D&D's upcoming 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide looks to actually guide dungeon masters, including a 4-step plan to making a story with a satisfying climax

GamesDungeons & DragonsD&D’s upcoming 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide looks to actually guide dungeon masters, including a 4-step plan to making a story with a satisfying climaxWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Several adventurers do battle in a necropolis, letting magic fly in the D&D 2024 Player�s Handbook.

Dungeons & Dragons' 2024 rulebooks seek, among other things, to address some of the more long-standing complaints with the system—now, I’ve gotmy own opinions onWizards of the Coast’s decisions to just upgrade their existing shtick instead of trying something new, but for people who love 5th edition (5e) and don’t want to rock the boat, it’s been a strong showing so far.

It looks like that trend’s going to continue with the upcoming 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG), according to a new video posted to theofficial D&D channelyesterday. In case you’re unfamiliar, the original 5e DMG, which came out in 2014, has constantly been the source of some ribbing for one reason—it didn’t really do a great job teaching you how to run the game.

It was semi-useful, sure, given that it had all the snazzy magic items in it, and some awkward guidance for encounter building (that didn’t really stand the test of time), but other than that it was mostly a bunch of setting-based fluff, which didn’t work out too well. It gestured in the direction of teaching players how to set up their own plots and organise their own notes—but only vaguely.

As Perkins then goes onto talk about what he enjoys himself, as a seasoned DM telling stories, Wyatt chimes in: “It’s interesting—a lot of what you’re talking about branches into the campaign chapter. [It talks] about how you string adventures together, character development over the campaign.”

Given I’ve not locked eyes on the thing, it’s hard to make a judgement call as to how successfully the DMG does it. But taking Wyatt on good faith here, this is huge. D&D will always be a system designed around killing monsters and getting loot (it’s what most of the rules are for), but plenty of players—myself included—have used it to tell long-form narratives. Actually providing concrete guidance on how todothis has fallen to the wayside for the longest time. It’s why I recommend that anyone who likes playing D&Dtours other systems to pick up their tips and tricks.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

This is, alas, D&D—so of course Wizards has done this through a set of random tables. These tables are thematically broken up into level tiers of play to provide options appropriate for your table’s power level—for example, when Wyatt and Perkins roll up a level 10-15 adventure, the premise they land on is “A ship carrying a treasure or valuable artefact sinks in a storm or monster attack.”

In fairness, the suggestions on these tables do seem like solid starters, with both DMs making the salient point that the prompt in question encourages a DM to figure out who sent the ship, what the artefact is, and why it’s at the bottom of the ocean—things that could happily lead to a new campaign. There are tables for hooks, as well, broken up into Patron, Supernatural, and hilariously, Happenstance. Sometimes you just fall in a dungeon sinkhole, them’s the breaks.

There’s also an “Adventure Climax” table—which refers to the ending of a campaign, not your game night getting a little weird and occult. This gives DMs a few suggestions for ways in which to bring an explosive end to their story, such as an NPC betraying the party (“Use this climax carefully, and don’t overuse it”, Perkins adds).

Adventures | 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide | D&D - YouTubeWatch On

Adventures | 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide | D&D - YouTube

While I would’ve preferred something a little more systems-driven for DMs to play with, such as the introductory questions or relationship triangles included in Masks, at least D&D’s making an earnest effort. I do sorely hope the full thing doesn’t relegate this advice to those random tables, though. While they’re helpful brainstorming tools, they’re limited in scope—some actual methods and exercises to get the ball rolling will have better staying power.

The chapter will also give players some solid advice on how to set up NPCs—such as the oft-utilised guide character who can offer hints to keep players on track or, my favourite flourish, a “monster relationships” table for personalising generic mooks in encounters. Perkins uses a great example of a room of goblins—an RPG staple—and then throws in one of the book’s suggestions, the idea that one of the goblins hates their boss and will start sabotaging them as the fight goes on: “Suddenly, you have an encounter the players are more likely to remember.” Good stuff.

Speaking of fighting goblins, there’s some further hints at the way encounter balancing works now which I am (cautiously) optimistic about. There’ll now simply be low, moderate, and high-risk combat difficulties—each with their own XP budget based on your party’s level and size. Gone are the days of fiddly multiplying based on enemy group size.

Several adventurers, including the famous Drizzt, shelter using magic from the rime breath of a white dragon in the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook.

When it comes to accounting for things like party size, Perkins instead states that the book will have a troubleshooting advice section—and while this could be seen as offloading work onto the DM that the system ought to be doing, honestly? I’m not that upset with it. If Wizards is sticking with a revamped 5e, warts and all, it’s better for the designers to admit that there are stumbling blocks in encounter design—then give players the tools and advice with which to work around them.

I’m cautiously optimistic, overall. I’ve begrudgingly accepted that D&D won’t be making brave choices for the next 10 years, but I do sincerely want these 2024 books to be a refined version of what’s already there: books that do actually address the ways in which the system’s outgrown its roots as a dungeon-crawling smash ‘em up. And if you are one of those war-minded gamers? Well, advice is always optional. Until the 2024 Monster Manual completes the trio of books in (confusingly) February 2025, we won’t know the full scope of things, but I live in hope.

TOPICSWizards of the Coast

TOPICS

More about gamesMarvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the topFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsLatestAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabSee more latest►

More about games

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the topFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

Marvel Rivals tier list - A big group of heroes fighting

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top

Alisaie, a side character in Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, folds her arms with a confident smirk on her face.

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

LatestAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabSee more latest►

Latest

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

A photo of an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X processor next to its retail packaging box

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

See more latest►

Most PopularTencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklistAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAsus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forwardToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funnyDeus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriouslyLike a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hopeThe most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era ChicagoPath of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

Most Popular

Tencent says it’s not a Chinese military company and is willing to sue the US Department of Defense if it isn’t removed from a blacklist

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Asus reveals three new Slash Travel Bags for carting around your ROG Ally—however, none of them are particularly fashion forward

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

We may not have a roadmap or balance patch just yet, but at least Path of Exile 2’s bugfix patch notes are funny

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided writer didn’t like the ending either: ‘Nothing is resolved’

It seems like Square’s finally consistently taking the PC ports of Final Fantasy seriously

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii looks more like a zany RGG take on Black Flag than I dared hope

The most important tool in Remedy’s new co-op FPS is the shower: ‘Saving water is essential’

If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago

Path of Exile 2 players are calling foul on Elon Musk’s high-level hardcore character after he streams his struggles with core game mechanics

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals