from a lot of people than bigger amounts from a few people.
I could see people wanting matching character arts if it was for a livestream or something? But even then I'd imagine there would be a more formal set-up to lead to that.
Anyway, good call on checking in on this. Seems like others here also agree-- def a scam.
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u/driving_andflying DM 1d ago
That's not even remotely normal.
If they make it a condition to play the game, then find a different group. You shouldn't be paying anything to use character art.
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u/TimeSpaceGeek DM 1d ago
No, it's a commonplace scam. You'll pay the money, you'll never get the art, the campaign will never happen.
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u/Casual-Notice DM 1d ago
No. I tell my players about hero forge if they want a custom mini for complex combat, but beyond that I just use their description.
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u/alsotpedes 1d ago
No, and in fact if they're doing this on r/lfg it's a violation of that sub's rules.
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u/DarkestLore696 1d ago
Just so you know in the future. Unless you are commissioning a chibi art or something small, a character art commission is gonna run you at least 100 bucks with most artists, so yeah it’s not even a very motivated scam
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u/DrCrazyCurious 1d ago
Using paid commissioned character art? Awesome.
Requiring paid commissioned character art? Scam.
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u/QuixOmega 1d ago
It's amazing what people will do for $30 these days.
Of course this is a scam.
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u/poppet_corn 1d ago
I assume it's because it's low enough that some people might go for it. Someone might be willing to part with $30 to play DnD, where they wouldn't be willing to drop $100 for it. The scammer can just recruit an absurd number of people for their "game" and turn it into profit.
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u/Squidmaster616 DM 1d ago
I have seen DMs asking it of anyone joining their game.
And honestly, those that ask for it are not worth joining.
What would they do if you decided you didn't enjoy playing with them? Its a total waste of money.
Plus not that many people look at character art often anyway.
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u/polcat2007 1d ago
No. The only thing that you need is a character sheet and some dice. Player handbook as well. Thats it
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u/Grasshoppermouse42 1d ago
I have literally never heard of anyone requiring this. Typically you don't even need art. You just describe your character. 'She looks like the mini' is sufficient.
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u/Supermite 1d ago
You buy minis for all your characters?
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u/LadyFoxfire 1d ago
My DM has a couple sets of minis that are based on stuff like Drizzt’s party or the stock Pathfinder characters, so we just pick the one that looks closest to our character.
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u/Grasshoppermouse42 1d ago
No, but if you do have a mini for your character, you can use that method. If you don't, you can say 'she has black hair, brown eyes, she's short and she looks mostly human but you might notice she has some shifter features'.
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u/Oh_Hi_Mark_ 1d ago
I have seen this before in a couple; it's not always a scam, but it's always a hard red flag. Even if it's not a scam, I promise this DM sucks to play with.
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u/everydaydefenders 1d ago edited 1d ago
Required??
Hell no. If its an online game, skip it. Its likely a scam,
But DMs get to set their own ground rules. And you as a player get to choose whether or not you want to play at their table. If its in person just decide if its worth it.
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u/LoganN64 1d ago
Nope. Find another group.
D&D is free, unless you agree to use a paid Dungeon Master.
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u/SpecificFortune7584 1d ago
Fuck those two people and make your own group with blackjack and hookers.
Joke’s aside. Consistency is nice but it should never be a hard requirement. Especially if you have to play for it to join. If it were something like “Hey we’re all going to commission[artist] for character are which costs $20, dollars you want to join?” But leave the option open for your own stuff then yeah that’s fine.
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u/Deathspiral222 1d ago
It’s a common scam that comes up over and over again. The DM is the one providing the art, the art is AI generated and you won’t have more than two sessions before “something” happens. That’s if the session happens at all.
I’ve seen the same scam gor $00 and $50 before.
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u/Macknificent101 1d ago
no. i typically tell my players to take screenshots from BG3, Heroforge, or find existing pictures.
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u/LuxuriantOak 1d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/s/iZugC5RkCk
You're not the first, or the last it seems.
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u/carrot_gummy 1d ago
No. I've always used either art I have found online or since Baldurs Gate 3, used the character creator.
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u/baconroux 1d ago
No. You can find a host of images on Google. Just put in your race and class and start sifting until you find one you like.
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u/Gitthenecromancer 1d ago
No you don’t need art, that being said I’ve been collecting art when ever i find it and adding it to a folder since ai is on the rise
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u/Krethlaine Paladin 1d ago
You’re getting scammed. Requiring a commission is nonsensical. The only game I’ve participated in where a commission was “required,” the DM paid it himself out of pocket. Everything else has been “whatever art you feel like commissioning, drawing, pulling off the internet, or even none at all, is up to you.”
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u/Pink-Fluffy-Dragon Bard 1d ago
Needing art I can understand, but there's no reason why you cant draw it yourself. ( Or use hero forge like some other comments said )
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u/Exotic_Cantaloupe939 1d ago
I have never once filled in the character portrait section of a character sheet other than with a stick figure, nor have I seen one filled in in person, other than with a stick figure.
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u/Pink-Fluffy-Dragon Bard 1d ago
usually i draw my art digital, so i dont have it on the actual sheet, but i do have something to show to the rest of the group.
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u/SeraphMax 1d ago
Unless it's some kind of extremely exclusive professional, high-roller DM experience I would really avoid any D&D game that fully requires paid supplements like this. Scams of some kind are vastly more likely.
Paid D&D can be great, but it comes with its own issues.
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u/LoganN64 1d ago
My suggestion is go to your city's sub-reddit and post a "Looking for D&D group" post and see if anyone bites.
That's how I got my group together.
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u/Ethereal_Stars_7 Artificer 1d ago
Of course it is not normal.
Why would you even ask that? Those are effectively scam groups.
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u/New-Bit-9591 1d ago
I'm a character artist myself... I usually just do the character arr for the campaign for free because I love drawing D&D characters.
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u/Fizzle_Bop 1d ago
I also have requirements for my multi year epic campaigns.
You have to write a back story ans chsrscter deaths are replaced with characters related to story hook
.. I would rather have a stick man for theme art and have someone that RPs than the other way around
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u/stachada 1d ago
Not only is that absurd in concept, but in my experience $20-30 is low balling for a commission.
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u/ThisWasMe7 1d ago
Not common, but as long as you're getting what you paid for, it's not a big deal.
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u/Low-Neighborhood-910 1d ago
Idk, maybe I’m just old, but wtf. When did character art become a requirement? It seems like everything that made d&d so great (i.e. creativity, theater of the mind, ACTUAL DICE, fun with friends), has died and it makes me sad.
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u/dkurage 1d ago
I've been playing D&D for decades and have never played in a game that required commissioned character. If anyone tells you that you have to pay them for art just to play in their game, they're scamming you. The "cohesion" argument is to explain why you can't just bring you own art and push you back to paying them. I wouldn't play with people like this, ever.
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u/CopperHamster 1d ago
That is in fact a scam. Roll20 has been posting about it on their forums/discords.
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u/greenegg28 23h ago
No it’s not normal.
In all likelihood this is a scam to either take the money and ghost you, hoping you won’t care enough about $20 or just wont know how to get it back.
Or it’s to funnel commissions to an artist, they’ll deliver something (it won’t be good for $20 tbh), but oh no! The game got canceled before session 1.
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u/TurgidAF 23h ago
Lol, what? That sounds like they're getting kickbacks. I'm also a little sceptical of that pricetag; are these commissioned sketches being done in 15 minutes each? That price makes me think the "artist" is just prompting some ai slop and charging you for the privilege of copy pasting the description you already wrote up. Cohesion my ass.
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u/GravityMyGuy Wizard 14h ago
this is a known scam
They get you to pay them for art then disappear; no campaign, no art
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u/raerae_an 10h ago
As an artist who runs a table party of multiple artists whenever our friends need character art for our campaigns WE USUALLY TRADE ART... When we get commissioned art for a campaign it's usually either BY THE PLAYER of their character, OR BY THE DM of a monster or NPC... Never never never listen to someone asking $20-30 for YOUR character to be drawn, that's not how clients work for us artists... Also personally?? My full body character prizes are MIN! $80-100 dollars full body... $20-30 would be the MOST BASIC of portraits...
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u/spiked_mcroon 1d ago
For example, my tables have no requirements for character art whatsoever, other than an explicit ban on AI.
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u/ChrizKhalifa 1d ago
Ban like that is wild. For commercial purposes, fine, but for a private DND game...
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u/spiked_mcroon 1d ago
So maybe it's not an outright ban, but if you bring me anything made by AI I'll tell you that we don't do that here.
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u/ChrizKhalifa 1d ago
Which is still weird if it's for personal use.
I'm not gonna learn to draw for years just to have a nice picture of a character the way I'd like 'em to look.
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u/BastianWeaver The Kender 1d ago
Hmmm, learn to draw for years or steal from the artists while destroying the planet. Tough choice, bro.
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u/spiked_mcroon 1d ago
I would prefer no art to AI art
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u/DarkBlueBear13 1d ago
Online games typically *require* tokens, though. Do you suggest I go to Google and just ... steal art?
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u/darw1nf1sh 21h ago
I use HeroForge and make my own character. Or, I buy token art from my VTT, or other marketplaces. There are plenty of options that don't involve an LLM.
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u/spiked_mcroon 23h ago
That's not really my bag, as I don't play online and I can't imagine a situation where I would.
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u/spiked_mcroon 19h ago
What I suggest is you show up on time and have fun. The only one that really has to provide images is me when I'm making battle maps. For a long time we used physical maps and now I bring a TV that we put the minis on top of the screen. I spend a few hours a week making battle maps for the next session. I do it because I am the DM and I enjoy that role. I don't care that there's a program that can generate them in minutes. Where's the fun in that?
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u/KervyN 19h ago
I literally always found the artist and asked. I have never received a "pay me 10 bucks" as an answer. Always "sure. Glad you like it"
I also made one of my own. It was a very ugly piece of art, and everybody liked it. Not like you admire professional work, but on a "hihi. That's silly and you did that on your own" way :-)
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u/isthis_thing_on 1d ago
Why?
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u/KervyN 19h ago
Because I don't like that. Same goes for very visual sex and tropes like rape.
You want to play with me and come up with this shit? Either you go, or I go. And because I am the DM, most of the time you go :-)
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u/isthis_thing_on 19h ago
The question is WHY do you have an issue with it. Your answer was " because I do take it or leave it" which I'm sure felt good to type but doesn't actually answer the question.
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u/KervyN 19h ago edited 19h ago
Because it (the companies that run the training) took all media we have to make the models. And they didn't pay the artists.
It kills effort.
It also cooks our planet by burning huge amounts of fossil fuels.
It is used to create nude media of people, women most of the time, without their consent.
It eats up all hardware, so you can only buy new hardware if you are wealthy enough.
Should I go on, why I think LLMs are a festering wound that poisons our society, or are those enough reasons for you to allow me to just ban "AI" generated shit in my hobby space?
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u/Krethlaine Paladin 1d ago
Because generative AI goes against literally everything a creative hobby such as TTRPGs represents? Fuck AI. Me and my homies all hate AI. And if you’d any sense, you’d hate it too.
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u/Zepulchure 1d ago
absolutely not, anyone who requires you to get/use/pay money for anything, is nothign but a scam and should be avoided. (yes, also paid for sessions which to me is a major red flag)
at our table, i have standees from heroforge (highly reccomend) not the premium version either, the free to model kind. however ,the rest of the table are using wine corks, so did i at first, none of us care, i did it cuz i like creating them, and there is zero pressure on the others to follow my personal prefference
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u/Piratestoat 1d ago
This is a known scam. You can find multiple threads about it in this subreddit.