D&D 5E Have you actually read the 5e DMG?

[Li Shenron]

Seems like a lot of people are discovering all the fun additional and optional rules of the 5e DMG. A DM can really customize his game considerably. Have you read the 5e DMG attentively from cover to cover?

Yes I did. However I never used any optional rule, so I forgot most of what I read.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Cover to cover twice. That's my standard procedure with a core book for a game I'm planning to spend a lot of time running.

is the DMG actually a core book? I feel like it’s a nice to have with lists of magic items and treasure. Everything else is optional or fluff.

to the OP, the only thing I have read and used regularly besides said tables is the encounter building suggestion.

 

[Unwise]

I DM and have never even seen the DMG. If something were to come up and I cared, I would just google it.

Frankly, if I know how to make a character in a game, then I generally understand how to DM it. I have been DMing 5e since playtesting and have never read a single rule outside of understanding what is on the character sheet. E.g. seeing death saves on the sheet and wondering what that means, so looking it up.

I don't need rules to tell me how traps work, how to balance encounters, magic items, lore, downtime or anything like that.

 

[atanakar]

I don't need rules to tell me how traps work, how to balance encounters, magic items, lore, downtime or anything like that.

It's more than that. There are variant rules for healing, initiative and many other aspects covered in the PHB. It's fun to have official choices. That way each DM can customize his game, if that is what he looking for of course.

 

[Bupp]

Read cover to cover, but that when it was first released. Read many sections since then, but there are probably vast swaths that I haven't looked at since my initial read.

This thread, and others recently, have me thinking about picking it back up.

 

[atanakar]

is the DMG actually a core book? I feel like it’s a nice to have with lists of magic items and treasure. Everything else is optional or fluff.

to the OP, the only thing I have read and used regularly besides said tables is the encounter building suggestion.

It's been a core book for me since 1e. Makes my games richer and more personalized.

 

[Maxperson]

No I haven't read it cover to cover. I've been DMing since 1983, so I really don't need all of the suggestions on how to run a game. I just need to know the rules and use the various tables.

 

[atanakar]

No I haven't read it cover to cover. I've been DMing since 1983, so I really don't need all of the suggestions on how to run a game. I just need to know the rules and use the various tables.

I've been a DM since 1981 and I still read the advice sections from time to time. It's a great way to reinspire my old brain.

 

[Maxperson]

I've been a DM since 1981 and I still read the advice sections from time to time. It's a great way to reinspire my old brain.

I use my old 2e stuff for that. Lots of amazing story fluff to inspire ideas.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

One really cool thing in it is the world building section about how to make a map of your setting. There are some awesome, concise, step-by-step instructions that walk you through it. There is an unexplained discrepancy (ie, a mistake) regarding the number of settlements they suggest being different (for no reason) in different parts of the book, but other than that, I love that section. I’ve actually used it mapping my world.

Being concise is one of the real strengths of the book. I have no problem with lots of text, especially when it’s doing something, but the 5e DMG manages to put more quality content in less words than I ever would have expected for a DMG based on prior ones. So for those haven’t read it, I’d recommend it just for the fact that there might be a few paragraphs on a couple pages you skipped that could become your new favorite resources.