Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master's Screen 2024

 Review copy courtesy of Wizards of the Coast.

Pros

• It’s a 4 panel screen with summaries of the main specific rules.

• Full colour art on the outside.

Could Go Either Way

• The art on the outside is not one of my favourites. I’ve preferred the art style of the previously released screens. This one is more cartoon-y.

Cons

• It’s another screen, and the rule changes are quite small. The old screen with a sticky or additional cheat-sheet would do just as well.

• No PDF*

* Denotes nitpicking.

Introduction

Well, a new edition, and we have a new Dungeon Master’s Screen. It’s always nice to have a screen to refer to when in the thick of being a Dungeon Master. And it makes sense a new one would be released with the new set of core books. What’s it like? Well, let’s dive in.

 

The Contents

The screen covers many rules. Conditions, improvised damage, damage level and severity, actions, jumping, concentration, skills, death saving throws, object armor class, object hit points, food/drink, lodging, difficulty classes, light sources, obscuring, travel pace, travel terrain, cover, audible distances, visibility outdoors, and weather.

Partially, that’s the problem. When we compare it to the previous screen, not much has changed. In general these new books don’t have tons of changes, but many of the big ones are on the player character rules themselves. The ones that are on the Dungeon Master’s side of things, like exhaustion, are first of all simple, and second of all not so numerous. That means a simple cheat sheet, or some sticky notes will do the job. That makes it not a necessary buy this screen for those of you with this edition for a while, unless you really want to, or just want to save time and not bother. Come to think of it, it’s easy enough to make your own screen, so it’s probably more than I made it sound. That said, it is a good screen. It requires less work and effort. I have a player soon trying to run their first session as a one-shot, and I’ll be lending them this screen.

The Art and Book Build Quality

The art is fine. It’s personally not my favourite, and I’ve seen many previously in this edition that I liked more from an artistic perspective. It should come as no surprise I like that realistic action art with interesting but realistically styled lighting. So the outer illustration isn't my favourite, but it's fine.

As for the build quality? Well, it’s very solid. The screen itself looks good with no issues. Everything is printed well and clearly. Even the box it came in unfolds well and easily. It may be a bit too tight for permanent storage, but typically people don’t wrap up Dungeon Master’s Screens anyway. The card stock it's made out of feels nice. 

Summary

All in all, it’s a fine screen. The art isn’t my favourite, but it’s well made and has the rules. It can be a perfectly fine implement if you’re new to D&D. The issue is if you aren’t. It’s not that different than the ones made for the edition from 10 years ago. To the point just a cheat sheet of changes will keep you going just fine. If you rather spend money and save time, it’s great at what it does.