D&D (2024) What can WotC do in OneD&D to make the DM's Guide worth buying?

[Bill Zebub]

I didn't' say what I wanted, just that through various online discussions that there seems to be a preference by DM's in giving the players only the options that they provide.

C’mon. How many people on the Internet say that? A few dozen?

A few people with axes to grind on the forums are not indicative of anything.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Make it better organized. I like the content of the 5e DMG, it is just impractical as a reference.

 

[dave2008]

I'm with @UngeheuerLich , just better organization. I would love if all the improv material as in one section instead of spread all over the book

 

[Gorck]

anyway, in my opinion the DMG should include some advice for new DMs, but should also serve to completely disassemble the system's core assumptions for them. why are classes constructed the way they are? how does the encounter math track with expected player stats? how are spells and equipment balanced? how are feat power levels estimated? what is the expected player wealth at various levels and what are they expected to buy with it? do these things change depending on how low or high magic the setting you're using is? etc.

So basically, all the stuff that eventually gets released as "Developer Diaries" should be included in the DMG? I like that idea because it would make homebrewing easier for DMs.

I've attempted to use the Monsters Statistics by Challenge Rating table on page 174 to reverse engineer what a homebrewed monster's CR should be and I can never seem to get it right. I've even picked random creatures in the Monster Manual and used that table to calculate what their CRs should be and they never seem to match up.

 

[Zaukrie]

So basically, all the stuff that eventually gets released as "Developer Diaries" should be included in the DMG? I like that idea because it would make homebrewing easier for DMs.

I've attempted to use the Monsters Statistics by Challenge Rating table on page 174 to reverse engineer what a homebrewed monster's CR should be and I can never seem to get it right. I've even picked random creatures in the Monster Manual and used that table to calculate what their CRs should be and they never seem to match up.

CR is awful. At least if you want precision. I write a lot of monster statblocks, and spend way too much time looking at existing ones. And CR is just bad.

 

[Gorck]

CR is awful. At least if you want precision. I write a lot of monster statblocks, and spend way too much time looking at existing ones. And CR is just bad.

Which is why I would love to see them expand upon it more thoroughly in a "future DMG" (and fix it, while they're at it).

 

[W'rkncacnter]

So basically, all the stuff that eventually gets released as "Developer Diaries" should be included in the DMG? I like that idea because it would make homebrewing easier for DMs.

yes. and i don't think it'd help with just homebrewing - i think it'd also help with encounter design, wealth distribution, campaign pacing, etc. to make it clear what the system expects out of a DM.

you need to know the rules to break them, after all.

 

[teitan]

The 5e DMG is already worth buying. When it first came out it was praised for its abundance of optional rules to tweak the game how the DM sees fit, the dungeon generator, the guidelines for building adventures, etc. it’s a very well done DMG and I’m tired of pretending it’s not because some influencers in the last few years said “you don’t need this book” because the 2e version was so weak or it isn’t as useful as the 1e version.

If more people actually read the DMG they would realize that no, it isn’t bad to limit options and can lead to some great campaigns. No a lot of the rules everyone thinks are broken aren’t actually “rules” but are optional systems that you don’t have to use and the DMG has other options to use which means you can add other options of your own devising. “We are tired of fixing your broken game WOTV” except that was the point of 5e, having a customizable game and the DMG is all about customization. It’s a feature and not a bug and yeah I’m tired of pretending it’s not.

Don’t like the current flanking rules? Change em. It’s encouraged. Oh you get a +2 instead. Fixed. How easy is that? DMG encourages that and tell you it’s YOUR GAME. Much like Brittany… leave the DMG alone. It’s a good product.

 

[Clint_L]

The 5e DMG is already worth buying. ... I’m tired of pretending it’s not because some influencers in the last few years said “you don’t need this book” because the 2e version was so weak or it isn’t as useful as the 1e version.

I see. So, those of us who think the DMG is not worth buying are all sheep who just believe things because an influencer said so and not, for example, because we've played every edition of the game since 1979 and might be capable of making our own critical assessment?

Convincing argument! Not condescending or insulting at all!

 

[SteveC]

I see. So, those of us who think the DMG is not worth buying are all sheep who just believe things because an influencer said so and not, for example, because we've played every edition of the game since 1979 and might be capable of making our own critical assessment?

Convincing argument! Not condescending or insulting at all!

I'll just have to echo this. I am hardly an influencer, but I was disappointed with the DMG when it first came out. I was hoping for the modularity that was discussed so much during the playtest, and it just wasn't it.

I don't know how much is going to change in the next Edition, but unless there are big changes, to either the system or the new DMG, I'm not going to be interested. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with liking what's in the current book.

I do think WotC is in a bind, though: if the next edition is very much a "5.5" what would there be in the new DMG to make it a useful pickup if you already have the current one? And if it's very different, what's going to be there that will be truly different? I'll tell you that saying "feel free to make up what you want" isn't going to convince many people that they need to buy the book.