Dungeons & Dragons will be hosting a new contest to determine the best Dungeon Masters in the game. The Dungeon Master Challenge is a new competition that will feature a series of challenges that will test a DM’s ability to design and adapt to a variety of situations. The competition will culminate in a Final Challenge that will take place at D&D Celebration, an online gaming event that takes place on September 26th. The winner will receive a custom trophy and a prize pack of DM material valued at over $2,000.
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Details about the actual design requirements are being kept under wraps to preserve a level playing field, but we do know the general format of the Dungeon Master Challenge. On June 17th, Wizards of the Coast will post their Open Submission requirements and all participants will have 72 hours to complete a 1,000 word or less submission meeting their requirements. A panel of judges will select 10 finalists who will be announced at D&D Live on July 16th and 17th. The finalists will then compete in a series of challenges over the course of a six week period, with judges eliminating one or two finalists after each segment. The final three finalists will then compete in one final competition with the winner announced at D&D Celebration.
The initial submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:
- All Entries will be reviewed in the order received and may be limited due to resource capacity (or availability)
- Entry must be submitted in English
- Entries may not exceed 1000 words. Entries over 1000 words will be rejected
- Entry designs must be a new/non-existent content (design cannot exist in any current published work – source books or DMs Guild)
- Entry design must adhere to methodology found in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Chapter 2: Dungeon Master’s Tools
- Entries must include design & narrative element
- Entries will be evaluated on how interesting and challenging design will be for players and dungeon masters
- Entries will be evaluated on how well they incorporate existing lore/canon
There are a few additional stipulations potential participants should know about. Any entries submitted to the Dungeon Master Challenge becomes the property of Wizards of the Coast, although Wizards may allow participants to publish their material on the DMs Guild at their discretion. Additionally, entries must be submitted by a sole participant as opposed to a writing team or partnership. Full details about the contest can be found here.
The Open Submission prompt will be announced on June 17th. Expect more details then.
