3 out of 5 rating for D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide
5th Edition is a strong contender for my favourite edition. The Players Handbook was decent, if just an expansion of the Basic rules. And the Monster Manual was simply fantastic. At the end of the Dungeon Master's Guide is an excellent book, but it also a somewhat flawed book. The DMG is a worthy addition to the edition, but not the best DMG ever and arguably the weakest book of the three core books. The advice and optional rules are excellent. But the book tries to do a lot and doesn't quite cover enough topics, and is not comprehensive enough on the topics it does discuss. But, as complaints go, wanting more is a not a bad complaint to have (but it is still a complaint). This is a book that leaves you wanting so much more - which makes it more of a shame we're unlikely to see more any time soon. For new Dungeon Masters, both new to the game or just new to DMing, the book should be more than adequate. It does a decent job of teaching the running of the game and managing of the table. It's an empowering book that fosters creativity as much as rules knowledge. It emphasises story and DM adjudication in all the right places, focusing on being the arbiter while also promoting fairness. I think, more than other DMGs, this product will help teach people to be good Dungeon Masters. There's are numerous examples of omitted content, like rules for critical fumbles, alternate xp and magic item tables, making house rules, and many other topics. The more you look at the book, the more you realize what isn't there. However, there's still a decent amount of optional rules, so the absences are less felt. While the idea of a DMG that is equal parts how-to-play guide, worldbuilding book, and hacker's guide is a nice idea, the amount of content requires makes fitting everything in a single book impossible. Which makes me sad, as I was such a supporter of the idea. Focusing on the main rules and essential optional rules while also planning an Unearthed Arcana or other dedicated book of customizations might have produced better results. Hindsight is 20/20 in that regard.