2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

I am very happy with this 5th edition much needed Dungeon Masters Guide Upgrade. I am totally in love with the cover showing Venger and Warduke from the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon show from the 1980s. The cover is glossy like I like it. This is the best Dungeon Masters Guide cover ever (the worst ever cover award goes to the first edition Dungeon Masters Guide with a red Efreeti on it). Also great is the book is thick and heavy. It has quality paper and construction. Chapter one is the basics. It is very helpful for beginners in training to be a Dungeon Master. This tells you what you need to know, and answer your questions. This is the best Dungeon Masters Guide for a new Dungeon Masters to read what the game is about. It is really nice. Chapter 2 is actually running the game. This includes combat and exploration. Chapter 3 is a DMs toolbox for creating monsters , spells, magic items, and other things. I like the Hazard section which presents the effects of hazards such as poison gas, webs, and even contact with the river Styx. Seige equipment is a must have section. Chapter 3 also provides information on explosives and firearms which I love. There is also a great names table for your to roll for a NPCs first and last name. Very useful. I like how they presented traps! There is a description of each common trap, how it works, and how to disarm it. This is amazing useful detail in any game. Chapter 4 is creating an adventure. It provides tables you roll on to get an adventure statement that you would then use to create a scenario or whole adventure. This is great to have help in planning what your next module for the characters will be about. I think it is fun to obtain random rolled results and use my imagination to fill in a surrounding story. Chapter 5 is creating a campaign with the inclusion of an overview of the world of Greyhawk which was created by Gary Gyax. It was the first complete world for D and D (more fully developed in release over the Blackmore Campaign world created by Dave Arnenson). In the back of the book is a quality map of Greyhawk which is a very nice touch. Thank you Wizards of the Coast. Chapter 6 gives a great overview of the Outer planes which is very informative. It also explains the Blood War. The Inner planes, Demi-planes, and the Feywild are reviewed as well. My favorite plane, the Plane of Shadow (also called the Shadowfell) is presented. Chapter 7 is on treasure items. Each magical item has a full color picture! This is very useful to show your players. Even if a group of players plays an earlier version of Dungeons and Dragons ( I am a huge fan of 1st and second edition), having a picture for each magic item is just incredible.Chapter 8 includes Strongholds (Bastions) and their creation for player characters. Appendix A has a lore glossary which is great for looking up names of individuals and places to know what they are. This is a must have. Very nice is Appendix B displaying various maps for you to use. What would veteran Dungeon Masters like myself find useful? Useful things are the Urban and Wilderness Chase tables, Weather Table, Terrain and Encounter distance table. There is a section for creating magic items and spells that is very helpful. I also like the Sample Fear and Mental Stress Effects section. And again, I like the table on page 73 for Firearms, Futuristic Items, and Explosives which are great for encounters on another world. Page 93 has many tables on settlements to give population, defining traits, tavern names, and random shops. This is very useful, even you won’t know what the settlement will be like in a final version which is part of the fun. A negative part of the book is the drawing of “super cute” characters on some of the handouts. This really ruins the handouts to the point that I would not use them. If they had to do this, it would be nice to have one version with a cute character drawn on it, and another with realistic characters such as a dwarf or a dragon. Initiative is covered in this book. Really to add excitement and the chaos of the unknown, I have my players reroll initiative every round (as a group)! This way no one then know what to expect, even the Dungeon Master. This is an A plus Dungeon Masters Guide in giving beautiful artwork. But most of all, it provides all the useful tables to run your games in one book. This book reminds me of the first edition Dungeon Masters Guide by having soooo many useful tables and tips. This edition guide gives clarity and organization that is easy to understand. No stats in here for Venger or Warduke, guess we have to wait. Having a physical book in your hands is like nothing else.

Very good quality, nice thick pages and hard cover. The pictures are beautiful and well drawn and infomation inside is incredible. I love this book it is a great start to becoming a DM for Dungeons and Dragons. The quality is top notch well worth the money. I've been highly enjoying this book, and the adventures it opens up for me.

As a new D&D player, I wanted to invest in the right tools for my latest hobby, so I got this book as well as the player's guide, and ordered the monsters manual that is not due for release until February, 2025. The books have sturdy covers that protect all of the beautiful art and exhaustive information within. I feel that the game should be around for as long as it has already since that are no limits to imagination. Highly recommended!

A must have when GM’ing!

Came in good condtion and a great book to have as a dm i would rocmmend

I purchased the hardback book which had no flaws that I could detect. It is well stitched and glued, and it stays open when laying flat (although the outer pages do need some coaxing to lay flat initially, this is normal for most hardbound books). This is probably the overall best DMG ever produced for the Dungeons and Dragons label. That said, I'm not especially happy with around half of the 2024 rules "upgrade," hence only four stars. (But most of that takes place in the Player's Handbook so I won't go into it here. YMMV, of course.) However, Bastions are a welcome addition! This edition is thoughtfully arranged to be helpful to first time DMs as well as experienced ones (a difficult task, to be sure), focusing on how to run the campaign (including several tracking sheets), then how create a world from start to finish. It also includes a great deal of pre-made content to help out beginning (and perhaps overwhelmed) newbies as well as time-choked experienced ones, including a re-tooled (from previous editions) Greyhawk Gazetteer and a double-sided poster map of Oerth (obverse) and the Free City of Greyhawk. There are also 15 pages of generic maps for interesting locations in Appendix B, including a caravan encampment, an underdark warren, and a ship. I'll let the chapters and their subheadings speak for themselves. (NOTE: While there are numerous subheadings, many of them are just a paragraph on the same page, but due to their importance they deserve their own title.) Chapter 1 - The Basics What does a DM Do? Things You Need Preparing a Session How to Run a Session Example of Play Every DM is Unique Ensuring Fun for All Mutual Respect Respect for the Players Respect for the DM Chapter 2 - Running the Game Know Your Players Group Size Multiple DMs Narration Resolving Outcomes Ability Checks Attack Rolls Saving Throws Difficulty Class Advantage and Disadvantage Consequences Improvising Damage Improvising Answers Running Social Interaction Roleplaying Attitude Running Exploration Using a Map Tracking Time Actions in Exploration Perception Travel Running Combat Rolling Initiative Tracking Initiative Tracking Monsters' Hit Points Using and Tracking Conditions Miniatures Tracking Position at Long Range Narration in Combat Keeping Combat Moving Adjusting Difficulty Fight or Flight Character Advancement Chapter 3 - DMs Toolbox Alignment Chases Creating a Background Creating a Creature Creating a Magic Item Creating s a Spell Curses and Magical Contagions Death Doors Dungeons Environmental Effects Fear and Mental Stress Firearms and Explosives Gods and other Powers Hazards Marks of Prestige Mobs Nonplayer Characters Poison Renown Settlements Siege Equipment Supernatural Gifts Traps Chapter 4 - Creating Adventures Step-by-Step Adventures Lay Out the Premise Adventure Premise Adventure Conflict Adventure Situations by Level Adventure Setting Draw in the Players Adventure Patrons Supernatural Hooks Happenstance Hooks Plan Encounters Character Objectives Keeping the Adventure Moving Something for Everyone Multiple Ways to Progress Social Interaction Encounters Exploration Encounters Combat Encounters Monster Behavior Encounter Pace and Tension Bring it to an End Denouement Adventure Rewards Adventure Examples Chapter 5 - Creating Campaigns Step-by-Step Campaigns Your Campaign Journal Campaign Premise Campaign Characters Campaign Conflicts Flavors of Fantasy Campaign Setting Campaign Start Plan Adventures Episodes and Serials Getting Players Invested Time in the Campaign Ending a Campaign Greyhawk Important Names Greyhawk's Premise Free City of Greyhawk Greyhawk Gazetteer Chapter 6 - Cosmology The Planes Planar Travel Planar Adventuring Tour of the Multiverse Chapter 7 - Treasure Treasure Themes Coins Trade Bars Trade Goods Gemstones Art Objects Magic Items Magic Item Categories Magic Item Rarity Activating a Magic Item "The Next Dawn" Cursed items Magic Item Resilience Crafting Magic Items Magic Item Special Features Artifacts Sentient Magic Items Magic Items A-Z Random Magic Items Chapter 8 - Bastions Gaining a Bastion Bastion Turns Bastion Map Basic Facilities Special Facilities Orders Bastion Events Fall of a Bastion Appendix A - Lore Glossary Appendix B - Maps Barrow Crypt Caravan Encampment Crossroads Village Dragon's Lair Dungeon Hideout Farmstead Keep Manor Mine Roadside Inn Ship Spooky House Underdark Warren Volcanic Caves Wizard's Tower Index Tracking Sheets Game Expectations Travel Planner NPC Tracker Settlement Tracker Campaign Journal DM's Character Tracker Campaign Conflicts Magic Item Tracker Bastion Tracker

Arrived on time and undamaged and really good design and quality, it is on the pricey side but it is really helpful 👍👍👍

It was a gift to the DM for Christmas. He seemed pretty happy and gave the table inspiration.