Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide (D&D Core Rulebook)

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 7 is on treasure items. 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.

Arrived on time

Amazing artwork! Great writing and good explanations overall.The packaging and handling were not great, but maybe that's the fault of my country's customs inspection on the package.Bought these for my nephew, who will likely be playing D&D for many years to come. So despite the high price, it's an expense that will dilute over time.

Hubby's DM. Collecting

Helped me streamline the 2014 edition. Very nice.

Came in great condition, sturdy, vibrant illustrations. As expected.

This is a surprisingly strong entry in the D&D book family, with the caveat that it's not necessary for many. Allow me to explain...For those wholly new to dungeon mastering, or those experienced DMs who have never done their own homebrewed campaigns, this is an excellent resource. Rather than being packed full of rules and such not covered in the Player's Handbook, it's much more of a "how to be a DM" and devotes much of its bulk to exactly that. How to organize. How to set expectations. How to manage the unexpected. How to resolve disputes (hint: most D&D problems are actually social problems, and there's some good advice in the book that is applicable to more than just D&D). And of course, how to create encounters, magic items, monsters, adventures, a whole world of your own.As such, it is far more useful _to the right person_ than the 2014 DM Guide (which as an experienced DM I found to be wholly unnecessary and which my newly-minted DM friends found to be unhelpful). This book fills a gap that the 2014 edition of 5E D&D never really addressed. Everyone else, just get the 2024 Player's Handbook, or stick to 2014 5E.Drop a hint onto one of your players that they need to step up to the Big Seat and give YOU a chance to PLAY by putting this book into their hands.However. If you're an experienced DM, if you're comfortable homebrewing but are nonetheless new to 5th Edition D&D, you really don't need this book; everything someone like you will need is in the Player's Handbook. Whether you prefer 2014 or 2024 5th Edition is another matter, of course.

Bought as a gift for my son, he loves it!