The 2024 revamp of Dungeons & Dragons is now almost complete thanks to the release of the new Dungeon Master's Guide. This 2024 version comes with plenty of updates and new features that make it a worthwhile purchase, but some of the content sounds cooler in theory than in actual practice. Still, it's a great resource for DMs that should appeal to anyone interested in trying their hand at running a campaign or session - and it's a nice upgrade from the 2014 DM's Guide.

Releasing everywhere on November 12, the 2024 DM's Guide is in early access now on D&D Beyond. During this time, I've used the 2024 rules with two different D&D groups, each with different playstyles and undertaking different adventures. For reference, one of the groups uses only the new 2024 rules from the Player's Handbook, while the other is playing with a mixture of 2014 and 2024 rules.

D&D's 2024 DM's Guide Is Full Of Improvements

Easy Organization That Makes DMing Simpler Than Ever

The new structure of the 2024 DM's Guide makes it easier than ever to use. There's a flow to each of the chapters and an organizational method that makes sense and is easy to digest. Even as someone who's DMed plenty of games in the past, I found the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide to be refreshingly simple in its approach. This isn't like a campaign book, so it's doubtful anyone will read it from cover to cover, so the way it's divided up is important. There's also a helpful Index in the back that I absolutely adore.

While earlier chapters focus more on introducing new DMs to its processes, "Chapter 4: Creating Adventures" and "Chapter 5: Creating Campaigns" are likely to be where most people will spend their time. The step-by-step campaign structure is certain to be helpful for beginners, but it's also divided up in a way that should benefit even longtime DMs. The chapter on Cosmology is interesting for world-building lore and the final two chapters deal with treasures and bastions, respectively.

The subsection on Magic Items in the DM's Guide is a highlight, and the place I found myself going back to most frequently. Magic items are broken up by category and rarity, and there are sections on crafting them and sentient ones. It feels like there are more magic items than ever, even at lower levels, which will no doubt make adventures even more interesting as they're awarded to players.

The inverse of that is that perhaps it's too much of a good thing, but the groups I played with were thrilled by some of the new magic items (especially the Cube of Summoning). Updates to other magic items - like buffing the Bag of Holding - are pretty welcome and feel like the quality-of-life updates you'd expect from a book like this. For the most part, the balance changes here make sense and seem fair enough.

What's New In The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide?

The DM's Guides' New Features May Be Some Of Its Worst

Not everything in the DM's Guide is perfect, however. Some of the new content in this 2024 edition sounds more fun in theory than it is in practice. Bastions are the best example of this. I was excited to give them a try, as were the people in my groups, but Bastions turned into basically busywork. I'd compare it to doing dailies in a life sim: There's a lot to do and a lot to check up on regularly (like defenses), but the reward might not be worth it.

Bastions have improved since debuting in Unearthed Arcana, but the problem is that they slow down the momentum of the campaign so much that it feels like a really in-depth distraction more than something that boosts the adventure. During my time with Bastions, I'm not quite convinced it works as well as it should. As with anything in D&D, though, groups will have varying results.

Then there's the Greyhawk content that's tacked onto the end of Chapter 5. I was thrilled Greyhawk was making a comeback, but a complete campaign or sourcebook would've been better. The Greyhawk content isn't bad, but it is like a lot of the new stuff in the 2024 DM's Guide - I'm glad it's in there for people who want it, but I doubt I'll ever use it. This also applies to the multiverse sections and the appendix of map templates.

Is The 2024 DM's Guide Worth It?

An Approachable Book That Should Please Old & New DMs Alike

As its name suggests, the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is absolutely for those wanting to DM. It's not necessary for enjoying D&D if you're only playing a character. People who are new to DMing will find the 2024 edition immensely helpful, and it's certainly more approachable and accessible than the 2014 version. For newcomers, the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is definitely the way to go.

Even for those already DMing, this 2024 edition is a nice upgrade that I wholly believe is worth the purchase. Whether or not you buy the book will largely depend on how much you already enjoy the 2014 5e rules. It will, of course, also depend on how well you like the new 2024 rules and if you're using them already.

The new features here are interesting, and while they didn't all gel perfectly with the groups I played with, it will be interesting to see what future D&D books do to change, improve, and add on to what's in the newest DM's Guide. Overall, I prefer the 2024 rules for Dungeons & Dragons, and the 2024 Dungeons Master's Guide may be the easiest-to-use and best DM's Guide to date.

Source: D&D Beyond/YouTube

A copy of the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide was sent to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.