D&D 2024 Running the Game Guide for DMs

Introduction

Chapter 2 of the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is the deepest procedural-advice chapter in the book - the mechanics of actually running a session once character creation and prep are done. This guide walks through its core tools: reading what your players want out of the game, adjusting for group size, sharing the DM role, narrating scenes well, resolving D20 Tests, and running social interaction, exploration, and combat.

For the broader DM workflow (prep time, encounter steps, calling for a D20 Test at a glance), start at the Dungeon Master Guides hub.

Know Your Players

Knowing what each player enjoys most about D&D helps you build and run sessions they'll remember. The DMG identifies eight overlapping player-preference types. Most tables mix several of these, and the trick is finding a balance so every player gets some payoff each session, even when a given encounter doesn't match their taste.

Group Size

D&D's rules and published adventures generally assume four to six players plus the DM. Adjust for groups outside that range.

Small groups (fewer than four players) can struggle in combat, especially if the party lacks a tank or healing magic. Compensate by trimming monster counts in an encounter or handing out extra resources like Potions of Healing. You can also add party members: a DM-controlled adventurer (a "DM PC"), NPC party members drawn from the Monster Manual stat blocks (possibly run by a player as a secondary character), or letting one or more players each run two characters at once.

Large groups mostly need help with pacing and order. Consider designating a party leader who consolidates the group's decisions for you. To speed up combat specifically: be generous with information (tell players an AC or just that an attack hits, rather than making them ask), help players keep up with a quick recap of the battle state, make the Initiative order visible, and have players roll their attack and damage dice together.

Absent players. Give an absent character the same XP the rest of the party earns that session, so the group stays level-matched. Handle the character itself by fading it into the background (it simply doesn't act, and nothing acts on it), inventing a narrative reason it's temporarily elsewhere, or having another player run it as a substitute.

New players. Revisit the group's expectations before adding someone new, and build their character at the same level as the rest of the party. If they've never played before and the group is above level 4, consider a short break to run a one- or two-session level 1 arc so the new player can learn the game (and another player can try DMing). When integrating a new character mid-adventure, work out a story hook with that player - the DMG suggests a long-lost friend or relative, a rescued prisoner, or the sole survivor of a fallen adventuring group.

Multiple DMs

Many groups rotate who sits behind the screen. The DMG covers several structures for sharing the role:

• Occasional breaks. Step back for a session or two to recharge, plan your next arc, or finish prep, while another player runs a short adventure.
• Variety style. Different players take turns as DM for one to three sessions at a time, each running a self-contained story rather than one continuous campaign.
• Concurrent campaigns. Multiple DMs each run their own campaign on a rotating schedule, with sessions on different days of the week.
• Shared world. A group takes one large campaign setting and divides it geographically (each DM owns a region) or thematically (using this book's own three-conflict setting in chapter 5 as an example, each DM could take one conflict).
• Joint DMs. Two or more DMs co-run a single campaign, coordinating continuity between sessions or even splitting duties within the same session (one narrates and runs a battle, the other handles music and miniatures). Players who are also DMs shouldn't let out-of-character campaign knowledge influence their characters' choices.

Narration

Good narration keeps players immersed without burying them in detail.

• Be brief. Keep descriptions short and evocative, focused on what players need to know before deciding what to do - especially threats. Allow follow-up questions rather than front-loading everything.
• Add atmosphere. A couple of well-chosen sensory details (a lingering smell of ash, moss-slick stones) do more than an exhaustive description. Use changes in the environment to redirect attention.
• Draw attention deliberately. Distinguish options with detail (a path that reeks of decay versus one with the sound of running water) instead of stating outright which way to go. Don't limit character actions to only what you listed, and don't assume what a character does that the player hasn't stated.
• Manage secrets and discovery. Make sure information the adventure needs isn't hidden behind a single failed check, an unasked question, or an unexplored room. When you need to give information to just one player (something their character wouldn't share with the party), pull them aside briefly or pass a private note - keep it short so other players don't lose interest.

Resolving Outcomes: D20 Tests

You decide when a player makes a D20 Test based on what their character is attempting - players should state an intent first, not roll speculatively. When you're not sure how to adjudicate something, work through four questions:

1. Is a D20 Test warranted? Skip the roll for trivial or impossible tasks. Call for a test only when there's a real chance of both success and failure with a meaningful consequence either way.
2. What kind of test? An ability check for an active attempt (or an attack roll if it's combat-like), a saving throw for resisting or avoiding something.
3. Which ability? Use whichever ability most influences the outcome, and check whether a skill or tool proficiency applies.
4. What's the DC? 10 for an easy task, 15 for a moderately difficult one, or 20 for a hard one.

Ability Checks

An ability check tests whether a character succeeds at something they've chosen to attempt. When failure only costs time rather than making the attempt impossible (like picking a lock), you can skip the roll entirely and just narrate how long it takes, or call for one check to represent the whole effort.

Group checks let a party's more skilled members cover for the less skilled: everyone makes the same check, and the group succeeds if at least half do. They fit tasks like group research or a party crossing a hazard roped together, but not situations where one character's failure alone spells disaster (a stealth check where one loud character alerts everyone), or where a single success is already sufficient.

Passive checks (most commonly Passive Perception) apply when rolling would tip players off that something's worth searching for. You can extend the same idea - 10 plus all normal modifiers - to other skills, like tracking a Passive Insight score for a social-heavy game.

Difficulty Classes

Easy, Moderate, and Hard cover the vast majority of checks - the DMG notes you can run an entire game using just those three. For saving throw DCs you set yourself, don't go below 10 or above 20. When a creature is the source of the effect (a spell or special ability), use the calculated DC: 8 + ability modifier + Proficiency Bonus. The same formula can set the DC for an ability-check contest between two creatures, such as one creature holding a door shut against another trying to force it open.

Advantage, Disadvantage, and Degrees of Outcome

Grant Advantage when the environment favors the character, a player shows real creativity, or earlier actions improved the odds. Impose Disadvantage under the mirror-image circumstances. If a situation would grant both, they cancel out regardless of how many sources of each apply.

Beyond a flat success/failure, the DMG describes several ways to add texture to a result:

• Success at a cost. When a check fails by only 1 or 2, let the character succeed but pay a complication - a sword lands the hit but gets dropped, a Fireball is dodged but leaves the character Prone.
• Degrees of failure or success. A botched trap-disarm might spring the trap on a failure of 5 or more, but do nothing worse on a narrower miss. An archery contest can use how far a roll exceeds the target AC to set the quality of the shot.
• Critical rolls. A natural 20 or 1 on an ability check or saving throw has no automatic special effect, but you can choose to amplify the outcome - an extra clue on a critical Investigation check, for instance. For attack rolls specifically, resist the urge to pile extra penalties onto a natural 1 beyond the automatic miss; characters roll enough natural 1s over a campaign that added consequences get old fast.

Improvising Damage

When damage doesn't come from a stat block, scale it to the danger: 1d10 for something like being burned by coals, up to 24d10 for something like being crushed in the jaws of a moon-sized monster. Cross-reference the amount against character level to judge how deadly it actually is - the same 2d10 that's a nuisance to a level 5-10 party can be lethal to a level 1-4 one.

Running Social Interaction

During a social interaction, the party is usually after something specific - information, aid, trust, an escape from punishment, a negotiated treaty. The DMG doesn't mandate one resolution style: some DMs run interactions as free-form roleplay with dice rarely involved, others lean on Charisma checks, and most games land somewhere in between.

Portraying NPCs. Pick one or two adjectives that define the character, and let their alignment inform how they act. Show rather than tell - instead of describing an NPC as jocular, have them make puns and share anecdotes. Facial expressions, posture, and voice all reinforce a portrayal.

Engaging every player. Let players who enjoy acting take the spotlight, but tailor moments to other tastes too. Involve quieter players by making an NPC address their specific character, or by giving a scene a personal hook tied to their backstory. For players whose characters aren't built around Charisma, other abilities can carry a scene - Strength (an arm-wrestling contest before an NPC will talk), Dexterity (eavesdropping from hiding, or picking a pocket during a distraction), Intelligence (parsing an NPC's obscure jargon or vague hints), or Wisdom (reading nonverbal cues or noticing details hidden in the room).

Attitude. Every DM-controlled creature is Friendly, Indifferent, or Hostile toward the party, and the characters' words and actions can shift that attitude - buying drinks for Indifferent miners might turn them Friendly, and you should describe the shift when it happens.

Ability checks in social interaction. You decide how much a check shapes the outcome - a brief exchange might hinge on one Charisma check, while a complex negotiation might use several checks to steer the conversation in stages. When a character uses the Help action to assist, have that player describe what their character says or does to contribute, not just declare the mechanical assist.

Running Exploration

Exploration covers traversing wilderness, searching a dungeon, bypassing obstacles, and solving puzzles. Not every trip needs to be played out in detail - gloss over an uneventful multi-day journey in a sentence if nothing important happens along the way.

Maps. Dungeon maps show interior spaces (any location with rooms and passages, not just literal dungeons); settlement maps add terrain to buildings and streets; wilderness maps show roads, rivers, and terrain across anything from a small glade to a continent. Keep your own copy detailed and share a redacted version, or use fog-of-war tools on a virtual tabletop, to avoid spoiling hidden features.

Tracking time. Use whatever scale fits the moment: rounds for combat, minutes for a dungeon or settlement, hours for a short wilderness trek, days for a long journey. Most of the time an estimate is fine - track precisely only when something is time-sensitive, like a spell's duration or an event triggered on a timer.

Actions in exploration. Beyond movement, most exploration boils down to Search, Study, Utilize, and Help. When characters split up to investigate a room, have them take turns rather than rolling Initiative, resolving one character's actions before moving to the next.

Perception. Call for a Wisdom (Perception) check whenever a creature is Hiding - it's never trivially easy or automatically impossible to notice a hidden creature. Use Passive Perception instead of an active roll when asking for a check would tip players off that something's there to find. Reserve the Investigation skill for figuring out how something works (a trick mechanism, a way past a lock), not for noticing that it exists in the first place - that's Perception's job. Never hide something essential to the adventure's success behind a single failed check; plant a hint even for optional secrets so players know there's something to look for.

Travel. Break a longer journey into stages (three stages makes for a satisfying trek), each with its own terrain, pace, and weather. Travel pace is Normal, Fast, or Slow per the Player's Handbook exploration rules; a good road bumps the maximum pace up one step, and any group member moving at half Speed or less forces the whole group to Slow. Typical stage challenges include encounters with other creatures, foraging, getting lost while navigating, obstacles like a blizzard or a cliff, and searches for a hidden destination - each with its own DC drawn from the terrain type.

Running Combat

This section builds directly on the Player's Handbook combat rules with tools for keeping a fight moving.

Rolling Initiative. Combat starts only when you say it does - some character abilities trigger specifically on an Initiative roll, and that's your call, not the players'. If a character's action starts the fight (attacking an NPC mid-conversation, for instance), you can give that character Advantage on their Initiative roll. As a faster alternative to rolling, you can use each combatant's Initiative score (10 plus all their normal Initiative modifiers) instead - adjusted by +5 for Advantage or -5 for Disadvantage.

Tracking the order. Use a hidden list (notebook, spreadsheet, app, or index cards) if you want to track unrevealed combatants and secret Hit Point totals, or an open list (whiteboard, battle mat, virtual tabletop) if you'd rather let everyone see the order and plan ahead. Track monster Hit Points and conditions the same way - tagging identical monsters with distinguishing names or sticker labels makes this much easier at the table.

Narration in combat. Avoid pure "gamespeak" ("that's an 18, you hit, roll damage") when a sentence of narration can convey the same mechanical information more memorably. Share information the characters would notice as combat unfolds - how bloodied a foe looks, whether an attack seems to have no effect against something with a relevant immunity - and use the Describing Actions guidance (Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Magic, Ready) to narrate common actions consistently. Make sure players can tell when an enemy is casting a spell (so they have a fair chance to Counterspell) versus using a non-spell magical ability.

Keeping combat moving. When a fight stalls, the DMG suggests several fixes: don't reset the tactical situation after a character changes it (a monster shouldn't simply chase down a character who Disengaged), hasten a monster's demise once the outcome is certain rather than dragging out its last few Hit Points, let outmatched or losing monsters try to end hostilities through flight or parley, add a new combatant to raise the stakes, or change the terrain (a collapsing wall, a fissure venting gas) to force new tactics.

Fight or flight. Most creatures aren't willing to fight to the death. If you're unsure whether a creature will engage, have it make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw before Initiative is rolled (or set your own DC) - failure means it flees or tries to parley, success means it fights. A creature already in combat is likely to flee if it starts its turn Bloodied with more than half its allies dead or Incapacitated (while the party has suffered no such losses), or if it starts its turn Bloodied and Frightened.

Awarding XP. Monsters award XP by Challenge Rating, split evenly among the characters who overcame them (counting any NPCs who substantially helped). You can also award XP for non-combat challenges of similar difficulty, or for reaching milestones - discovering key information, hitting a major story beat - treating a major milestone like a high-difficulty encounter's worth of XP and a minor one like a low-difficulty encounter's worth. As an alternative to XP entirely, you can advance characters by session count or by story milestone instead.

Related Guides

This chapter's advice feeds directly into building longer content: see the Creating Adventures guide for structuring the encounters this chapter helps you run, and the Creating Campaigns guide for tying sessions together into a longer arc. For the on-the-fly rules referenced throughout this chapter - alignment, NPC creation, hazards, and more - see the DM's Toolbox guide. Return to the Dungeon Master Guides hub for the full chapter map.