The2024Dungeons & DragonsPlayer’s Handbookis a general step up from the 2014 iteration, but it has its own shortcomings, and the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideimproves on my biggest complaint. As two ofDnD’s core rulebooks (a trio completed by the addition of theMonster Manual) both thePlayer’s HandbookandDungeon Master’s Guidecan be critical assets for running a great game. While thePlayer’s Handbookwill always get more attention as the one tome that everyone needs, theDungeon Master’s Guideshould ideally make for even more interesting reading.
While the 2014 core rulebooks released in one batch, the 2024 versions are following a staggered schedule, which left a lot of room for speculation after thePlayer’s Handbookcame out. The effects of character balance tweaks are hard to fully discern without the context of the revisedMonster Manual, for example, and theDungeon Master’s Guideended up making its ownbig change to balanceas well. The aspect of the 2024Player’s Handbookthat had me the most concerned wasn’t mechanical, however, instead lying in the overall approach to the fantasy world ofDnD.
D&D’s 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide Is Full Of Flavor
DnDrulebooks have never been dry walls of proscriptions and statistics, and a huge part of that comes from the flavor text, something that could have been a lot stronger in the 2024Player’s Handbook.Flavor text is a broad term, but it essentially refers to anything that helps contextualize characters, evoke the feeling of a fantasy world, or simply add a bit of fun to the proceedings.Streamlining flavor text makes the need-to-know information easier to find at a glance, so I can understand how it makes the game more approachable, but I personally mourned the loss.
Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Player’s Handbook Review - Basically A Whole New Edition Of D&D
Despite a rebrand, Dungeons & Dragons has successfully compiled the 2024 Player’s Handbook to be its best and easiest to use rulebook yet.
The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide, however, is a radically different beast.Rather than cutting back on the evocation of a fantasy world, theDungeon Master’s Guideexpands it, diving deeper intoDnDlore than the 2014Dungeon Master’s Guidedid. A section on Greyhawk provides the best look at the classic setting thatDnD5e has yet offered, and a Lore Glossary works as a crash course or quick reference for iconic figures and places inDnD.
The Lore Glossary and a DM’s Toolbox chapter work as nice companions to the Rules Glossary in the 2024Player’s Handbook, making useful information easier to access than before.
I don’t want to give anyone a false expectation of what the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidepromises. Neither of the aforementioned sections take up a significant percentage of the book’s page count or provide anything close to a comprehensive look at the setting or characters, which have been expanded upon for decades. Even if they’re not definitive, though, they’re interesting and fun, and new DMs could particularly benefit from the added reading material.
Dungeons & Dragons Lore Makes The DMG More Useful
More Reason To Open The Book
Although my long-running campaign is set in a homebrew world, I’m particularly happy about the Greyhawk section. One of my favoriteDnDtomes is the 2e bookGreyhawk: The Adventure Begins, and I’ve turned to it for both general inspiration and reading pleasure before.Greyhawk is a great setting to run adventures without much hassle, but it’s also a treasure trove of good material to mix into campaigns set elsewhere, and theDungeon Master’s Guidesection is a nice sampler despite the lack of depth that a dedicated sourcebook could provide.
I’m thinking about running some of the short sample adventures included in the book soon, and I’ll probably set them in Greyhawk if I do, mostly to get a good feel for how much a new DM could do with only the resources available in the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide.Regardless of the results, I’m already convinced that there’s a lot more to work with than the 2014Dungeon Master’s Guideoffered. It’s not perfect, and I suspect that the Lore Glossary might be hard to love without understanding why everything it covers matters, but it’s a big step forward.
One Fan-Favorite Baldur’s Gate Character Is Officially In D&D’s 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide
Dungeons & Dragons squeezed one icon of the Baldur’s Gate series into the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide, and he’s long been a popular companion.
The other advantage to the increase in lore and flavor text lies in giving more people a reason to read the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide, as the 2014 book wouldn’t be of particular interest to many people outside the target audience named in the title. It’s still absolutely unnecessary for players to read the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guide, and some might prefer to avoid the peek behind the curtain, butthe book is now much closer to something worth reading simply for entertainment’s sake.
The 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide Conveys A Rich World
Fantasy That Feels Real
Without too much flavor text to speak of, most of the fun to be found in the 2024Player’s Handbookcame from the art, and I’m also of the opinion that the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guidealso takes that to another level. I’ve professed mylove for many of thePlayer’s Handbookillustrationsbefore, but I still ended up with a lingering frustration regarding the overall approach.The world of the 2024Player’s Handbookfeels almost monotonously bright and happy, which doesn’t conjure up the rich atmosphere of a fleshed-out fantasy world as well as it might.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Proves That The Forgotten Realms Can’t Last Forever
Baldur’s Gate 3 points a finger at a huge threat to the longevity of the Forgotten Realms, and it’s a consequence of being a great adventure setting.
The 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideseems to confirm that the art direction of the 2024Player’s Handbook, like the flavor text change, was simply focused on making thePlayer’s Handbookinviting rather than any attempt to defineDnD’s future.TheDungeon Master’s Guidehas some of the most atmospheric artwork thatDnDhas boasted in years, depicting hostile environments ready to swallow up adventurers and even the funeral pyre of a fallen comrade. Both sides of adventuring are still represented, with a fair share of celebratory scenes being mixed in to create a more complete picture of a fantasy world.
It might not be perfect, but the difference between the 2024Player’s HandbookandDungeon Master’s Guidemakes me even more hopeful for theForgotten Realmssourcebooks planned for 2025.Dungeons & Dragonsisn’t abandoning any effort to make fantasy feel real, it’s just making strategic decisions about where to highlight that, and the 2024Dungeon Master’s Guideproves how fun highlighting that can be.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons and Dragons is a popular tabletop game originally invented in 1974 by Ernest Gary Gygax and David Arneson. The fantasy role-playing game brings together players for a campaign with various components, including abilities, races, character classes, monsters, and treasures. The game has drastically expanded since the ’70s, with numerous updated box sets and expansions.
