The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidemight not contain as many basic rules for playingDungeons & Dragonsas thePlayer’s Handbookdoes, but it still makes some major changes to core aspects of the game. As a revamp of the ideas put forward in the 2014Dungeon Master’s Guide,the new edition keeps a lot of what worked about the last one. There’s also a lot that didn’t work as well as it could in the 2014 book, however, and a variety of minor tweaks are occasionally accompanied by sweeping overhauls.
Some changes in the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideare more about the user experience with the book, particularly when it comes to reworking the structure. Others are things that anyD&Dplayer at a table using the 2024 rules will feel the effects of, even if they never personally open theDMG. Regardless,getting an overview of the biggest alterations can be helpful for anyD&DDM or player.
10The Adventuring Day Is Gone Entirely
Cutting A Questionable Concept
One change to the balance of adventuring is theremoval of the Adventuring Day,a concept that defined what an average action-packed day for the party might look like. Although a table provided a way to calculate how many encounters would be appropriate depending on party size, level, and the difficulty of each encounter, the general recommendation was six to eight. For some campaigns — and for certain sessions in almost any campaign — this kind of daily long haul felt appropriate, butit wasn’t the right fit for many.
I’m Worried My D&D Party Will Reach Level 20 Too Fast, & It’s All 5e’s Fault
The 5e Dungeon Masters Guide for Dungeons & Dragons provides a recommended number of encounters per adventuring day, but nothing on coherent pacing.
The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidedoesn’t provide a direct alternative to the Adventuring Day,putting the emphasis on individual encounter balance instead. DMs that follow the book strictly might end up deploying fewer, more challenging encounters rather than a surplus of fights that wear the party down slowly.
9Greyhawk’s Return Could Affect Future Campaigns
A New Home For Homebrew
Greyhawk certainly isn’t a new concept forD&D, serving as the first published campaign setting for the game, but it hasn’t been particularly present inD&D5e. The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideshakes things up in a big way by includinga section detailing core aspects of the world of Greyhawk, put forth primarily as a setting for DMs to use in homebrew campaigns.
As far as published adventures go,D&D’s focusmay remain on the Forgotten Realms, and a couple ofForgotten Realms sourcebooks planned for 2025should elaborate further on that world. Greyhawk’s inclusion in the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideis still a big change, however, as it’s likely to kick-start a resurgence in modern 5e games that use the classic setting. It also makes some minor tweaks to Greyhawk itself, butthe focus is on conveying the most important aspects of the worldthat have been entrenched for decades.
8A Different Emphasis In Adventure Design
The Basics, Not The Frills
The fundamentals of designing a great adventure never really change, and plenty of the resources and advice for doing so remain the same in the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide.There’s a new emphasis on making adventure design manageable, though, and that comes with some shifts in how the concept is presented and supplemented.
I Ran A D&D 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide Adventure With No Prep, & You Should Too
The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide has some bare bones sample adventures, and running one of them as written helped to highlight why I love D&D.
One major change is the inclusion of sample adventures, which contain only the bare bones ofwhat makes for goodD&Dgameplayrather than the detail typically afforded to published adventures.Maps also switch from blockbuster affairs to a simpler style, serving as a more direct point of inspiration than before. A new emphasis on how to hook players and keep them invested focuses on ensuring that players actually care.
7The Lore Glossary Brings Classics Back
D&D Is Emphasizing Key Places & Figures
D&Dlore has largely been deployed as necessary inD&D5e, with adventures that involve classic characters or locations explaining whatever might be directly relevant to the campaign. The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidetakes on the challenge of providing a more centralized resource, covering topics thatrange from Baldur’s Gateto the Raven Queen in 11 pages of quick recaps.
By its nature,the Lore Glossary is far from definitive, but it’s a potentially useful springboard that could lead to classic elements ofD&Dlore appearing in modern campaigns more frequently. The Rules Glossary found in the 2024Player’s Handbookremains the more essential resource for the average player, but the Lore Glossary highlights the increased commitment to providing resources that are easy to reference at a glance, something that may continue in future books.
6Campaign Trackers Structure Long-Term Organization
Ensuring That Nothing Goes Too Far Off The Rails
Dungeon masters are constantly juggling a million different things across the course of a campaign, and it’s easy for certain elements of progression to get a bit lost in the shuffle. The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideseeks to solve the problem with a set of campaign trackers,sheets that cover topics like magic item travel, settlements, and NPCs.
Conveniently, the trackers are available even to those who don’t purchase a copy of the book, accessible throughD&D Beyond. The new tool for play should be something that can help every dungeon master, and, if used well, keeping a handy reference of things like player expectations and magic item handouts could lead to more consistent excitement for everyone at the table.
5The DM’s Toolbox Provides New Rules & References
Stats For Doors, Shotguns, & More
One of the biggest organizational changes in the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideis the addition of the DM’s Toolbox,a section that includes useful references for DMs in alphabetical order. Even if its biggest benefit is convenience, it’s also a good resource for some new rules and codified ways to deal with common adventuring experiences.
Although it might seem small,one of the most useful additions in the DM’s Toolbox is a section on handling doors, whether that comes down to physically breaking them or finessing a lock. Firearms in the DM’s Toolbox now have weapon mastery properties, leading to fun concepts like ashotgun that deals knockback. Not everything is expanded, however, and the streamlined approach to creature creation may appeal to some DMs and disappoint others.
4Expanded Rules Solidify Crafting
A Framework For Making Magic Items
Crafting rules are nothing new forD&D5e, but the 2024Player’s Handbookwent into more depth on the subject than its 2014 predecessor, and the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideexpands even further. In addition to the previous guidelines for creating mundane items, potions of healing, and spell scrolls,there’s a framework for characters with Arcana proficiency to make any magic itemthey might want (aside from artifacts).
Getting something game-changing still won’t be easy, as anything above the tier ofUncommonD&Dmagic itemswill take quite some time to create and a good chunk of gold.It’s similar to the system set out inXanathar’s Guide to Everything,with some tweaks to the numbers and a fresh focus on having the appropriate tools. The pace and economy of a campaign might necessitate some tweaks, but it’s a nice way for dungeon masters to have a baseline on hand.
3New Magic Items Give Parties More Options
Returning Favorites & Fresh Choices
Magic items are often the most exciting part ofD&Dloot, and the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidebrings back a lot of classics.It also adds some items that weren’t in the 2014 book, whether they’re imported fromXanathar’s Guide to Everythingor entirely new additions.
Some items, like the Hat of Many Spells that returns from the 1980sD&Danimated series, offer incredibly powerful features with specific drawbacks (in this case, access to far more spells at a greater risk of wasting slots and generating random effects.Others fill in more basic gaps as common magic items, like the Sylvan Talon that opens up avenues for nonwritten communications with Fey. There are also some changes among returning magic items, like somebuffs to powerful methods of storagethat make them better than ever.
2Encounter Balance Changes Overhaul D&D Difficulty
Harder Fights Than Before
While plenty ofD&DDMs are used to eyeballing encounter balance, the basic standard for setting up an appropriate challenge inD&D5e has always been set by theDungeon Master’s Guide. In 2014, a table laid out how much monster XP to allocate per character of each level for fights ranging from Easy to Deadly, and the same section described how to adjust for hordes of enemies with multipliers.
“The Math Was Off”: D&D Designers Explain A Big Balance Change In 2024 Rules
D&D’s 2024 rules update overhauls a core aspect of encounter balance, and it’s officially the result of the previous approach not working as intended.
2024 keeps the same basic table, but it makes some tweaks, most notablyscaling things much more intensely from character level 10 and onward. The book also drops the multiplier entirely, simplifying the math and removing something that may have been an over-correction. The changes should result inmore challenging high-level encountersfor tables that go by theDungeon Master’s Guideapproach to balance.
1Bastions Are A Huge New Management Mechanic
Home Bases For The Party
Bastions are a big new featurein the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide, receiving a dedicated chapter that slots in just ahead of the Lore Glossary at the end of the book.A Bastion serves as a base of operationsfor a character or party in long-term adventures, which can be customized according to their unique needs. Even while adventuring, players can take intermittent Bastion turns to keep track of how things are going while they’re away.
The complexity of Bastions largely comes from Special Facilities, which serve unique functions like providing buffs and crafting magic items. The added layer of management might not be right for every table, so the fact that Bastions are optional is emphasized, but some groups will likely be eager to get their hands on homes and fortresses under the newDungeons & Dragonssystem.
