The primary architects behind the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide are designers working at Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast, but they're not the only ones who had a hand in the new book. In honing advice for dungeon masters, WotC turned to some external creatives, including some celebrities famous for their skill at running the game. From Critical Role host Matt Mercer to Daredevil actress Deborah Ann Woll, the influence of outside DMs played an important role.
In an interview with Screen Rant, D&D Creative Director Chris Perkins described the process of consulting with outside dungeon masters, in which Wizards of the Coast would send out chapters on DM advice along with a list of questions. Consultants would read the chapters with those questions in mind and provide feedback, ranging from "this is great" to "this is actually bad advice if you're a neurodivergent DM." Senior Game Designer James Wyatt would then compile everything from both outside and in-house consultants into a spreadsheet to guide changes made to the book.
Chris Perkins: As we were finishing up chapters of the book that focused on DM advice, we sent those chapters, we bundled them up and sent them to...