Dungeons & Dragons Consulted With Critical Role's Matthew Mercer and Deborah Ann Woll on New Dungeon Master's Guide

Dungeons & Dragons tapped some big names to help out with their upcoming update of the Dungeon Master's Guide. During a press briefing for the upcoming Revised Core Rulebooks, D&D game architect Chris Perkins confirmed that Matthew Mercer and Deborah Ann Woll both consulted on the upcoming Dungeon Master's Guide, specifically providing feedback to make sure that the tools offered in the book were useful to Dungeon Masters running the new version of the game. While Perkins didn't elaborate on the full scope of consultants brought in to look at the project (a full list of consultants will be revealed later this summer), he also mentioned that another consultant who ran games for kids was also brought on specifically to provide tips on how to run games for kids. 

Mercer is best known for being the Dungeon Master for Critical Role, the hit Actual Play series that helped usher in Dungeons & Dragons' current popularity nearly nine years ago. While Critical Role wasn't the catalyst for the game's current success, it helped contribute to a revitalized view of the game and generated a passionate fanbase of players, many of whom were only familiar with the current D&D ruleset. Woll, an actress best known for starring in True Blood and Daredevil, is also a veteran DM who currently runs the Actual Play series Children of Earte for Demiplane, a character toolset for non-D&D tabletop RPGs. 

Wizards of the Coast has promised that the Dungeon Master's Guide in particular will be receiving an upgrade with the release of the revised Core Rulebooks. Not only will the new book feature revised rules, it will also feature more relevant tools for Dungeon Masters in how to run both adventures and campaigns, with examples of both included in the new book.

The Dungeon Master's Guide will be released on November 12, 2024.