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.

 

[Maxperson]

Rule 0. All editions.

 

[overgeeked]

“It's a cliché, but it's also an important rule of narration: “Show, don't tell.” Imagine how the environment would look and sound in a good movie, do your best to describe it that way, then add details of smells and texture that a movie can't communicate. Don't tell the players that there's a pool of bubbling acid nearby, show it to them with a vivid description. Think about how acid might smell, talk about a cloud of noxious vapor hovering above the pool, and describe what the pool bubbling sounds like.

Your Only Limit Is Your Imagination: Your imagination is the only boundary in your description. You aren't limited by a special effects budget. Describe amazing vistas, terrifying monsters, dastardly villains, and bone-crunching fight scenes. Your enthusiasm and liveliness are contagious, and they energize the whole game.

Portraying Rules Situations: It's easy to fall into the rut of describing events merely in terms of the applicable rules. Although it's important that the players understand what's going on in such terms, the D&D game can be at its dullest if everyone talks in “gamespeak.” You know you've fallen into this trap when the table chatter is: “That's 26 against AC,” “You hit, now roll damage,” “31 points,” and “Now we're to initiative count 13.”

Instead, use such statistics, along with your knowledge of the scene, to help your narration.”

4E DMG.

 

[overgeeked]

“No matter how carefully you prepare for a gaming session, eventually the players do something unexpected, and you have to wing it. Relax. A lot of DMs feel a lot of anxiety about being caught unprepared, and they over-prepare as a result, creating tons of material they never have a chance to use.

With a little bit of focused preparation, some familiarity with basic improvisation techniques, and a lot of flexibility, you can handle any curve ball your players throw at you. You might even be surprised to realize that the game is better than it would have been if it had stuck to your original script.”

4E DMG.

 

[Yora]

David Cook, Expert Rules, 1981

Most important, the characters in the wilderness campaign do not exist in a vacuum. The DM should have events going on elsewhere that may affect (or be affected by) the actions of the players. There may be any number of "plots" going on at once, and the DM should try to involve each player in some chain of events. These should develop logically from the actions of those involved. It is important not to force the action to a pre-determined conclusion. The plot lines can always be adjusted for the actions of the players.

 

[overgeeked]

“One of the cornerstones of improvisational theater technique is called “Yes, and . . .” It's based on the idea that an actor takes whatever the other actor gives and builds on that.

That's your job as well. As often as possible, take what the players give you and build on it. If they do something unexpected, run with it. Take it and weave it back into your story without railroading them into a fixed plotline.”

Extended example of saying yes vs saying no.

“Instead of cutting off possibilities, you've made your campaign richer, and instead of frustrating your players, you've rewarded them for thinking in creative and unexpected ways. Make a note of the things you just invented about this wizards' cabal (adding them to your campaign lists), and use the cabal again later in your campaign. Everyone's happy!”

4E DMG.

 

[payn]

I really liked 3E DMG II. Its a book about homebrewing a campaign. I dont sweat the small stuff, you can pick that up anywhere, I like expansive subject driven advice in my rulebooks. YMMV.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Know the game systems, and you will know how and when to take upon yourself the ultimate power. To become the final arbiter, rather than the interpreter of the rules, can be a difficult and demanding task, and it cannot be undertaken lightly, for your players expect to play this game, not one made up on the spot. By the same token, they are playing the game the way you, their DM, imagines and creates it. Remembering that the game is greater than its parts, and knowing all of the parts, you will have overcome the greater part of the challenge of being a referee. Being a true DM requires cleverness and imagination which no set of rules books can bestow. ...

1e DMG p. 9

Also?

As the DM, you have to prove in every game that you are still the best.
Id.

 

[overgeeked]

“TIPS FROM THE PROS

Something amazing happened one time I was playing D&D with my 9-year-old son. When we finished an encounter, my son took over. He decided that he was going to search around one of the statues in the room, that he was going to get hit by a trap (an arrow would shoot out at the statue), and that he'd find a treasure there.

Hey, wait a minute. I thought I was the DM!

That was my first reaction. But I bit my tongue. I rolled damage for the trap, and I let him have his treasure. (I de-termined what it was—I wasn't about to relinquish that much control.)

He never enjoyed the game more.

I learned the most important lesson about D&D that day. I remembered that this is a game about imagination, about coming together to tell a story as a group. I learned that the players have a right to participate in telling that story—after all, they're playing the protagonists!

—James Wyatt”

4E DMG.

 

[Sacrosanct]

“TIPS FROM THE PROS

Something amazing happened one time I was playing D&D with my 9-year-old son. When we finished an encounter, my son took over. He decided that he was going to search around one of the statues in the room, that he was going to get hit by a trap (an arrow would shoot out at the statue), and that he'd find a treasure there.

Hey, wait a minute. I thought I was the DM!

That was my first reaction. But I bit my tongue. I rolled damage for the trap, and I let him have his treasure. (I de-termined what it was—I wasn't about to relinquish that much control.)

He never enjoyed the game more.

I learned the most important lesson about D&D that day. I remembered that this is a game about imagination, about coming together to tell a story as a group. I learned that the players have a right to participate in telling that story—after all, they're playing the protagonists!

—James Wyatt”

4E DMG.

Some of the most fun DMing experiences I've had were DMing kids for the first time. The stuff they came up with was great!

 

[overgeeked]

Some of the most fun DMing experiences I've had were DMing kids for the first time. The stuff they came up with was great!

Same. The sheer imagination, lateral thinking, and not being restricted by the rules is utterly fantastic.

It’s weird how we all say it’s a game of pure imagination and no limits…but, oh, by the way, here’s a 350-page book detailing all the limits. It’s infinitely more fun to chuck all that and just play.

A relevant quote from Matt Mercer:

“This is a testament to why I love playing with newer players. There’s a cycle I’m noticing, through the years of playing. Like a player cycle. When you first begin, you don’t know the boundaries that a lot of experienced players expect or understand. The more you know the game, the more you tend to, more often than not, stay within the confines of what the game establishes as the rules. When you’re new to it, you don’t really understand that so you take wider swings, you make stranger choices. You really kind of push against those boundaries because you don’t know where the boundaries are. You’re like a kid learning to how to walk for the first time and bumping into the furniture. And it’s wonderful, and eventually you kind of fall into those lines and not always, but sometimes you find yourself kind of subconsciously sticking, coloring within the lines because you’ve learned to do so. Then over time you begin to realize you’ve been doing that. And then you go back to being weird again. And that’s my other favorite point. It’s new players or extremely experienced players who have come back to reclaim their ‘stupid’ youth as players.”