D&D's New Dungeon Master's Guide: Finally, a Fix for Chris Perkins' Decade-Long Door Problem!
D&D's Persistent Door Dilemma: A Decade of DM Annoyance
Even the best-designed games have their quirks. Experienced Dungeons & Dragons players know this all too well! We're all unique, each player having distinct tastes regarding certain design aspects. That's totally expected! And even Chris Perkins (D&D's creative director), should feel largely satisfied— or even blissful with his own designs! However, that's rarely what really happens, and as it turns out, even Perkins had his own annoyances. This particular issue persisted through several game releases; one simple element remained frustrating, enough for him to complain openly about it through many years and even official publications; even going on to discuss this in official publications – until the recent release.
D&D's core rulebooks are like Bibles to the whole game; heavily influencing everything. Those campaign books live and die by those core rulebooks, so it would be an issue if these essential aspects weren’t already discussed or handled sufficiently within these core guides! If something needed for an adventure doesn’t make that crucial cut and remain hidden in those key design documents; this could end in wasting a ton of space repeating explanations later—making any later release not exactly unique. In the original 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide, a crucial detail– handling doors– got completely skipped! This has now changed!
Doors in D&D 5e: The Unending Obstacle!
Perkins talks about his door frustrations in an interview with Screen Rant. The issue? Every D&D 5e adventure repeats instructions about how DMs handle doors. That's not only repetitive and inefficient but makes it clear that certain assumptions might exist about how some basic things within that very fictional universe may operate. Doors crop up constantly in dungeons— and also outside them! Getting past locked doors, if you lack a key; makes those methods not exactly traditional, creating other scenarios completely unnecessary if this aspect alone was already covered sufficiently.
The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide: Finally, a Dedicated Door Section
The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide finally resolves this ten-year-old problem by adding a fully dedicated section– and this wasn't merely some small aside – this wasn't a mere footnote like what was previously found in previous releases which makes this recent change incredibly valuable for many DMs! Instead, it takes a whole page! This is great news, for several reasons. And these don't simply rely on some generic advice, or repeating similar issues again and again. It adds proper rules, making decisions significantly clearer than before and significantly enhancing the game mechanics!
DM’s can now use armor class, health, and DC thresholds to assess door-breaking attempts. There are other tools such as those useful tables explaining how lock picking may work. It handles secret doors and even portcullises too! While it may seem a small addition—this might even seem rather obvious and redundant—this practical element is insanely helpful and should be praised for that. Its addition saves tons of space later in future adventure guides and provides convenience; and makes it vastly easier for newer DMs while offering great enhancements that significantly ease the DM’s workload, significantly simplifying and eliminating previously needed design decisions that required far more detail.
More Than Just Doors: The DM's Toolbox and Organized Reference
That door section sits within the DM's Toolbox– a 50-page chapter with consolidated resources. This focuses on making many key sections incredibly organized and easy to find which demonstrates those efforts towards a clearer guide and more manageable gameplay tools; a clever way to handle some otherwise poorly explained elements that makes game management infinitely better than what had previously existed and now enhances both enjoyment of and participation within the D&D experience.
This includes the Rules Glossary (from the 2024 Player's Handbook) and the Lore Glossary (in the DM's Guide). The Bastions rule might seem far more exciting, and might have a much greater impact. Yet for Perkins, this is actually one of the better changes: that simple solution for a minor yet critically important detail previously omitted.
Conclusion: A Small Fix with a Big Impact
That seemingly minor addition has massive effects on the overall experience: this simple solution generates better consistency across campaign releases! Those repeated, otherwise poorly managed explanations about doors? They’re now finally done for, never appearing again; and eliminating that recurring and repetitive frustration experienced by many new and returning D&D players.
It adds crucial accessibility features; eliminating unnecessary wasted resources from prior designs! Making it more enjoyable is a massive benefit, too! This change clearly demonstrates why those creative and design decisions are often more subtle than may otherwise be assumed and should be praised. Those small additions highlight a deep, careful thinking; emphasizing the value within simplicity, generating significant returns.
