The Dungeon Master’s Guide 2024 has just been released. The second book of three, the new 384-page guidebook offers updated, hands-on advice and rules to help DMs run sessions of Dungeons and Dragons.

As a companion to the Player’s Handbook 2024, this hardcover, full-color book is a welcome and gorgeous addition. Also available in digital format on D&D Beyond, the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2024 is a comprehensive, deep dive to help people run Dungeons & Dragons and create new materials for their campaigns.

In Chapter 1: The Basics, dungeon masters are provided with instructions and examples to prepare for and run a session. Of note, is a sidebar that states what has been updated from previous editions. There is a lot of new advice, rules–even adventures! found in later chapters. The rest of the material in this chapter is a comprehensive and nuanced look at running the game. In the section titled “Every DM Is Unique,” for example, the DM’s style of play is addressed–which is great to see since not everyone plays D&D the same way. The chapter ends with a small section about rules for the virtual table. It’s great to see this method of play called out and hopefully, one day there’ll be a separate guide that dives into virtual play. If you do prefer virtual tabletop play, the D&D Dungeon Masters Guide 2024 VTT is available now for Roll20.

Chapter 2: Running the Game covers multiple scenarios and presents practical advice. The chapter accounts for different group sizes, multiple DMs, and narrative styles before switching to outcome resolution and running one of the three pillars of Dungeons & Dragons: Social Interaction, Exploration, and Combat before providing information about character advancement.

The third chapter is an alphabetized list of topics crucial to running a session. The toolbox begins with a section about Alignment, then flows to chases, creating backgrounds, creatures, and spells. There are several, essential sections in this chapter like the section on Nonplayer Characters and traps.

Now that the DM has all of the pieces needed to run a session, chapter 4 advances preparation by helping the DM create an adventure. The step-by-step process is both straightforward and nuanced. There’s even a section that covers the behavior of monsters, too, as well as four examples of playable adventures.

In Chapter 5: Creating Campaigns, the guidebook shifts from plotting and planning individual sessions to creating an entire, multi-session campaign. This chapter provides straightforward guidance to creating a campaign, and ends with a gazeteer’s guide to Greyhawk, created by Gary Gygax. This serves as the background for a campaign set in the iconic setting that debuted in 1980, and connects to the four, sample adventures.

Chapter 6: Cosmology is a deep dive into the planes and multiverse. The lore and rules helps set the thematic tone for GMs hoping to set a campaign in an unusual location or realm. It also helps GMs get a sense of the broader multiverse to help entice a curious adventuring party.

Of course, no DM’s Guide would be complete without treasure. Chapter seven dives into all kinds of loot, both magical and non-magical, that players might discover during a session. There are sections for traded goods, art, coin, and a meaty breakdown of magic items with advice on how they should be awarded–along with an alphabetized list. Dungeon Masters will also find tables to create their own items; these include Sentient Magic Items that have their own personality.

The final chapter is devoted to a new, in-game element called a “Bastion.” From the guidebook: “A Bastion is a location that belongs to a player character: a home, a stronghold, and a place of power that the character develops over the course of a campaign. A Bastion offers a character temporary refuge from the dangerous world of adventuring, and it provides opportunities for a character to craft magic items, conduct research, harvest poisons, build ships, and carry out a range of other activities.” In other words, if the DM allows Bastions, each character, starting at level 5, has their own thematically-appropriate Bastion. These strongholds can be combined, but each character has to maintain their section of it.

Bastions are resource-heavy to remodel, expand, and maintain. Not only do they require significant amounts of gold, they will also take several in-game days before the sections are expanded. The in-game benefits emerge from the Special Facilities. For example, if a player’s Bastion has a Garden, they can choose to grow and harvest food–seven days of harvesting equals 100 days of Rations. Maintaining Bastions are also integrated into gameplay, and players interact with their facilities once every seven in-game days by issuing orders. Reading these rules, Bastions seem valuable, but because they’re a large investment they’re more appropriate for a campaign than a single session.

Three appendices wrap up the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2024: Lore Glossary, Maps, and Tracking Sheets. In the first appendix, the Lore Glossary alphabetically walks the DM through the iconic and most well-known locations and NPCs found in the Dungeons & Dragons setting. In the second, the DM is provided with fifteen maps that cover a broad range of environments and locations. Lastly, a section dedicated to in-game tools and trackers offers nine, printer-friendly aids.

Overall, the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2024 is a thoughtfully-enhanced guide that helps the DM access more context, rules, and playable options to increase playability and get more out of each session. Beautifully-illustrated, this is a welcome update to the world’s best roleplaying game.


Review provided by Allie Brooks. Allie’s review of the Player’s Handbook 2024 is also available. This review contains Amazon affiliate links.

Tags | DnD, dnd5e, dungeons and dragons, wotc