Fight in Dungeons and Dragons can be a lot of fun, but a lot of it depends on having the right weapon, and 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide just turned a traditionally disappointing option into a memorable option. While some players clamor for magical items simply to boost stats, many seek them out because of the ways they can spice up combat. Basic weapons can still be fun as long as they’re effective, but when they don’t live up to their potential in flavor or impact, it’s hard not to be disappointed.
DnDIt’s 2024 Player Handbook sought to solve this problem by introducing weapon mastery properties, which grant martial classes the ability to use special weapon actions in combat. Although all standard weapons already had their properties assigned in the Player Handbook, there is a selection that has not yet received the buff – modern and futuristic firearms and explosives. Found in Dungeon Master’s GuideThese weapons break with the traditional DnD flavor to deliver a different brand of pulpy entertainment, and one in particular finally looks great in the 2024 update.
Shotguns Deal Knockback in D&D’s 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide
The Push Weapon Mastery property is a lot of fun
2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide grants push dominance to shotgunsa property that allows them to destroy enemies in dramatic fashion. When invoked, Push pushes creatures hit by the weapon back 10 feet. While the shotgun’s other basic stats remain the same as the 2014 iteration – 2d8 piercing damage and a reload required every two shots in between – this simple change is enough to make something that previously felt highly situational genuinely exciting.
Environmental Opportunities Make D&D Shotguns Valuable
Every combat arena can be a playground
Part of the fun factor in mastering the shotgun weapon is simply the image it brings to mind, which is much more exaggerated than using Push with a spear would be. Combining this dynamic impact with the strategic potential of DnD opens many doorsespecially when it comes to combat with any element of verticality. Blasting enemies off cliffs with a shotgun is the most obvious opportunity, but pushing them into range of friendly melee fighters or creating combos with environmental hazards can also be more elegant when a shotgun is in play.
Shotguns are not alone, of course, with all firearms in 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide receiving his own ownership of arms domain. However, it’s the only one to get Push, and the effects are more likely to be cinematic than Sap, Slow, or Vex, especially in the hands of a player or DM with a gift for vivid descriptions. Shotguns are still not suitable for the average Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but when the system is being used for a world where modern weaponry makes sense, the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide finally makes them as exciting as they should be.