Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide

Master the Rules

As the game's referee, a Dungeon Master needs to not only know the rules but know how to make quick judgment calls when players do something unexpected—and they will!

This book provides DMs with rules and advice for running all three pillars of a Dungeons & Dragons game—exploration, social interaction, and combat.

Create Your Own

Get tips and blueprints for creating your own monsters, NPC stat blocks, spells, magic items, and character options. Optional rules are also included for DMs looking to add a few twists to their campaign, with rules for coping with horrors, using firearms, figuring out alien technology, and more.

Playing Dungeons & Dragons

Become an Adventurer

Adventurers come in all shapes and sizes. Find one that’s fun for you.

An elvish cleric, driven from society for trespassing on tradition. A dwarven paladin, atoning for an ignominious past. The Player’s Handbook provides the skeleton for your characters. Flesh them out however you choose.

Join the Party

D&D brings people together and forges new friendships. Silly moments spawn inside jokes; moving battles leave treasured memories—whether in the heat of battle, embroiled in social intrigue, or solving clever puzzles, your party has your back.

Choose Your Own Path

The woods are growing dark. Behind a mass of ivy, you see the stones of a crumbling castle. What do you do?

In D&D, your options are limitless. Because the Dungeon Master, as narrator of your tale, can improvise in reaction to any choice you make, what happens next is entirely flexible. Do you dare go on?