D&D (2024) What can WotC do in OneD&D to make the DM's Guide worth buying?

[Peter BOSCO'S]

They could remove the notion that magic items are optional, and start giving them out like crazy, so more players would buy the DMG to see what their magic items do. [This would cause balance issues, but selling books and making money is good.]

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

They could remove the notion that magic items are optional, and start giving them out like crazy, so more players would buy the DMG to see what their magic items do. [This would cause balance issues, but selling books and making money is good.]

Hilarious...

 

[nevin]

It's a serious question. The "Big Three" books of D&D have always been the Player's Handbook, the Monster Manual, and the Dungeon Master's Guide. The DM's Guide has always sounded like it is really important, but I don't think it has ever been an essential text in any version of D&D, aside from being where we hide the magic items (for some reason).

So what can actually make this book worth buying and reading, while remaining true to the basic 5e toolkit?

For everyone? nothing. There is absolutely no need for everyone to read that book. If they want to buy it and read it great, But anything that make's it more important doesn't change the fact if the DM has the necessary books no one else "needs" them. Over the years I'd say more than half of my players used my player's handbooks. Trying to force everyone to buy them all will work about as well as Microsoft trying to end piracy in Africa, India, and China.

 

[Irlo]

For everyone? nothing. There is absolutely no need for everyone to read that book. If they want to buy it and read it great, But anything that make's it more important doesn't change the fact if the DM has the necessary books no one else "needs" them. Over the years I'd say more than half of my players used my player's handbooks. Trying to force everyone to buy them all will work about as well as Microsoft trying to end piracy in Africa, India, and China.

“Force?”

 

[nevin]

They could remove the notion that magic items are optional, and start giving them out like crazy, so more players would buy the DMG to see what their magic items do. [This would cause balance issues, but selling books and making money is good.]

lol. That's what drove everyone crazy in 3rd edition even though the designers repeatedly said all content was optional and up to the DM.

Now they've tried to Control everything and limit rules bloat, which limits reasons to buy new content. I'd argue the first way is more profitable but you just have to ignore the screaming masses.

 

[nevin]

“Force?”

force, incentivize, whatever you want to call it. If you are putting content into the DMG to get players to read it then you are somewhere on a sliding scale between the two.

 

[Omand]

I may have missed it in this thread, but a huge thing that I think would help for the DMG (and the PHB and MM for that matter) is a much, much, much better index with proper cross-referencing.

Cheers

 

[Eyes of Nine]

If you are putting content into the DMG to get players to read it

I don't think the DMG is for players. It's in the title - Dungeon Master's Guide

 

[Clint_L]

For everyone? nothing. There is absolutely no need for everyone to read that book. If they want to buy it and read it great, But anything that make's it more important doesn't change the fact if the DM has the necessary books no one else "needs" them. Over the years I'd say more than half of my players used my player's handbooks. Trying to force everyone to buy them all will work about as well as Microsoft trying to end piracy in Africa, India, and China.

I don't understand you got from my question, "So what can actually make this book worth buying and reading, while remaining true to the basic 5e toolkit?" to your claim that I am proposing "trying to force everyone to buy" it. Please clarify.

 

[delericho]

Actually, I've just had a thought: many of the published adventures and settings to date have added various modules (the vehicle rules in Baldur's Gate, and the sailing rules in Saltmarsh come to mind). If WotC were to gather all of these together into their new DMG, that would make it a worthwhile purchase for me, even if it came at the cost of eliminating just about everything that's currently in the book.