D&D (2024) The New DM Tools In The New Dungeon Master's Guide

The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide contains a 'toolbox'. The DM's Toolbox is the third chapter in the book, presented as an alphabetical miscellany of varied things to help you prep or run a game.

Each entry is 1-2 pages long and includes things like creating monsters, fear and mental stress, chases, firearms and explosives, and traps. For example, it goes in depth into chases, with details about wilderness or urban chases.

Much of the topics were already in the 2014 DMG--albeit organized differently. Some new topics include character death, and more detailed look at alignment--and how actions determine alignment and not vice versa.

Also included is a big table of 'dungeon quirks'--why, then, and by whom was it built? Examples include made by giants (with everything being larger scale), built on top of a cloud, and so on.

There's plenty more stuff--environments, a settlement tracker (Chris Perkins and James Wyatt roll up a random settlement in the video), hazards, mob rules, marks of prestige (rewards like deeds, medals, or titles).

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I hope they’ve improved the chase rules. The ones from 2014 were rubbish.

They were a good start and I did use parts of them.

 

[pukunui]

They were a good start and I did use parts of them.

I've used them too, and they're awful. The best set of chase rules for 5e that I've seen are in DDEX2-10 Cloaks and Shadows.

 

[overgeeked]

Why not fix the picture versus just add text?

Two options. One, it was probably too late in the cycle before someone who knew how to hold a shotgun saw it. Two, it was intentional.

 

[Parmandur]

Multiple content creators have admitted to never reading it.

Their loss. I welcome the reorganization, but it was funny saying "the book has this, and this" when so much of it is not new. The trackers look nice, though, and it will be nice to not have to work so hard to find what I know is there.

 

[overgeeked]

Multiple content creators have admitted to never reading it.

In the last month both Ginny Di and Dungeon Craft have released videos stating as much. It's weird to me that you'd be a referee for a game and not actually read the DMG. Much less be a D&D YouTuber who's a referee and never read the DMG. It's weird.

 

[overgeeked]

To be clear. I am looking forward to alignment being behavior based. But I am not looking forward to all the arguments that will cause.

 

[sevenbastard]

The point of the picture is that the Dwarf is holding the gun wrong, why would they "fix" that, it was probavly in the art order...?

Two, it was intentional.

If they were going for intentional holding it upside down with a hand wrapped around the barrel would drive the point home more. Like lean into it.

I assume the dwarf has a basic understanding of how a crossbow works and what a crossbow stock is for

 

[Parmandur]

If they were going for intentional holding it upside down with a hand wrapped around the barrel would drive the point home more. Like lean into it.

I assume the dwarf has a basic understanding of how a crossbow works and what a crossbow stock is for

Never assume.

 

[Selas]

Full list of everything that got mentioned in the video; taken from reddit (kudos to Granum22 for the list):

1. Rules for Firearms and Explosives
2. Constructing chases
3. Traps and Hazards (includes rules for up leveling them)
4. How to deal with player character death
5. How to use alignment (emphasizing behavior dictates alignment, not that alignment dictates behavior).
6. Curses and magical diseases (magic diseases seem to be taken from Contagion spell and other sources)
7. Doors (includes HP, DC to unlock)
8. Dungeons (includes dungeon decay and dungeon quirks)
9. Environmental Effects (largely a consolidation of 2014 effects into one spot, includes planar effects)
10. Fear and Stress mechanics (Chris Perkins specifically calls out Psychic Damage as something you can apply this to. Also, this probably includes the Sanity rules from 2014. YAY!!!!)
11. Settlement and NPC Tracker
12. Poison
13. New hazards (includes Fireball Fungus (detonates like Fireball when it hits 0 HP, Vicious Vines))
14. Went through example creating settlement through the random tables
15. Rules for Mob fights
16. Marks of Prestige (alternative rewards like deeds and letters of recommendation)
17. Optional rules for NPC loyalty and mutiny
18. Supernatural gifts
19. Siege Weapons (includes new ones like Keg thrower and Flamethrower coach)
20. Creating monsters (missed this one, but was briefly mentioned at start and again at 20 min mark)
21. Rules for NPCs as party members

Edit: added creating monsters, rules for NPC as party members

 

[Charlaquin]

Their loss. I welcome the reorganization, but itnwas funny saying "the book has this, and this" when moonstone of it is not new. The trackers look nice, though, and it will be nice to not have to work so hard to find what I know is there.

It’s funny, Ginny D recently did an “I finally read the DMG and it’s really good” video, and a follow-up, “I understand how to make random encounters not suck now” video. Then Professor Dungeon Master from Dungeon Craft did an “I finally read the DMG and Ginny D was right about it!” video. It’s both amusing and a little frustrating seeing all these highly influential D&D content creators only just realizing now, of all times, that a lot of the things they’ve struggled to find solutions to on their own, have already been addressed in the text for a decade.