D&D General Best DM's Guide advice by edition [+]

[Sacrosanct]

There's been a few threads going around about DMing, hard to use DM's Guides, etc. I wanted to consolidate one aspect of these conversations.

What are your favorite or most valuable parts of each DM's Guide thought the years? This is a + thread, so please keep it to those bits of information you found very valuable.

Feel free to cut and paste the following, adding your commentary. And of course, if you never read a particular edition or didn't like anything about it, just skip to the next one. Identifying which edition you're talking about will be helpful.

Generic (cross edition)
B/X:
BECMI:
1e:
2e:
3e:
4e:
5e:

 

[GMforPowergamers]

4e had that table on page 42 to improvise actions

 

[overgeeked]

“The D&D game has neither losers nor winners, it has only gamers who relish exercising their imagination. The players and the DM share in creating adventures in fantastic lands where heroes abound and magic really works. In a sense, the D&D game has no rules, only rule suggestions. No rule is inviolate, particularly if a new or altered rule will encourage creativity and imagination. The important thing is to enjoy the adventure.”

Tom Moldvay
3 December 1980

 

[overgeeked]

“As a storyteller, the DM helps the other players visualize what's happening around them, improvising when the adventurers do something or go somewhere unexpected…And as a referee, the DM interprets the rules and decides when to abide by them and when to change them…The D&D rules help you and the other players have a good time, but the rules aren't in charge. You're the DM, and you are in charge of the game…your goal isn't to slaughter the adventurers but to create a campaign world that revolves around their actions and decisions, and to keep your players coming back for more!”

“The world is yours to change as you see fit and yours to modify as you explore the consequences of the players' actions…A well-designed and well-run world seems to flow around the adventurers, so that they feel part of something, instead of apart from it.”

5E DMG.

 

[overgeeked]

“Most games have a winner and a loser, but the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Roleplaying Game is fundamentally a cooperative game. The Dungeon Master (DM) plays the roles of the antagonists in the adventure, but the DM isn't playing against the player characters (PCs). Although the DM represents all the PCs' opponents and adversaries—monsters, nonplayer characters (NPCs), traps, and the like—he or she doesn't want the player characters to fail any more than the other players do. The players all cooperate to achieve success for their characters. The DM's goal is to make success taste its sweetest by presenting challenges that are just hard enough that the other players have to work to overcome them, but not so hard that they leave all the characters dead.

At the table, having fun is the most important goal—more important than the characters' success in an adventure. It's just as vital for everyone at the table to cooperate toward making the game fun for everyone as it is for the player characters to cooperate within the adventure.”

4E DMG.

 

[aco175]

I think each edition has something about fun being the most important part of the game and to feel free to add or drop part that are not making things fun at your table. It makes it ok for the DM the change things.

 

[Velderan]

The 2e DMG had a pretty good section on creating magical items and how to handle treasure. It didn't provide hard and fast rules, but definitely gave some parameters to help guide a DM on where to start such as suggesting ways a player might gain the knowledge to learn how to craft an item. It also discussed treasure placement, giving an example of some items that a hobgoblin tribe might logically possess and how they might treat those items. Skimming through it, I feel like it's not aimed at someone who had DMed for years and was designed to help coach a new DM on how to run a campaign.

 

[overgeeked]

“It's not the DM's job to entertain the players and make sure they have fun. Every person playing the game is responsible for the fun of the game. Everyone speeds the game along, heightens the drama, helps set how much roleplaying the group is comfortable with, and brings the game world to life with their imaginations. Everyone should treat each other with respect and consideration, too—personal squabbles and fights among the characters get in the way of the fun.

Different people have different ideas of what's fun about D&D. Remember that the “right way” to play D&D is the way that you and your players agree on and enjoy. If everyone comes to the table prepared to contribute to the game, everyone has fun.”

4E DMG.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Generic (cross edition):
Emphasizing how it's not DM vs Players, but a group game. Be fair.
Robust glossary
Table Rules (expectations at the table)

B/X:
Very easy starter dungeon and walkthough
Example of combat (several editions had this, but I found this one the best)
Kept rules brief and to the point
Dungeon Mastering is a Fine Art (lots of great advice, and they kept it short) Seriously, this section is the best

BECMI:
"For example, it’s not fair to change the rules unless everyone agrees to the change."
Pregame checklist

1e:
All those tables for quick random generation (towns, monsters, NPCs, etc.).
some of the best appendices
Humor art

2e:
The forward by Zeb Cook (which makes sense, since a lot of things I like about the 2 DMG I liked in the Expert set, which he worked on). But specifically:
"Choice is what the AD&D 2nd Edition game is all about . We've tried to offer you what we think are the best choices for your AD&D campaign, but each of us has different likes and dislikes. The game that I enjoy may be quite different from your own campaign . But it is not for me to say what is right or wrong for your game."
Constant Goals (strive for each session to have fun, character survival, and improvement (then goes into greater detail of what these are)

3e:
N/A

4e:
Fun section:
"... It’s not the DM’s job to entertain the players and make sure they have fun. Every person playing the game is responsible for the fun of the game....Everyone should treat each other with respect and consideration, too—personal squabbles and fights among the characters get in the way of the fun."
Presentation
Player Motivations
Tips from the pros

5e:
It's Your World
Creating a Monster

 

[overgeeked]

“Being the DM doesn't mean you have to know all the rules. If a player tries something you don't know how to adjudicate, ask the opinion of the players as a group. It might take a few minutes, but it's usually possible to hash out an answer that seems fair.

Some DMs fear that asking their players' opinions will undermine their authority and give rise to claims that they are being unfair. On the contrary, most players like it when the DM asks their opinions, and they're more likely to feel that the results are fair when they can give their opinions.”

4E DMG.