Dungeon Master's Guide

by Wizards of the Coast

Genres: Fantasy, Dungeons and Dragons, Role Playing Games, Gaming, Reference, Collections, Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 2024

About the author

Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC /ˈwɒtˌsiː/ or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. Originally a basement-run role-playing game publisher, the company popularized the collectible card game genre with Magic: The Gathering in the mid-1990s, acquired the popular Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game by purchasing the failing company TSR, and experienced tremendous success by publishing the licensed Pokémon Trading Card Game. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Renton, Washington in the United States.[1]

Wizards of the Coast publishes role-playing games, board games, and collectible card games. They have received numerous awards, including several Origins Awards. The company has been a subsidiary of Hasbro since 1999. All Wizards of the Coast stores were closed in 2004.

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this better than the 2014 version of the Dungeon Master's Guide. The rules feel like they are organized better and are explained in a way that feels more accessible for a new DM. I also liked that there is a long section that explains and fleshes out the Greyhawk setting. It's nice to have something other than Forgotten Realms for players who are starting out.

[Arseni Kritchever · Rating 3 out of 5]

***The Good***
This book is mostly laid out very well and is clearly intended to on-board new DMs before throwing them into the deep end. It does an excellent job (there are few resources that do it better IMO) on explaining how to run a game, how to make calls, how to make rulings, how to manage players, how to create and run a session zero, how to handle common player problems (powergamers, murder hobos, etc.). Excellent chapters on how to create and run an adventure and how to create and run a whole campaign.

Speaking of campaign - the Greyhawk gazetteer is much bigger than I anticipated, it's very well-laid out and illustrated and very actionable (much better than Krynn gazetteer in the Shadow of the Dragon Queen for instance). It is sufficiently big and contains enough maps to be able to fairly easily run a whole hexcrawl in Greyhawk. The book also contains a very nice lore glossary - useful to new DMs. Likewise, the big chapter on the multiverse and outer planes is also surprisingly chonky and very actionable.

I like the new magic item system (with two big caveats - see The Bad later) and how to give out magic items. There are more magic items here than there were in the old DMG, with more illustrations, more ways to customize magic items, and more artifacts and relics.

I also like that this book contains several small adventures that can almost be run on the spot as well as maps to go with them. Again, very good for new DMs. These aren't like huge adventures but they are good to drop in as campaign starters or quick side quests to put in.

I like the new travel rules in the DMG though it still necessitates some book flipping and referencing PHB, but I think it's a better travel system than 2014 DMG had. Likewise, the chase rules - while not fundamentally changed - have more nuance to them now.

There are a lot of new things in the DM's Toolbox chapter (but with a big caveat again) that are quite handy.

The bastion system is pretty good (also with a big caveat) and I would mostly use it if I have a chance and a choice. It's not as super crunchy as some other home base systems I've seen out there, nor is it quite as abstract as some others. Overall, I really like this new addition BUT it feels like it should be in the PHB, not in the DMG.

Oh and the art is absolutely spectacular.

***OK, now for The Undecided***
Some magic items have received changes but they are somewhat hard to spot so I haven't gone through that section with a magnifying glass to find problems. There might be some problems there but it's too soon to tell.

The bastion system no doubt adds even more potential for powergamers but I'm yet to try to game it and see exactly how it does so.

This is a minor omission - it's not rustling my jimmies too hard but I would've liked to see this part of 2014 DMG included - the 2024 DMG includes a section on how to create custom backgrounds (which is great) but not on how to create new races or new subclasses (which the 2014 DMG did include).

The true encounter builder is not in the DMG at all, which I found to be a bit puzzling (there is a sort of encounter builder but see below in The Bad). They did mention that it will be in the MM instead where - according to the writing team - it makes more sense. However, there are some other crucial rules in the DMG that depend on the encounter level, so it would've been nice to see it here. Not a deal breaker, but would've been nice.

I think the book does not provide enough guidelines and advice and rules for NPCs - the NPC section could be beefier to help out new DMs.

***The (spicy) Bad:***
Still no firm and sane magic item prices - we were promised that this will be in the book, and it's not. It's still the same vague baseline chart copy-pasted from 2014 DMG. I'm actually mad about this because let's face it - the number one use of DMG in every edition was for the magic items and to not finally have firm prices here is ludicrous. And speaking of magic items and treasures - they completely got rid of the tables for randomly rolling magic items, treasures, and treasure hoards. There's no reason you can't use the 2014 DMG for this but this seems like a step backward.

Also, compared to 2014 DMG and previous editions' DMGs, a big step backwards in terms of settlement generation and rules - I find that section in 2014 DMG very useful and here it's instead been reduced to very limp two pages, mostly filled with tavern name generators, and some other random generators. Very lacklustre. The authors even say that they expect DMs to look at how the City of Greyhawk is presented in the book and use that as baseline but it's such a cop-out.
Likewise, big absence of random encounter tables by biomes (or maybe I just missed them completely). Maybe they will be in the MM, but at least some sample ones and some advice on how to create them, would be nice.

Another fairly important section to explain to newer DMs which should be in the How to Make a Campaign chapter but isn't, is on how to create pantheons. There are about two pages related to this but they are not very helpful.

The DM toolbox - while I think is more newbie DM friendly than the old DMG, could still be organized better. I'm glad it's much earlier in the book and is given more space, but it's kind of all over the place.

Then there's the encounter builder which is in the book, which is basically a "XP budget" style encounter builder. In my opinion this is even worse than the already broken encounter builders in the 2014 DMG or in XGE (or Tasha's? Can't remember). All it does is provide a bit of guidelines as to how much XP an encounter should be worth but it's useless in terms of providing any sort of guidelines about how to actually go about building an encounter. As a seasoned DM I don't really need it, but it's a huge omission in a DMG, especially for a newbie DM.

Finally, I like the bastion system but there are such obviously great options and obviously poor options for players that it makes me question whether any playtesting feedback was taken into account. If I was a bard with bastions, I'd feel punished.

So there we go: in most ways it's an improvement on the 2014 DMG, it's certainly a much better GUIDE to how to be a DM, but in other ways it's a bit of a step back. It doesn't have a lot of new things (other than the bastion system, the Greyhawk gazetteer, and some new tables and maps) to offer to a veteran DM.

[Jason Dark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3

[Bryan Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the limits system, giving DMs concrete tools to keep the game play limited to what players are comfortable with using language that won't trigger conservative snowflakes and create a framework to remove problem players. It's really clever work and will create a much more welcoming table everywhere and create better expectations across the board. The way the information is organized is also really terrific, the glossary is really helpful as well.

I was skeptical about the 2024 editions, but they've really been knocking these out of the park.

As for the other systems, the magic item pricing, the bastians, etc... this is stuff my group sort of plays by ear anyway. More guidance or less wouldn't really matter. The frameworks of how it all could work were nice, but the point of an RPG is to tell a collaborative story and we really focus on that.

As for the canonicity of Greyhawk-- Does anyone really play in D&D canon? Every time we sit down to play a zero session, we sort of establish the best sort of version of the world to play the right flavor of game to best tell the story the group collectively wants to play. So complaints about the race or sex or gender of what this NPC or that NPC are in a world where your group have total fiat seem to blatantly misunderstand RPGs to the point of me wondering if they've ever actually played one.

[Kevin Leung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to argue that it’s worth getting if you already have the 2014 DMG. The Greyhawk lore may be good if you use that world, and the bastion chapter is totally new. Otherwise, I think that experienced DMs are fine with existing references.

[Tabetha Taifalos-Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's safe to say my hyperfixation with dungeons and dragons is in full swing

[Roger Alix-Gaudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a lifelong fan of D&D and have played and enjoyed each edition (often for different reasons from edition to edition). The latest edition of the DMG for 5E refreshes a lot of content that experienced DMs will be familiar with, reorganizes it to be easier for new DMs to learn and reference, and adds a bunch of new stuff as well. A great resource (indispensable for new DMs) for running D&D campaigns.

[Jon McClintick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only have the 2014 version to compare to, but holy cow is this an improvement. The layout is cleaner and simpler, it can be read cover to cover in a logical way, and it has many good ideas. As a D&D club advisor, I never really had a use for the DMG... but I can hand this version to a student for direction and inspiration. A great update for newbies about how to functionally DM a game.

[BookEd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vastly improved over the 2014 DMG. Still not sure about encounter balance, need more time with it. Bastion system seems fun, and the book is definitely more useful to brand new DMs. Great artwork and I like the work sheets.

[Aaron Lindahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much improved over the 2014 guide, good enough for my approval for a new player.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dungeon Master's Guide is an overview of all the information that you'll need to become a DnD dungeon master. It covers a lot of rules, but also suggestions and inspiration to how to craft encounters, adventures and campaigns.

Pretty good. I like that there's not actually that much rule text, which I probably expected a little bit. I do think some of the official rules become too convuluted and bloated (ex. the rules for bastions) and I am definitely going to tailor them to better fit my DnD group - which is what the book encourages me to do anyway.
Good stuff. 4 stars.

[moggithy mogginson · Rating 4 out of 5]

much better than the 2014 dmg, but still very information-dense in areas

[CJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah it's helpful.

[Ogre · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heaping pile of "meh". Almost nothing new in magic items, the bastion system is complicated and gives way too many advantages to players, (as if the Player's Handbook didn't already do that!), the Greyhawk setting was unnecessary and seemed pointless, and while this did have good information for DMs just starting out, it had almost nothing for the long-term DMs and few if any tools (some were even removed).

Don't buy this. Use the 2014 version. You'll be glad you did.

[Tamrun Yamaha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Some of the content is ok, but if you own the 2014 DMG, you won't find much of interest here. What was disappointing to me was to see what they did to Greyhawk. If you were craving a "woke" Greyhawk, this may be your cup of tea. Otherwise, simply use the far better pre-existing Greyhawk material.

[Eric Mesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marketing is often lies or half-truths dressed up to try and trick our stupid animal brains - pushing past our rationality. I'm happy to report that in this case, the marketing was, in my humble opinion, not a lie. We were told that this was a new, useful Dungeon Master's Guide - more useful than the 2014 guide. I found this to be true. I don't think I've re-opened the 2014 DMG since first reading it. It was really structured as a reference book or manual. The 2024 DMG is full of very useful information.

In a lot of ways the 2024 DMG is a great entry point into the concept of being the Dungeon Master. I think it even is a bot extra simplistic in the first chapter so that if you and your friends were all new to D&D, one of you could pick up DMing. If you've been playing for a while and are new to the position of DM, you could probably skim the first chapter. Beyond that it would be introducing you to many concepts that you were probably taking for granted if your sessions were going smoothly.

The other huge difference is that the 2014 DMG seemed tailored towards DMs who wanted to run their own custom campaigns rather than published D&D campaigns. This DMG is much more focused on teaching the concepts. It might actually be a bit TOO shallow on creating your own worlds. Perhaps that's better left to another book or to 3rd party publishers.

Since this was an anniversary year, there's a huge chapter on the Greyhawk setting, introducing it to new players. It also gives a few points to jump into a campaign there. I also appreciated the index that introduces the reader to famous D&D characters and D&D lore.

If you buy digital version you also gain access to a bunch of magic items you can use in your games. (This will be tied to whatever platform you buy the digital version on)

Overall, I think this DMG is a HUGE improvement over the previous one. If you're thinking about being a D&D DM, I think this is a very good purchase. The first few chapters made me consider a few concepts I hadn't thought of and it has made things go more smoothly at my table.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The updates to the 2014 edition contain legitimately valuable additions. The format of the manual is well laid out and the introductions can be woven easily into existing campaigns. WotC has achieved their stated goal of introducing a refresh that doesn’t require reinvesting in all of the materials if you want to keep going forward with the 2014 content, but rewards those interested in adopting.

[Messorem Animarum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently the Greyhawk section was written by people who either know very little about the setting or despise it. Retcons abound. NPCs are race- and sex-swapped. Races rule areas where it makes no sense for them to be ruling. Just utter nonsense, given that this is supposedly set in 576 CY.

But this team at WOTC is bereft of creative talent, so all they can do is throw a fresh can of paint on previously created genius (Greyhawk), race and sex swap NPCs, and pretend they created something new.

CREATE YOUR OWN SETTING! Oh wait, you can't. Well, you can, but you know it would suck.

If you enjoyed the woke remake of Ghostbusters, you may enjoy this book.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a solid guidebook. There are some sections that feel a little useless, and I'm a bit unenthusiastic about the Bastion system, but overall, this book does a nice job of preparing folks for running a campaign, I think.

[Kurt Vosper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent update of the 5e rules. My favourite parts are the addition of the classic setting of Greyhawk and the Bastions section. As well the very end describing legendary figures of the game was a welcome read for an old gamer. Worth your time without a doubt.

[William Schmitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels like cheating to count this as a book read this year, but it was pretty long so I'm counting it. It's more of a reference/rules book, so it's kinda hard to give this a rating. I'm really just logging this to remember when in my life I read this book.

[Kendall]

How long am I going to have to wait for the Dungeon Mistress's Guide?

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly an improvement on the old DMs guide in every way.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best DMG ever, hands down, because of all the tools it gives both experienced and new DMs to plan, prep, and run better games

[Aaron Jesse O'Hare-Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great instruction for a would-be DM; could provide more searchable or better-indexed resources for when actually running games.

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent update to the 2014 DMG, but a bit lopsided in its presentation of the new Bastions system. Lots of great tools for new and existing DMs, I can’t wait to try them out!

[Jacque · Rating 5 out of 5]

New knowledge is everything. Endless ways to expand characters and towns.

[Guilherme Hoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bem bom do pov de alguém novo para esse mundo

[Sean]

Very readable intro to DMing for the most part with a decent amount of background info on settings from micro to macro levels to facilitate starting to homebrew from the parts.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. I liked the advice on campaign creation, bastions, the 80's D&D cartoon crossovers and NPC creation tables. The artwork is of mixed quality but most of it is good.