Cyberpunk has some great covers:

WHFRP 1E has already been mentioned, which is easily my fav, along with many other good ones. Here's a few others I liked...



THIS cover for a supplement for the new line is rather nice as well]





Sadly horrible game, but great cover and setting. The first game I bought online, based on the cover alone.






I liked this one as a kid...looking at it now, it looked better upside down in all those comicbook ads...the flying wizard guy is kinda wonky


Though I have no interest in the game, I loved the cover to LoTFP
http://paizo.com/image/product/catalog/PZOPDFLFP/PZOPDFLFP101E_500.jpeg

My first and fav Paranoia cover...


This pic does little justice to the leatherbound Ltd Ed. Hellboy RPG...

DL 8 - Dragons of War by the late Keith Parkinson.



To me it is still THE defining "epic moment" in any D&D campaign. When I saw this cover in my LFGS, the module walked to the counter and paid the cashier by itself. It took me a few hours to exit shock and realize that it was part of a series.

Once again, Michael Komarck shows his talent. He rocks.

I love this thread!!!

For me In Nomine. Another in the vein of Traveller. Not so much about art, but iconography and page layout. The weathered (Latin-Gothic?) font, the short and easy to grok Latin title, the absolutely iconic burning feather... the expanse of blackness. Immediately ladened heavy with symbolism and yet a muted aesthetic.


(This is not the greatest scan so imagine it darker.)

(I was actually one who didn't like Smif's art as much in the interior art. I think he does great work, and by now I can't imagine the game without him. But initially his style was too jarring compared to my first projected associations based upon this cover.)

Another one that holds a similarly iconic and yet mysterious feel ladened with associations to me is Blue Planet. Something about the feeling of looking up-down? towards the light from the depths of a reef-abyss? always catches my breath. To see alien aquatics imaged in understated style adds an explosive contrast. Throw in the font and then a quick setting summary at the bottom and I just had to have it afterwards.

I am truly shocked that no one's posted these two beauties. Then again, I am a child of the 90s RPG-wise.

The original Rifts cover by Keith Parkinson.



The original Dark Sun cover by Brom (or was it Tom Baxa?).

Quote from: Ian Warner;426433Man after that build up I was expecting a bloke in full plate stomping on a pesant's head.

Note the man hanging from the tree...


-TGA

Quote from: Opaopajr;515261For me In Nomine. Another in the vein of Traveller. Not so much about art, but iconography and page layout. The weathered (Latin-Gothic?) font, the short and easy to grok Latin title, the absolutely iconic burning feather... the expanse of blackness. Immediately ladened heavy with symbolism and yet a muted aesthetic.

I prefer the Limited Edition hardcover covers, which I really liked, though this image doesn't really do it justice (it's in shiny red, embossed in the hardcover) (See here if the image doesn't come up)



The evil one was in black with an upside-down cross.  Both have a Bible-like feel to them.

The best role-playing game covers, in my opinion, either show an adventuring party (where "party" = 3 or more individuals, not one or two people) in medias res or something evocative of something in the setting, like the Classic Traveller covers or In Nominae cover that makes the rulebook look like a Bible.

Great examples parties in medias res from earlier in this thread are:

AD&D 1e Player's Handbook (also Hackmaster and Swords & Wizardry, which were inspired by it)
Warhammer FRP
Dragon Warriors
Cadwallon
Hollow Earth Expeditions
Rolemaster

Despite complaints about them earlier in this thread, both Dark Conspiracy and the newer Bureau 13 do a good job showing a party in medias res.

Covers that aren't bad because they show a party, but where they either look too posed or just hanging out include:

Midgard
Rogue Trader
Danger Quest
Twilight 2000 1e
Star Frontiers (which I complained about earlier in this thread)

Well, since we've had lots of the really good stuff, here's some more of the worst:














(yes, someone posted this as "getting it right". Either that's some powerful nostalgia, or some powerfully different aesthetic standards)


And to cap it off, here's a pic of the most awful LARP get-up I've ever seen...

Quote from: TristramEvans;515365
(yes, someone posted this as "getting it right". Either that's some powerful nostalgia, or some powerfully different aesthetic standards)

While it is a pretty fugly execution, I think it's rock solid from a conceptual standpoint: Dragon. Treasure. A perspective that says "you're one of these adventurers" instead of "look at these awesome adventurers".

And to be fair to the cover of FATAL: It fairly accurately communicates the game that waits inside.

Quote from: TristramEvans;515365Well, since we've had lots of the really good stuff, here's some more of the worst:

I hate you.

In the "Got it Right" category:
K&Co Hacklopedia of Beasts


Honestly, pictures do not do this book justice. The Real Thing is so much more impressive...

My favourite RPG cover, though less for the art style and more for the message it gave was Exalted's First Edition cover:



My favourite series of RPG covers is Dragon Warriors, which include:





The best of the bunch are:


My favourite.

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The Mekton II cover is one of my favorites.  I feel it is the definitive anime mecha game cover, and that is primarily because the mech is important in the image, but is not the dominating part of it.  The characters have center stage.  Plus, it's a cover to an anime game in which the cover actually looks like anime art (like a late 80s mecha anime promotional image).  That's a rarity.

As for bad covers, I'll admit that I've never been fond of the original AD&D1 covers.  The PHB and DMG covers look like someone drew something to look "metal" and then someone else came along and scribbled some other junk on it to look Kewler.  The MM is an absolute trainwreck.  That's why when I bought my AD&D1 books back in the day, I made sure to only get the "new version" covers.  Too bad they never did the Fiend Folio, because it's updated cover looked badass.