D&D 5E So…..is the Dungeon Master’s Guide strictly necessary?

[TrippyHippy]

So…..is the Dungeon Master’s Guide strictly necessary?

I don’t want to offend anyone with my lack of convention, but I have never really seen the DMG as an essential purchase. In the 1st edition, it was a requirement because it contained the rules tables - but once this was de-emphasised in follow on editions, it all just seemed blurb to me. I design campaigns as I want - or just get a campaign book, I can create magic items too, as I feel fit….and the DM’s advice always seemed bleh to me.

So if you get the Player’s Handbook and the Monster Manual, and possibly a Campaign World supplement or an adventure module or two, what do we actually need from the DMG?

 

[Plaguescarred]

I don't think the DMG is strickly necessary as we play fine without it at the moment. Will it be desirable and enhance your play experience? Definitly, as it will contain magic items, traps, hazards etc...that the DM can use to enrich his game.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Please note the Devil’s Advocate nature of this thread to begin with…..but those things mean very little to me.

 

[Li Shenron]

The 5e designers mentioned that their idea is that none of the 3 core books should be necessary, at least because of the free availability of the Basic rules. I want to keep thinking in these terms myself!

There might be something in the DMG that is "more necessary" than something else, but in that case it's very likely already in Basic too.

That said, the 5e DMG specifically is meant to be the container of a lot of explicitly optional rules, but this is not the only material appearing in the DMG. Certainly there will be magic items, which are optional but normally at least some of them are in every game. Then there are DM guidelines and advices, and I agree here that there may be an issue with the fact that the typically the core books of every edition are "reset" to be readable by someone who has never played the game before, and as such it's possible that for a lot of experienced DMs this kind of information is of little use. But the alternative is to assume the readers already know about playing the game, and then it wouldn't be fair to them, as it also wouldn't be fair to force them to buy the Starter Set first (which anyway can only contain little info) or to force them read the Basic pdf (which is free, but not everybody wants to learn the game from a pdf).

 

[jadrax]

Everything 'strictly necessary' in the DMG will be placed in he Basic rules, so no you don't have to have the DMG.

 

[Uchawi]

The real question is whether everything in the DMG is considered optional. And under most circumstances it probably will. And therefore the application of the DMG will vary widely, and should only apply if you want to change your current experience with the game. If you like a variant rule in the DMG, then you will need to convince your DM to use it.

 

[Li Shenron]

The real question is whether everything in the DMG is considered optional. And under most circumstances it probably will. And therefore the application of the DMG will vary widely, and should only apply if you want to change your current experience with the game. If you like a variant rule in the DMG, then you will need to convince your DM to use it.

Indeed, there is stuff that won't be labelled as "optional" but if you ignore it the game still works without any balance shift or additional changes needed.

But in case of the DMG, I can't think of anything right now that wouldn't be optional... people are playing the game already without it, and the stuff in the Basic doc for DMs is mostly monsters, plus some magic items, and only the part about encounter CR/XP calculations might be really needed (tho even in that case, there are many DMs who ignore the XP values and charts).

 

[Astrosicebear]

Ignoring the free PDF's for a moment. The Player's Handbook is essential... it contains all the rules necessary (Yes Starter set suffices as well). The Monster Manual is probably also essential if you wish to not make every single monster (although PHB does not have rules on this so youd be on your own). The Dungeon Master's Guide is a GUIDE. It has lots of great info for running games and magic items, and optional rules, etc. But by no means is it critical to the play process. As a core book however, its a really good idea to have one if you plan on running games.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

The DMG is the essential book of optional components. Wait...

 

[jadrax]

The DMG is the essential book of optional components. Wait...

Maybe one of the optional modules in the DMG should cover how to play the game without the DMG...