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The D&D 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide says the word "fun" so many times it stops making sense

by: Randy - posted: 11/2/2024 3:07:00 PM
More On: Dungeons & Dragons

It actually makes a lot of sense.

The biggest thematic shift in the Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is "fun." Publisher Wizards of the Coast wants lots of it, more of it, and for you to keep making it. Before you get to the text of Chapter 1: The Basics, the (admittedly very fun) full-page artwork is captioned: 

You don't need a magical game table to play D&D, but wouldn't it be fun?

The word fun is mentioned 31 times in the first 15 pages of the DM's Guide. This is a change from the 2014 5e DM's Guide, which mentioned the word fun sparingly and, sometimes, seemingly on accident. That's all changed in the 2024 DM's Guide. In a chapter that conversationally describes the many roles and responsibilities of a DM, the 'fun count' keeps going up:

Even in the Example of Play section, it describes letting a player step in the way of a monster's attack because it gives the player "a fun heroic moment."

Then there's a sidebar for not the Rule of Cool, but the Rule of Fun:

D&D is a game, and everyone should have fun [ding!] playing it. Everyone shares equal responsibility in moving the game along, and everyone contributes to the fun [ding!] when they treat each other with respect and consideration: talking through disagreements among players or their characters, and remembering that arguments or mean-spirited squabbles can get in the way of the fun [ding!].

People have many different ideas about what makes D&D fun [ding!]. The "right way" to play D&D is the way you and your players agree to and enjoy. If everyone comes to the table prepared to contribute to the game, the entire table is likely to have a wonderful and memorable time.

But that sidebar isn't all. The fun discussion continues:

  • If you introduce a house rule that isn't fun, remove or revise the rule.
  • [How did the DM make] the game fun to watch?

Then there is an entire section titled "Ensuring Fun for All" that wraps up Chapter 1. There is a Game Expectations sheet that serves as a broad outline for important meta topics to cover during your Session 0, before the actual gameplay begins. The Game Expectations sheet is a new concept that has emerged among D&D tables over the past 10 years. It covers potentially sensitive elements (such as spiders, snakes, demons, romance, and mind control). It describes Hard Limits and Soft Limits on such topics. 

If a player puts a hard limit on romance, for instance, it means that player is asking for that topic to not be mentioned or even included in the campaign.

Or if a player puts a soft limit on, say, demons, it means that player would like those topics handled with care or off-camera, so to speak.

All of this, of course, is to "ensure the game is fun for everyone." But Chapter 1 continues its fun tirade:

  • Respect for the Players: Your players need to know from the start that you'll run a game that is fun, fair, and tailored for them.
  • Sharing the Spotlight: Away from the game, point out that the player's behavior is spoiling the fun for others, and ask the player to tone it down.
  • DM Die Rolling: Even if you usually roll behind a screen, it can be fun to make an especially dramatic roll where everyone can see it.
  • Respect for the DM: As the DM, you have the right to expect your players to respect you and the effort you put into making a fun game for everyone.
  • Evil Characters: ...Sometimes a whole group decides it might be fun to play evil characters together.
  • Players Exploiting the Rules: ...It can cross a line into being exploitative, interfering with everyone else's fun.
  • Rules Aren't Physics: The rules of the game are meant to provide a fun game experience, not to describe the laws of physics in the worlds of D&D...
  • Rules Rely on Good-Faith Interpretation: The rules assume that everyone reading and interpreting the rules has the interests of the group's fun at heart...

If nothing else, the new DM's Guide wants to put the "fun" in Dungeons & Dragons. Fungeons, if you will. If you cram all of these mentions of fun all together (as I've done here), the word "fun" stops making sense. But Chapter 1 means well. And rather than try and define what fun is for all people—because it varies from person to person—the chapter simply provides sound advice on how to access fun for you the DM and your table of players. Fun is hard to define. All I know is that D&D has a lot of it.

I wasn't going to mention this, but out of nowhere, Chapter 1 has a picture of Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi ... probably just so Wizards could sneak "fun" onto the page a couple more times (get it? Fun guy?)

The new D&D 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is out in early access now on D&D Beyond if you've preordered it. Otherwise, the book hits store shelves November 12. If you've read our review of the D&D 2024 Player's Handbook and feel like you're ready to be on the DM's side of the DM's screen (or if no one else is willing to take on the job), then the new DM's Guide is your next step.