Dungeons & Dragons Has Done Away With the Adventuring Day

Adventuring days are no more, at least not in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. The new 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide contains a streamlined guide to combat encounter planning, with a simplified set of instructions on how to build an appropriate encounter for any set of characters. The new rules are pretty basic - the DM determines an XP budget based on the difficulty level they're aiming for (with choices of low, moderate, or high, which is a change from the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide) and the level of the characters in a party. They then spend that budget on creatures to actually craft the encounter. Missing from the 2024 encounter building is applying an encounter multiplier based on the number of creatures and the number of party members, although the book still warns that more creatures adds the potential for more complications as an encounter is playing out.

What's really interesting about the new encounter building rules in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is that there's no longer any mention of the "adventuring day," nor is there any recommendation about how many encounters players should have in between long rests. The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide contained a recommendation that players should have 6 to 8 medium or hard encounters per adventuring day. The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide instead opts to discuss encounter pace and how to balance player desire to take frequent Short Rests with ratcheting up tension within the adventure.

The 6-8 encounters per day guideline was always controversial and at least in my experience rarely followed even in official D&D adventures. The new 2024 encounter building guidelines are not only more streamlined, but they also seem to embrace a more common sense approach to DM prep and planning.

The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide for Dungeons & Dragons will be released on November 12th.

 

[Micah Sweet]

DnDBeyond

ANIMATED ARMOR

Any setting with golems, animated statues, or animated armor, can sensically integrate a Warforged character, especially if unique or rare.

You are IMO getting dangerously close to stating that folks who aren't ok with this are a problem in general.

Hey, I love robots, magical or otherwise. But they don't belong in every campaign, whether the player wants it or not.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Sounds like you're arguing against leadership.

My problem is I can’t lead ducks, but my players tend to treat me like I’m the only grown-up in the room!

 

[Micah Sweet]

they used to say that about orcs, goblins and a great number of other 'monsters', but look at how things are now.

Again, not for every campaign.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The DM has an obligation to make the game fun for each player.

This especially includes helping the player come up with a character concept that the player thinks is fun.

I really disagree with this. The DM should do their best to create an environment where the players and themselves can have fun, but IMO they have no obligation to make sure anyone's having fun. At a certain point the responsibility to actually have fun falls on the player.

The DM is not the employee of the players, and you're not a bad DM if your enjoyment doesn't stem solely from serving their needs.

 

[Micah Sweet]

According to the rules-as-written. Yes, there is an obligation. The DM is to apply (or modify) the rules for the purpose of making the game fun for the players.

Citation please.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No, if the DM is the problem they can be kicked just as easily as any other player.

Not quite as easily IMO, but the players can certainly revolt @pemerton -style and form their own game if they all agree.

Blackjack and hookers optional.

 

[Lanefan]

. . . and this is the sort of DM attitude that they are trying to move away from.

Rather, they suggest working with the player to accommodate them within the game. - Ask the player what it is about the dragonborn that they like and want to express, and help them find it within your game. You have a better idea of the cultures and peoples than they will.
Is there a culture that has a particular reverence or association with Dragons? Or one with the same independent and honourable streak as the dragonborn. Is there a race with the capability for cantrips that might be expressed as a breath weapon?

Finding out what the player wants, and helping them find a character that they want to play, and that you are willing to allow will work so much better than your current attitude. The attitude of; "I've banned that concept: Try to guess another concept that I haven't banned." doesn't help either of you (unless you specifically derive enjoyment from exercising your authority in this way).

There's no guesswork involved; what's available to play is spelled out right there in the "blue book". As in, here's this game's list of available species: pick one.

Also, given that I'm the one designing the setting I'm also the one who gets to choose what goes in it. Personally, I've always thought Dragonborn (and before that, Half-Dragons) to be fine as monsters but stupid as playable PCs; ditto for various other species that should have stayed as non-PC-playable monsters. Therefore, no Dragonborn PCs, end of story.

Want to play a Dragonborn that badly? Find a different DM.

Game settings can be almost infinitely fractal: they have corners and subcultures aplenty where ideas that haven't yet been set in stone might be found. Being possessive about it may lead you to think in terms of a concept contradicting your lore, when in fact it could be used to add more detail instead.

Provided the added details are something I'm willing to have in a setting I DM, then sure.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Not quite as easily IMO, but the players can certainly revolt @pemerton -style and form their own game if they all agree.

Blackjack and hookers optional.

An individual player can leave the game at any time, at which point the DM ceases to be their problem, irrespective of what the other players do.

 

[Yaarel]

Citation please.

There are D&D rules that prioritize fun, and they are reciprocal. Examples.

For the DM:
"Adjudicate the Rules. You oversee how the group uses the game’s rules, making sure the rules serve the group’s fun."

For the player:
"Ask yourself as you play, “What would my character do?” ... Avoid character choices that ruin the fun of the other players and the DM. Choose actions that delight you and your friends."

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If I say "I'm planning to run a Star Trek game set on a Federation starship

Interesting example. I’ve played a Star Trek RPG, and it’s really essential that all the players buy into acting like Starfleet officers.