I have a strange relationship with the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014). I own it, but honestly, I can’t remember the last time I opened it. Partly that’s because I’ve been running games for years now—twice a month for over eight years—so I don’t need to look up the basics as often. Mostly, though, it’s because a lot of the rules I need are in the Player’s Handbook, and the old DMG was organized in a way that didn’t make it easy to quickly find what I was looking for. I’d end up frustrated, flipping through pages instead of actually enjoying the process.

That said, I do remember when I first started DMing and practically kept that book on my nightstand. Back then, creating a campaign and running the game felt overwhelming. The advice in the DMG was helpful—like having a seasoned DM sitting there, quietly offering tips. I imagine this new 2024 edition, with its much-improved structure, will make it easier for new DMs to find the guidance they need without the hassle I went through with the older version. I think they’ve really focused on accessibility here, and that will be a big help to newcomers.

For experienced DMs, though, the latter half of the book is where it gets interesting. There are some solid sections on adventure and encounter design, monster customization, and treasure guidelines that can add depth to a campaign, even for DMs who already know the ropes. The new tracking sheets are a nice touch, too. They’ve actually  inspired me to go back and check my own trackers to see if I’d missed anything useful. While these sheets feel more like baseline tools to help new DMs stay organized, they did give me a nudge to re-evaluate my own methods. Sometimes even a simple resource like this can spark new ideas, and it’s nice to have a reminder to refine how I track my party’s progress across different campaigns.

In the end, I think they did a solid job of making a resource that genuinely helps new DMs start and grow in their role as game masters. For experienced DMs like me, it’s more of a collectible with a few interesting tools, but it probably won’t be something I rely on every session.

Where it does get me excited, though, is with the tools it brings to the table for map makers. The new DMG, especially with the addition of the Bastion system, feels like an invitation to take map making to new levels of creativity.

The Bastion mechanic was, hands down, one of the most exciting features for me. This system lets players build and maintain their own personal strongholds, and it’s not just a simple add-on; it’s a whole new role-playing dimension. For me as a map maker, it’s a chance to create something truly unique—maps that aren’t just about the setting but are shaped by the characters themselves. With the Bastion system, players get to design and upgrade their own spaces, choosing everything from training grounds to arcane labs. This not only makes the game world feel more alive but gives us the opportunity to work together to craft maps that evolve with the campaign.

The 2024 DMG’s Chapter 4, “Creating an Adventure,” does a commendable job of introducing adventure design concepts. However—in my opinion—it also illustrates the current split between traditional, encounter-heavy game mastering and the newer, narrative-driven approach that many DMs now seek. The traditional approach leans on tactical maps and combat-heavy encounters, while newer styles focus more on storytelling and player agency.

I think Chapter 4 tries to bridge these two styles by offering guidance for both, but for DMs still learning to merge tactics with story, it doesn’t quite provide that essential “knot” to tie everything together. It offers useful ideas but lacks a strong structure for pacing and flow, which are critical to maintaining player engagement throughout an adventure.

Appendix B includes premade maps for use with the example adventures in Chapter 4, offering a fast setup for DMs. While they’re functional as reference points, these maps lack the detail and dynamism that make for engaging, tactical spaces. The examples at the end of Chapter 4  in conjunction with the maps in Appendix B are intended to illustrate adventure design, but they end up feeling more confusing than helpful. They fall short of demonstrating how to balance core elements like pacing, narrative flow, and tension in a cohesive way. Instead of guiding new DMs, these examples can feel misleading, offering only a vague outline rather than a clear model. For a new DM, these mini-adventures might even feel overwhelming without more context or guidance on how to pace them with the maps that players will explore.

When you’re starting out as a DM, it’s easy to feel like you’re struggling with everything at once—building tension, creating balanced challenges, understanding narrative structure, and even the basics of handling a map in real time. And if you’re like me, you have to work out questions like: Will this be an exploration map where my player’s crawl square to square and uncover the space by use of fog of war? Do I only design a couple of battlemaps for specific locations, and keep the full map as a DM-only tool to narrate their journey instead? A bare-bones map with no clear adventure outline doesn’t give you the direction you need to answer those questions or to figure out the rhythm of the adventure.

Then there’s the challenge of weaving in those “six stage” components of any good D&D session: setup, challenge, exploration, set-back, climax and aftermath. For me, when I don’t know the purpose of each room or area in the location, I start to wonder where to place the traps, what to use as potential puzzles, and where to fit in an NPC or two for social encounters. Without those, the game can quickly turn into a dry dungeon crawl that lacks pace and tension, missing opportunities to build up player excitement.

The purpose of the example adventures in Chapter 4 and the maps in Appendix B is a bit unclear. Are they meant to show how a DM should prep locations, or are they supposed to be quick, versatile references that can be dropped into any campaign? If the idea was to give DMs an exemplary summary of Chapter 4’s points on adventure structure and tension, they don’t quite hit the mark. The DMG, as a training tool for game masters, could benefit from a single, fleshed-out example that really “ties the knot” on all the core elements: narrative flow, pacing, tension, and location design. 

And where’s the Location Tracker Sheet for these? That would’ve been a great addition to help DMs run these adventures more smoothly.

Don’t worry, though—here’s one: 

I understand that the DMG isn’t a map-focused book, and space is tight, so the included examples are meant to be brief rather than fully-developed adventures. But I think it’s fair to say that it should be a guideline for DMs on how to create engaging adventures. I’d have preferred one strong, complete example over five weaker ones. With a single well-designed adventure, new DMs could see how all these concepts come together in practice, providing a model they could build from. If I’m being a bit cynical, I’d say these examples unintentionally teach one lesson really well: the importance of creating more engaging maps and better-planned adventures!

And here’s the thing: building these elements is not hard once you know what to look for. It can be as simple as adding a secret door, a room with a mysterious device, or a tough encounter that forces players to rethink their strategy. With a few well-placed hooks and a clear sense of pacing, even the most basic map can come alive with possibilities.

I’m working on a follow-up blog that will use these example adventures and maps from Appendix B to illustrate how to add tension and release, structure locations, and help new DMs pace their games. By focusing on narrative flow and anchoring key moments to the map, I’ll show how DMs can make these areas come to life while simplifying what they have to manage during play. It’s all about making adventures feel immersive and dynamic, without overwhelming new DMs.

Stay tuned—there’s a lot we can do with just a few adjustments to turn these examples into practical, memorable tools.

Happy map making, and see you soon!

Till