When Wizards of the Coast announced updated versions of the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual to celebrate the 10th anniversary of 5E and the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, fan reactions were mixed. While some questioned the necessity of these revisions, the prospect of a revamped Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) was genuinely exciting for many, including seasoned DMs. For many, the DMG has always been considered a somewhat cumbersome but essential tool for running games across editions. Therefore, when Chris Perkins announced his intention to overhaul and reorganize the 2014 DMG, hopes were high for a more user-friendly and effective guide.
2014 DMG vs. 2024 DMG: Key Organizational Changes
A recurring issue with previous Dungeon Master’s Guides has been their organizational structure. While they contain crucial rules and guidance for DMs that aren’t found in the Player’s Handbook, the arrangement often lacked logical flow. The 2014 DMG, for instance, began with worldbuilding in Chapter One, including campaign creation, but then scattered related topics like adventure creation (Chapter Three), campaign tracking (Chapter Nine), and “Running the Game” (Chapter Eight) throughout the book. This disjointed structure could be confusing for DMs trying to navigate the material.
The 2024 DMG addresses this by adopting a more intuitive structure. Chapter One now covers “The Basics,” followed by “Running the Game” in Chapter Two, and “The DM’s Toolbox” in Chapter Three. Subsequent chapters delve into “Creating Adventures” (Chapter Four) and “Creating Campaigns” (Chapter Five). This revised order presents a more logical progression, particularly beneficial for new Dungeon Masters.
This reorganization also reflects Wizards of the Coast’s responsiveness to player and DM feedback since 2014, especially considering the influx of new players drawn to 5E. Traditionally, learning D&D involved a blend of reading the books and learning from experienced players. However, many contemporary players are introduced to D&D through actual play videos like Critical Role. While these videos can be inspirational, they can also be intimidating, setting unrealistic expectations by showcasing highly experienced DMs like Matthew Mercer and Deborah Ann Woll. Extracting DMing techniques from actual play videos can also be more challenging than learning player strategies.
The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide directly aims to mitigate these challenges and support both novice and veteran DMs. Moving beyond a mere compilation of rules and supplementary information, this DMG seeks to build DM confidence and provide practical advice on efficient preparation, managing party dynamics, and even tackling logistical hurdles like scheduling game sessions.
Getting Started: Focusing on Foundational DM Skills
Every iteration of the DMG has included guidance on running the game and managing players to varying degrees. The 2024 DMG expands significantly on this aspect. It not only outlines the DM’s responsibilities and necessary tools, provides examples of gameplay, and offers session management advice, but also emphasizes the individuality of each DM. It encourages drawing inspiration from actual play DMs or local DMs but cautions against direct imitation, highlighting that authenticity is key. A significant portion is dedicated to “ensuring fun for all,” stressing the importance of aligning DM and player expectations regarding campaign tone and style. Whether it’s a grimdark narrative or lighthearted political intrigue, the 2024 DMG champions clear communication and mutual agreement between DMs and players.
The 2024 DMG avoids prescribing a singular “correct” way to play D&D or a specific storytelling approach. Instead, it advocates for harmonious DM-player relationships, emphasizing mutual respect – respect for players and respect for the DM.
The “Running the Game” chapter is comprehensive, covering both mechanical rules and practical DMing advice. It details outcome resolution for various game situations (ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, advantage/disadvantage) and offers guidance on group size and effective narration. It even addresses co-DMing and managing sessions when players are absent.
Crucially, this chapter provides valuable insights into running the three pillars of D&D: role-playing/social interaction, exploration, and combat. This is particularly beneficial for new DMs who might primarily focus on combat or pre-written combat-heavy adventures. It helps DMs broaden their approach and confidently handle player-initiated interactions beyond combat. The section also explores consequences as narrative drivers, improvisation techniques, and damage rulings.
Even experienced DMs can find valuable insights in these sections. Wizards of the Coast consulted with well-known DMs to refine and validate their advice, ensuring its practical applicability.
Historically, DMGs included sections on “insanity,” which is now considered insensitive. The 2014 DMG replaced this with a brief section on fear and horror. The 2024 DMG offers a more developed half-page section on “Fear and Mental Stress,” approaching the topic with greater sensitivity. “The DM’s Toolbox” is packed with useful information, including alignments, chase mechanics, handling character death, environmental effects, siege equipment, firearms, and supernatural gifts. While some elements might be campaign-dependent, their inclusion ensures DMs have a wide range of tools at their disposal.
Organizing the DMG with these foundational categories upfront is strategic, as this information is frequently accessed by DMs, especially those new to the role. The 2014 DMG’s scattered structure often required DMs to constantly flip between sections, a frustration amplified by vague cross-references lacking page numbers.
Creating Adventures and Campaigns: Streamlining the Process
Adventure and campaign planning can be daunting for DMs of all experience levels, often leading to burnout. Chapters Four and Five of the 2024 DMG address this directly, aiming to simplify and streamline the process without stifling creativity. Chapter Four covers adventure design from initial concept and player hooks to conclusion and rewards. It provides guidance on planning exploration and social interaction encounters, not just combat scenarios. Significantly, it includes five sample adventures for levels 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7, demonstrating how adventures evolve in scope and complexity as player levels increase. These sample adventures are intentionally concise, emphasizing that effective adventure prep can be efficient, especially when combined with improvisation.
Chapter Five adopts a similar step-by-step approach to campaign creation. It outlines campaign beginnings and endings, and crucially, explores the diverse flavors and tones of fantasy within D&D. This chapter highlights Greyhawk, the original commercial D&D setting. From its unique premise (distinct from the Forgotten Realms) to core elements and a gazetteer, Greyhawk serves a dual purpose: demonstrating setting design and providing a customizable framework for DMs, particularly new ones. The chapter also details three primary conflict sources in Greyhawk – evil dragons, the Cult of Iuz, and Elemental Evil – as campaign examples and inspiration for creating new conflicts, with suggestions for scaling them with player levels.
Reference Material: Cosmology, Magic Items, and Strongholds
The subsequent three chapters offer essential reference material: cosmology, magic items, and expanded stronghold rules. The cosmology chapter explores the D&D multiverse and planar travel, valuable for campaigns that venture beyond the material plane. The magic item chapter, a perennial favorite, is substantial at 117 pages. While magic item rarity remains consistent with the 2014 DMG, descriptions are now more concise and engaging, and the number of common magic items has increased.
Concerns about changes to magic item art, a highlight of the 2014 DMG, are addressed in the review. The 2014 DMG’s magic item illustrations were praised for their beauty and imaginative whimsy.
While some art is carried over, much is new. The new art is well-executed but appears darker and less detailed compared to the 2014 DMG, described as resembling “old photographs that have dimmed.” This contrasts with the 2014 art, which evoked a “high-end catalog from a shop in Waterdeep.”
Chapter Eight focuses on “Bastions,” an expanded take on the 2014 DMG’s limited stronghold rules. “Bastion” is a more fitting term, encompassing diverse options beyond castles and fortresses, such as guild halls, theaters, libraries, and research facilities. Bastion rules integrate with downtime activities, providing a home base and downtime options. “Bastion turns” are introduced to manage home base events and potential bastion downfall.
Wrapping Up the Book: Lore Glossary and DM Maps
Appendix A features a Lore Glossary, a valuable addition providing quick references for key names and locations, minimizing external searches. Appendix B offers a collection of Dyson Logos maps, designed to be simple and DM-friendly for easy use or customization. These include dungeons, lairs, farmsteads, manors, and ships, streamlining game preparation.
The D&D Beyond version of the 2024 DMG includes Appendix C: Tracking Sheets, while the physical book integrates them throughout. While understandable for print economy, centralized tracking sheets would enhance usability. D&D Beyond plans to release a separate tracker sheet package for easier access.
The Good, Bad, and In Between: Overall Assessment
The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is praised for its improved organization, logical flow, and expanded content on foundational DM skills, group rapport, improvisation, and campaign style alignment. The lore glossary and Greyhawk setting examples are highlighted as inspired additions, along with adventure outlines, tracking sheets, and the map appendix. However, the lack of writing credits is criticized, especially given the reuse of content from the 2014 DMG and other sources. The design of tracking sheets is considered less visually appealing, and art credits remain difficult to read in print editions. Font size improvements for accessibility are deemed minimal, and black fonts would be preferable. Despite the book being 64 pages longer, some magic item art is smaller, suggesting a dense information presentation. The concerted effort to incorporate D&D history and diverse settings into the art and examples is appreciated.
Should You Buy the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide?
Addressing concerns about purchasing new books, the review suggests that the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is a worthwhile upgrade, unlike the Player’s Handbook where both editions might offer unique value. While the 2024 PHB aims to incentivize purchase through new options, the 2024 DMG justifies its value through improved DM guidance and tools. There is little reason to buy the 2014 DMG if you don’t already own it, as the 2024 version is superior in most aspects.
For owners of the 2014 DMG, the 2024 edition is recommended, especially for those who found the previous version cumbersome. The sections on adventure and campaign building, and the Greyhawk material, make it a strong contender for purchase.
For new DMs, the 2024 DMG is an absolute must-buy, being significantly improved and offering essential resources.
In conclusion, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide is rated highly, surpassing the 2024 Player’s Handbook in terms of improvement over its predecessor. While minor criticisms regarding writing credits and art presentation exist, the enhancements in organization, content, and DM support make it a valuable resource. The review concludes with a strong recommendation, grading it an A-.
The wide release date for the new Dungeon Master’s Guide is November 12.
