D&D (2024) Take A Closer Look At The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide

Wizards of the Coast has just shared a video delving into the upcoming One D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide, due for release in 2024.

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Scroll down to post #4, below, for a more detailed text summary!

• Chapter 1 -- basic concepts
• Chapter 2 -- Advice, common issues
• Chapter 3 -- Rules cyclopedia
• Chapter 4 -- Adventure building
• Chapter 5 -- Campaign building
• Chapter 6 -- Cosmology
• Chapter 7 -- Magic items
• Chapter 8 -- 'A surprise'
• Appendices -- maps, lore glossary

 

[Li Shenron]

• Chapter 1 -- basic concepts
• Chapter 2 -- Advice, common issues
• Chapter 3 -- Rules cyclopedia
• Chapter 4 -- Adventure building
• Chapter 5 -- Campaign building
• Chapter 6 -- Cosmology
• Chapter 7 -- Magic items
• Chapter 8 -- 'A surprise'
• Appendices -- maps, lore glossary

Interesting decision, and for once this is something that I appreciate, because the announced DMG and MM changes doesn't really alter the edition, unlike changing PHB classes, but only improve it.

The new list of chapter turn the DMG flow upside down. The 2014 version of the DMG goes top-down from first creating your own fantasy world to then designing adventures and finally running the game. This was a very academic approach, it makes the DMG look neat in theory but it's not practical. It's a bit like studying chemistry starting from the fundamental laws of particles, or computer science starting from boolean algebra and Turing machines: it works well if you're building towards a university degree but then it assumes you actually will complete it, and if you don't you're left with nothing usable.

The 2024 version of the DMG will go bottom-up: first learn how to run the game at the table (and you can use a pre-made adventure or sample scene), then move onto designing your own adventures, then campaign, then fantasy world. You start by doing something usable, like starting chemistry from sample experiments or computer science from coding. This is better because not all DMs design their own adventures or fantasy worlds, but all of them need to run the game (well, except bedroom DMs who only fantasize about playing).

Having said that, I am not sure having a DMG in the first place is still that important or even useful... it's not the 90s anymore, and the amount of suggestions, examples, discussions available on the web about DMing vastly outnumbers what they can put in a single book. Traps and Magic Items could belong to a different book, probably the MM, if it wasn't for the fact that the latter take a lot of space (but if they had kept the fonts and layout of 3e core books, they might have fit). The harder stuff like optional rules and the mechanical designs (monsters, items, spells) is something I appreciate more than the vague 'how to deal with the narrative' (meaning, I would appreciate that as well if it was really good, but I have never seen a brilliant job at that, while at least the mechanical design can be more factual), so I'd prefer a DMG leaning more to that side, but then probably it would be too heavy for most DMs.

 

[Parmandur]

Having said that, I am not sure having a DMG in the first place is still that important or even useful... it's not the 90s anymore, and the amount of suggestions, examples, discussions available on the web about DMing vastly outnumbers what they can put in a single book. Traps and Magic Items could belong to a different book, probably the MM, if it wasn't for the fact that the latter take a lot of space (but if they had kept the fonts and layout of 3e core books, they might have fit). The harder stuff like optional rules and the mechanical designs (monsters, items, spells) is something I appreciate more than the vague 'how to deal with the narrative' (meaning, I would appreciate that as well if it was really good, but I have never seen a brilliant job at that, while at least the mechanical design can be more factual), so I'd prefer a DMG leaning more to that side, but then probably it would be too heavy for most DMs.

Counterpoint to thisnlast bit: the 2014 DMG is still a major seller at Amazon, currently ranked # 425 in all books, #28 in Reference. WotC is making this because people will buy it.

 

[tetrasodium]

You see Al Gore invented the internet in the 90s

Dungeons & Dragons | The World's Greatest Roleplaying Game

The official home and digital toolset for Dungeons & Dragons. Dive into D&D books, create a character, and more!

www.dndbeyond.com

So not only does the PHB say that D&D is a team game, it's also on the places where new players would go to learn about the game.

My point was that it's impossible to immediately absorb a video podcast liveplay or similar without that sort of fictional matrix movie tech. You in turn posted a random video in a 46 minute 50 second playlist that has nothing to do with any part of character creation or any part of session zero because it is talking about post session zero activities. It seems you chose it simply because it mentions the introduction blurb.

Notably the

Spoiler: 4:42 chargen video

literally does not once mention the other players, the GM, the setting, or anything beyond "you".... you choose you pick you decide you add you you you.... Likewise the same seems to hold true on the 5:00 race video & 4:57 class video. This is obviously not a playlist a GM could point players towards while they multitask with other players if the hope is to have players not just build & grow attached to a character in isolation. Even the how to start your own campaign video that includes touching on session zero treats the GM like a sponge who imply learns what the players choose then goes off to plan like TCoE's 3 session zero pages.... That's not describing a fellow participant of a shared activity, it's a job description for the position of reference book/ story teller/event coordinator/life coach.

Are you suggesting that it's reasonable to expect the GM running a session zero to have encyclopedic knowledge of that playlist in order to provide the perfect video art any given moment so the rest of the group can expect to wait while another player pulls out their phone to watch the video?

-OR-

are you suggesting that prior to starting session zero a GM should spend the first 46 minutes & 50 seconds twiddling their thumbs while making everyone else watch that playlist?

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Heck, there's even a Forgotten Realms god, Bane, who made his way into the pantheon.

Not really in this case. Dawn War Bane has very little in common with FR Bane. Dawn War Bane is more Greyhawk’s Hextor given Bane’s name.

 

[Parmandur]

Not really in this case. Dawn War Bane has very little in common with FR Bane. Dawn War Bane is more Greyhawk’s Hextor given Bane’s name.

All three are basically Sauron.

 

[bedir than]

You in turn posted a random video

The "random" video is the introduction of "how to play D&D" and it starts, as everything that WotC has produced does with the idea that D&D is a cooperative storytelling game.

Your conceit that D&D does a poor job of presenting this requires one to ignore multiple statements that they have made in books, video, podcasts, social media and more.

 

[tetrasodium]

The "random" video is the introduction of "how to play D&D" and it starts, as everything that WotC has produced does with the idea that D&D is a cooperative storytelling game.

Your conceit that D&D does a poor job of presenting this requires one to ignore multiple statements that they have made in books, video, podcasts, social media and more.

Do you not see the problem with a video about playing a character being presented before one is even completed?

Also I repeat my question...



Are you suggesting that it's reasonable to expect the GM running a session zero to have encyclopedic knowledge of that playlist in order to provide the perfect video art any given moment so the rest of the group can expect to wait while another player pulls out their phone to watch the video?

-OR-

are you suggesting that prior to starting session zero a GM should spend the first 46 minutes & 50 seconds twiddling their thumbs while making everyone else watch that playlist?

 

[bedir than]

Are you suggesting that it's reasonable to expect the GM running a session zero to have encyclopedic knowledge of that playlist in order to provide the perfect video art any given moment so the rest of the group can expect to wait while another player pulls out their phone to watch the video?

-OR-

are you suggesting that prior to starting session zero a GM should spend the first 46 minutes & 50 seconds twiddling their thumbs while making everyone else watch that playlist?

No. Those aren't the only two choices about how players begin their awareness of the game.

I think it's reasonable for a player to be aware that D&D is designed as a game of team work before they create a character and they don't even need session zero. Players are not idiots.

 

[mamba]

Counterpoint to thisnlast bit: the 2014 DMG is still a major seller at Amazon, currently ranked # 425 in all books, #28 in Reference. WotC is making this because people will buy it.

Will buy it <> need it

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Will buy it <> need it

I don't need it AND I will buy it!