The upcoming Dungeon Master's Guide for 2024 looks to guide dungeonmasters, and includes a 4-step plan on how to create a story that has a satisfying climax.

Dungeons & Dragons 2024 rulebooks aim to address, among other things some of the most long-standing complaints about the system. I have my own opinions about Wizards of the Coasts decision to upgrade their existing shtick rather than trying something new. But for people who enjoy 5th edition (5e), and don't mind not shaking the boat, this has been a good showing so far.

According to a video posted yesterday on the official D&D YouTube channel, it looks like this trend will continue with the upcoming Dungeon Master's Guide for 2024. If you're not familiar, the original DMG for 5e, which was released in 2014, was constantly criticized because it didn't do a good job of teaching you how run the game.

It was a bit useful, yes, with all the cool magic items and some awkward encounter building guidance (that didn't last very long), but it was mostly just a bunch setting-based fluff that didn't work too well. It was vaguely aimed at teaching players to create their own plots, and how to organise notes.

The 2024 DMG will arrive on November 12 and has an entire chapter dedicated for new players to help them with designing their own adventures. Christopher Perkins, creative director, said: "This is advice for you, the DM, on how to prepare for your game." This is a Dungeonmaster's Guide which actually guides you in your dungeon mastery.

According to Perkins, senior game designer James Wyatt will handle this by establishing a four-step guide for newbie DMs.

Perkins continues to talk about his own enjoyment of storytelling as a seasoned DM, and Wyatt adds: "It is interesting--a lot what you are talking about branches out into the campaign chapter." [It discusses] how you string together adventures, character development throughout the campaign."

It's difficult to judge the DMG's success since I haven't seen the thing. Wyatt is right, this is a huge step forward. D&D is a system that's designed to be used for looting and killing monsters (that's why most of the rules exist), but many players, including myself, have used it to create long-form stories. For a long time, providing concrete instructions on how to performthis was a thing of the past. It's for this reason that I recommend anyone who enjoys playing D&D Tours other systems to pick-up their tips and tricks.

It's D&D, so Wizards has created a set random tables. These tables are divided into tiers of play based on their theme to provide options that are appropriate for the power level of your table. For example, when Wyatt & Perkins roll a level 15-20 adventure, they land on "A ship carrying valuable artifacts or treasures sinks in a monster attack or storm."

The suggestions on these tables are solid starting points. Both DMs make the point that the prompts in question encourage a DM figure out who sent a ship, what artefact it is, and why the ship is at the bottom of an ocean. These are all things that could lead to a brand new campaign. There are also hooks tables, divided into Patron, Supernatural and, hilariously, Chance. Sometimes you fall into a dungeon hole, those are the breaks.

There's an "Adventure Climax Table" that refers to the end of a campaign and not just your game night going a bit weird and occult. This table gives DMs a few ideas on how to bring a dramatic end to a story, like an NPC betraying their party.

D&D is making a good effort, even if I would have preferred something more system-driven, like the relationship triangles or introductory questions included in Masks. I hope that the full thing does not relegate these tips to random tables. They're useful brainstorming tools but they're limited. Some actual methods and exercises will have more staying power.

The chapter also gives players solid advice on how they can set up NPCs, such as a guide character that can give hints to keep the players on track, or my favorite flourish, a monster relationships table to personalise generic mooks for encounters. Perkins gives a great example, a room full of goblins, a staple of RPGs. He then adds one of his suggestions, that one of them hates their boss, and will sabotage him as the fight continues: "Suddenly, you've got an encounter players are more likely remember." Good stuff.

There are some hints that I am (cautiously optimistic) about regarding the new encounter balancing system. There will be three combat difficulties: low, medium, and high risk. Each has its own XP budget based upon your party's size and level. The days of multiplying by enemy group size are over.

Wyatt mentions that Wizards has accelerated this curve: "By 2025, characters over level 10 will be challenged in both directions." The monsters at that level will have their numbers boosted a bit, and the encounter building guidelines allow for more of the tougher monsters to be included in the encounter. We're confident characters will face appropriate and even terrifying challenges.

Perkins says that when it comes to calculating things like party sizes, the book will instead have a troubleshooting section. While this could be interpreted as dumping work on the DM, that the system should be doing, honestly, is that really the case? I'm not too upset about it. If Wizards wants to stick with 5e, flaws and all, then it's best for the designers admit that there are stumbling block in encounter design, and give players the tools and guidance to work around them.

I'm cautiously hopeful, in general. I've reluctantly accepted that D&D will not be making bold choices for the next decade, but I do want these 2024 to be a refined edition of what's already available: books that actually address the ways that the system has outgrown its roots as an dungeon crawling smash 'em-up. If you're one of these war-minded players? Advice is always optional. We won't be able to know the full scope until the 2024 Monster Manual completes (confusingly), the trilogy of books in February 2025. But I still hope.