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This post is not in chronological order, but has been restructured based on subject matter.
They commit to a more user-friendly Dungeon Master’s Guide 20 seconds into the video.
Todd Kendrick: “This is fifth edition. … This is all this is.” They are polishing 5E, they say, not replacing it.
Chris Perkins: “I don’t think that anyone in the universe will say that (the 2014 DMG) is a 10 out of 10.”
The 2014 core books and starter set were created by a small number of people going fast with few resources who poured most of their energy into the Players Handbook and Monster Manual. Immediately after the 2014 DMG went to the printing press, Jeremy Crawford and Perkins started talking about things they’d do better next time.
They know the 2014 DMG is organized like crap and that this is going to be the first DMG for a lot of people, following the release of Honor Among Thieves. They have heard, many times, that people either don’t know content is in the DMG or can’t find it even if they do know.
Chapter one will move basic things like “how do these funny dice work” up from chapter eight. They will push “how to create a campaign world” (which is chapter one in the 2014 DMG) further into the book.
Chapter two will address the basics and common issues that come up in common play. Currently missing DMing advice is going to be in the new DMG, including what happens when your players take the intended adventure completely off the rails. They’ll talk about DMing styles and that they can change over time, or that not all styles fit all needs. They explicitly want to make DMing seem less threatening, to encourage more people to do it (and then run a game so that Whizbang can be a player, not a DM). DM advice type content from Tasha’s and Xanathar’s, like the session zero stuff from Tasha’s, will probably be in the 2024 DMG.
Chapter three will be the “rules cyclopedia”: All of the core rules that aren’t in the PHB in a single alphabetized chapter.
Chapter four is adventure building. Concrete adventure examples will be included. They’ll also talk about how much information is (and isn’t) needed to run your own campaign. (Here’s hoping they’ve read some Arcane Library adventures and Return of the Lazy DM.)
Chapter five is campaign building. The DMG will include a sample campaign.
Six is cosmology.
Seven is magic items. Common magic items from Xanathar’s will be added to the DMG, and WotC is creating more magic items to fill existing gaps.
Eight is a surprise, potentially TBA. (A nude fold-out of Vecna, I predict.)
And then appendices, including a map appendix and a lore glossary appendix of major NPCs, locations, etc.
The DMG will also come with a poster map of “a surprise.” (Elminster’s bachelor pad demiplane, I predict.) Perkins said they’ve wanted to have more maps in the DMG for a long time.
BONUS: The new Monster Manual will include new monsters to fill gaps, many of them at higher CRs. The book will also be reorganized better. Everything will live up to their CR, but not have their CRs change. Like all the 2024 core books, the new Monster Manual include a “pile of new art.”
“This might be the biggest Monster Manual ever,” Perkins said, although the exact number of monsters is not yet finalized.
