Except every time someone complains about some play or rule element being ignored, it turns out it is totally addressed in the DMG. Every time.
People that don't read the DMG don't get to complain. RTFM.
D&D 5E What Do You Not Like About The 2014 5E DMG?
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
People that don't read the DMG don't get to complain. RTFM.
Benjamin Olson
Hero
The main thing I didn't like about it (back when I bothered to use it) is that I'd have to lug it around if I wanted the catalogue of magic items, which I used several times more often than the rest of it combined. And having had the strap of my favorite backpack break because I was lugging to many D&D books to games I don't take the crime of being too much extra weight to carry lightly.
Hussar
Legend
Except that it's buried somewhere in the bowels of the book and virtually impossible to find. Which makes the book largely pointless. People don't read the DMG because it's crammed full of crap that doesn't need to be there.
Why on earth is the planar stuff there? Who cares how things work on some random plane? It's virtually never going to come up in anyone's game. You want rules for sanity? Well, yup, there's a very bare bones system there that kinda, sorta works but, again, buried so deep in the book that good luck finding it.
You can defend the book all you like, but, at the end of the day, it's poorly organized, terribly written and full of completely superfluous material. The only reason people buy it is because the magic items are described there.
That’s the other thing - the optional rules are clearly half-assed.
If you don't like to.read rules, just say that.
SpeedyCreek
Villager
Ignoring the rules I would change, omit, or add....
1. The layout is quite muddled. To my mind it should start with the role of the DM --> How the game works--> Running the game--> and so on. Something to give perspective before diving into NPC's, World Design, In Between Adventures materials etc. Everyone has their own order but the one in the DM's guide seems a little cart before the horse in a lot of areas.
2. I would have preferred to see details such as multiverse, world design, and setting specific items to have been put in a separate book. The depth of material for creating and designing worlds deserves its own guide. The very basics can be retained but only as a simple introduction. World design is something that generally needs a more experienced DM to pull off correctly so lets just ease DM's in and when they are ready they can graduate to the design guide.
3. I think that the guide should include at the start more details about the role of the DM and better examples for running the game and adjudication. Showcasing different methods DM'ing and their strengths and weaknesses would be nice.
Obviously there are always issues when producing books, hopefully they learn when they do. The brilliance of TTRPG's is that we make them ours. (Based loosely on the published materials and the ideas we create and borrow from others)
1. The layout is quite muddled. To my mind it should start with the role of the DM --> How the game works--> Running the game--> and so on. Something to give perspective before diving into NPC's, World Design, In Between Adventures materials etc. Everyone has their own order but the one in the DM's guide seems a little cart before the horse in a lot of areas.
2. I would have preferred to see details such as multiverse, world design, and setting specific items to have been put in a separate book. The depth of material for creating and designing worlds deserves its own guide. The very basics can be retained but only as a simple introduction. World design is something that generally needs a more experienced DM to pull off correctly so lets just ease DM's in and when they are ready they can graduate to the design guide.
3. I think that the guide should include at the start more details about the role of the DM and better examples for running the game and adjudication. Showcasing different methods DM'ing and their strengths and weaknesses would be nice.
Obviously there are always issues when producing books, hopefully they learn when they do. The brilliance of TTRPG's is that we make them ours. (Based loosely on the published materials and the ideas we create and borrow from others)
DrJawaPhD
Hero
I have read it, and I don't like it. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why - there just isn't really much of anything in there that I find useful. Many people complain about the organization but I don't see how that really matters, it's not like it would be better if rearranged.
I think maybe the biggest issue is that it covers MANY topics but barely scratches the surface on any of them, to the point that the advice is all good but so much of it is obvious if you've ever played DnD before. I don't know how you solve that without turning it into a thousand page book, but as it stands now the DM guide is pretty useless compared to the plethora of third party publications (or pre-5e WotC publications) that cover specific topics in far greater detail.
Stuff that I use 3PP/homebrew rules for and would love to see addressed in far greater detail for 2024:
- Creature harvesting rules
- Magic item crafting rules that are actually realistic for characters to engage in
- Magic item pricing that actually make sense, not just a gigantic range set by rarity
- Tips on gold/treasure per level, balanced with the magic item pricing
- Downtime activities that are actually interesting (XGtE improved on this quite a bit)
- Encounter balancing tips for a realistic number of combats per day (NOT 6-8, more like 1-2)
- Update the Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating table to actually reflect existing monster stat block
Li Shenron
Legend
I've written many times that I consider the whole 2024 revision a bad idea, so I am not going to elaborate again on that, just stating my underlying point.
Then, the 2024 DMG is clearly the least of my worries, because it's not going to change the game or create a fracture with its 2014 version or other books, unlike the PHB.
I have mixed feelings on the 2014 DMG. It doesn't have a very good strategy to start with. It is divided into too many purposes, that aren't fully achieved within the size of the book:
1- teach the DM how to run the game
2- teach the DM how to design adventures
3- teach the DM how to design new character/monsters content
4- teach the DM how to design a fantasy world
5- provide a good list of magic items
6- provide a good list of rules variants and modules
All of these are good thing, but you can't treat all of them in depth in the size allocated to this book, so the result is that some important topics are largely underdeveloped, and the result is a book that does a little bit of everything but still leaves a DM a lot of work by themselves. It feels like a brochure, a trailer, or a coffee table book that only makes gamers feel good because it acknowledges the existence of the DM's purposes above, but it doesn't really help beyond the general concepts.
I can imagine different DM needing help in different areas: some want to design their own adventures, other wants variant rules, some others want to create monsters... But I cannot imagine a DM not needing support in learning to run the game at the table, and this is one of parts that the DMG seriously lack at, because it covers too little and when it does cover something, it only gives one way to handle the topic instead of explaining different playstyle solutions, or it only mentions them instead of explaining.
An example is the almost non-existent support to how to manage the vague rules on characters/ hiding and visibility: these rules are purposefully vague to let different DMs handle them differently, but then the DMG should have a good section on the many ways to do that. On the contrary, the vague rules on searching and finding hidden objects/doors/traps get a single solution in DMG which sounds like every DM must do it that way, unfortunately it is one way that has its own problems/drawbacks and the DMG doesn't seem to even to acknowledge that.
It would be better for a DMG to focus on throughly cover running the game, and then see how much room is left for the other topics, then choose to cover less topics but in a good way. The only thing that is given a very good coverage is magic items which in fact take up a huge chunk of the book. Designing adventures and settings sucks, it's mostly feel-good text and no real teaching. Considering that not all DMs (especially beginners) are going to design adventures and settings, if it cannot be covered well enough it might as well be moved to a follow up book.
So do I expect the 2024 DMG better? Well at least it has a significant increase in pages! That could really help, and it would also help if they shrunk the font size like in 3e books (they had a lot more content in the same page count). However WotC has had the habit of avoiding seriously putting effort in teaching content for 10 years so I have my doubts it will be different this time.
Hussar
Legend
Oh please.
Like I’m saying anything that hasn’t been said before. Like I’m saying anything that WotC themselves hasn’t said.
Painting this as some sort of personal failing because I’m pointing out the obvious? Really?
