It might seem like a stupid question, but how do you actually use other folk's homebrew subclasses? I understand having a subscription and such, but I cannot find the homebrew classes under the usual classes section creating a character. It only shows the typical "ranger, cleric, monk," etc. I thought it would have been similar with races where it just pops up. I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question, but I'm just lost.
There are 20,520ish published subclasses. Having a subscription doesn’t mean all of a sudden everything comes pouring in. Trust me, don’ nobody want that. You first have to go here, search through those 20,520ish subclasses for the ones you want to use, and then [ADD TO COLLECTION]:
Once you have a collection of Homebrew, then In the character builder on the Home tab, you need to switch on “Homebrew Content” for that character, the toggle Should be to the right (red),
3. Create an Unassigned Character from my Campaign
4. Ensure Homebrew Content is on. This is the default setting for my campaign, but I toggled this off, moved forward a page, toggled it back on, and moved forward a page again, as a test step.
5. Advance past the Race Selection wizard page
6. Select Monk as my class
Expected : I am able to select my homebrew subclass in the at higher levels section
Observed : There are no options to select my homebrew subclass.
Additionally, when I page through the rest of the Character Creation Wizard / Character Builder assigning values to all the optional questions then view my sheet, it says "Monk" and under "No Subclass". I have attempted to log out and then back in again as well.
I have clicked save changes to my homebrew subclass both before and after creating this character. I am able to share other homebrew content with my campaign, including magic items I have created.
Your subclass will be available as a level advancement option. In my case, for example, a Monk's subclass is "Monastic Tradition".
You are unable to set a subclass until your character is 3rd level in the "at higher levels" section, this is what was tripping me up. However, once this is done, you are able to access other class features you have marked as showing in the builder. For example, I added a Spellcasting feature, and obtained the Spells option next to Optional Features, proving my subclass loaded.
You don’t need anything “optional” activated to use anything homebrew. Optional Class features were exclusively in Tasha’s Cauldron and you must purchase that book in order to have any for your character. That prompt you are seeing indicates you haven’t purchased Tasha’s Cauldron from DDB, so you may as well turn optional features off since you don’t have any.
When you say “wizard,” are you referring to the Wizard class? Or do you mean the character builder? Calling the character builder a “wizard” is also confusing.
Just because something works in the character builder, that doesn’t mean it’s ready to be published. You should thoroughly playtest and edit your homebrews prior to publishing them.
You cannot create any homebrewed “classes” on DDB, only “subclasses.” Keeping your terminology strait will make it easier for people to help you.
Now, for the specific stuff:
Is your homebrewed subclass in your “collection” or just in your creations?
Is your test character at least 3rd level? Monks do not acquire their subclasses until 3rd level.
Don’t publish your homebrew. If you are still getting things like subclasses and optional class features confused then I can guarantee your homebrew isn’t ready at all and likely won’t be until after several months of playtesting and editing.
The test character in question shows "mystic" as its subclass.
Subclasses are not chosen under "optional features." They are chosen on the main class page of the character builder. In the case of the monk, it would be titled "monastic tradition."
presumably you don't see anything under "optional features" because you haven't purchased Tasha's here. (Optional race and class features are a part of Tasha's.).
One other note: frequently in your post above you talk about creating a homebrew class. This is a bit confusing, because creating a homebrew class is not possible on DDB. What you are creating is a subclass, a term you use later in the post, but not earlier.
I think you and I posted at the same time :) Thank you for looking into this, you were able to view my sheet after I had resolved my problem. I posted my resolution steps. Also apologies for the clumsy wording, I meant subclass everywhere I mentioned class.
In short for those scrolling to the bottom, level your character up to level 3.
In response to your feedback I have edited my earlier post, replacing the word class by subclass everywhere I accidentally used this term, and removed the section on optional class features, which was only being included as a test step.
You don’t need anything “optional” activated to use anything homebrew. Optional Class features were exclusively in Tasha’s Cauldron and you must purchase that book in order to have any for your character. That prompt you are seeing indicates you haven’t purchased Tasha’s Cauldron from DDB, so you may as well turn optional features off since you don’t have any.
When you say “wizard,” are you referring to the Wizard class? Or do you mean the character builder? Calling the character builder a “wizard” is also confusing.
Just because something works in the character builder, that doesn’t mean it’s ready to be published. You should thoroughly playtest and edit your homebrews prior to publishing them.
You cannot create any homebrewed “classes” on DDB, only “subclasses.” Keeping your terminology strait will make it easier for people to help you.
Now, for the specific stuff:
Is your homebrewed subclass in your “collection” or just in your creations?
Is your test character at least 3rd level? Monks do not acquire their subclasses until 3rd level.
Don’t publish your homebrew. If you are still getting things like subclasses and optional class features confused then I can guarantee your homebrew isn’t ready at all and likely won’t be until after several months of playtesting and editing.
I created a subclass for the fighter class and have done everything listed here and nothing has worked. I would like to know any other solutions to get my subclass to work.
I created a subclass for the fighter class and have done everything listed here and nothing has worked. I would like to know any other solutions to get my subclass to work.
First make sure you have a subclass in your collection, and make sure you have Homebrew enabled (check above comments). Choose your class (which the subclass is under), then increase the character's level until you see the "choose subclass" option above. The option isn't necessarily called "choose subclass". It's probably called "[something] archaetype" where [something] is a word related to your class. For example, if it is a subclass of fighter, then it would be called "martial archaetype", i didn't actually use any other classes so it might be called the same.
Can i use subclasses I have created without a subscription?
Your own homebrews are always free for you and your friends to use, and your friends’ homebrews are always free for you to use too. You only need a subscription to use other people’s homebrews, like if you wanted to use mine for example and we weren’t in a campaign together. If we were in a campaign together you could use my homebrews for free too.
It might seem like a stupid question, but how do you actually use other folk's homebrew subclasses? I understand having a subscription and such, but I cannot find the homebrew classes under the usual classes section creating a character. It only shows the typical "ranger, cleric, monk," etc. I thought it would have been similar with races where it just pops up. I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question, but I'm just lost.
There are 20,520ish published subclasses. Having a subscription doesn’t mean all of a sudden everything comes pouring in. Trust me, don’ nobody want that. You first have to go here, search through those 20,520ish subclasses for the ones you want to use, and then [ADD TO COLLECTION]:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/homebrew/subclasses
Once you have a collection of Homebrew, then In the character builder on the Home tab, you need to switch on “Homebrew Content” for that character, the toggle Should be to the right (red),
Then you will be able to find “[Your] Homebrew Collection” in the character builder for that character.
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Ahh gotcha i've done it, thanks a bunch kind stranger :)
https://youtu.be/sza4rh1YzsM
How do I just *use* subclasses, I cant figure it out.
IamSposta gave instructions above. At what point in those instructions are you having problems?
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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I am having trouble as well. The homebrew subclass I am in the middle of creating, which is not ready for publishing - it is marked as ready with respect to feature/level checks, I have followed the instructions here https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/23242-creating-subclasses-guide and here https://www.dndbeyond.com/changelog/204-homebrew-subclasses-april-16th-2018 and I am not having any issues related to either of those links, I am only posting them for context and to speed through the diagnostic process - I simply do not have a finalized version of the subclass yet, and do not want to have to publish it before I test it in the character builder.
Steps I took :
1. Create a homebrew subclass. You probably do not have visibility, but for reference in case someone does, https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/1088243-mystic . Ensure this subclass is in your homebrew collection, https://www.dndbeyond.com/my-collection
2. Load my campaign
3. Create an Unassigned Character from my Campaign
4. Ensure Homebrew Content is on. This is the default setting for my campaign, but I toggled this off, moved forward a page, toggled it back on, and moved forward a page again, as a test step.
5. Advance past the Race Selection wizard page
6. Select Monk as my class
Expected : I am able to select my homebrew subclass in the at higher levels section
Observed : There are no options to select my homebrew subclass.
Additionally, when I page through the rest of the Character Creation Wizard / Character Builder assigning values to all the optional questions then view my sheet, it says "Monk" and under "No Subclass". I have attempted to log out and then back in again as well.
I have clicked save changes to my homebrew subclass both before and after creating this character. I am able to share other homebrew content with my campaign, including magic items I have created.
My test character : https://www.dndbeyond.com/profile/St_Joan_d_Jett/characters/63354892
Thank you all for any help you can give and for looking into this.
I was able to find an answer to my question.
Once you have performed all the above :
You are unable to set a subclass until your character is 3rd level in the "at higher levels" section, this is what was tripping me up. However, once this is done, you are able to access other class features you have marked as showing in the builder. For example, I added a Spellcasting feature, and obtained the Spells option next to Optional Features, proving my subclass loaded.
First off:
Now, for the specific stuff:
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
Responding to: St_Joan_d_Jett:
The test character in question shows "mystic" as its subclass.
Subclasses are not chosen under "optional features." They are chosen on the main class page of the character builder. In the case of the monk, it would be titled "monastic tradition."
presumably you don't see anything under "optional features" because you haven't purchased Tasha's here. (Optional race and class features are a part of Tasha's.).
One other note: frequently in your post above you talk about creating a homebrew class. This is a bit confusing, because creating a homebrew class is not possible on DDB. What you are creating is a subclass, a term you use later in the post, but not earlier.
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
Check your entitlements here. | Support Ticket LInk
I think you and I posted at the same time :) Thank you for looking into this, you were able to view my sheet after I had resolved my problem. I posted my resolution steps. Also apologies for the clumsy wording, I meant subclass everywhere I mentioned class.
In short for those scrolling to the bottom, level your character up to level 3.
In response to your feedback I have edited my earlier post, replacing the word class by subclass everywhere I accidentally used this term, and removed the section on optional class features, which was only being included as a test step.
St_Joan_d_Jett:
You have also apparently missed the comments in my post (I have crossed out the parts you already figured out):
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
I created a subclass for the fighter class and have done everything listed here and nothing has worked. I would like to know any other solutions to get my subclass to work.
Is your Fighter character 3rd level? If so, please see the General FAQ #5: (https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/131411-a-homebrewers-how-to-faq).
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB
This really helped me out, thought I could just not use the homebrew stuff I had. And its such a easy thing to do, and i never knew! Thank you!
First make sure you have a subclass in your collection, and make sure you have Homebrew enabled (check above comments). Choose your class (which the subclass is under), then increase the character's level until you see the "choose subclass" option above. The option isn't necessarily called "choose subclass". It's probably called "[something] archaetype" where [something] is a word related to your class. For example, if it is a subclass of fighter, then it would be called "martial archaetype", i didn't actually use any other classes so it might be called the same.
Can i use subclasses I have created without a subscription?
You do not need to have a subscription to create, share with other people in your campaign, use, or publish all homebrew.
The only reason you would need a subscription when it comes to homebrew is adding someone else's creation to your collection.
How to: Replace DEX in your AC | Jump & Suffocation stats | Build a (Spell & class effect buff system | Wild Shape effect system) | Tool Proficiencies as Custom Skills | Spells at higher levels explained | Superior Fighting/Martial Adept Fix | Snippet Codes Explored - Subclasses | Snippet Math Theory | Homebrew Weapons Explained
Check out my: FEATS | MAGIC ITEMS | MONSTERS | SUBCLASSES Artificer Specialist: Weaveblade
Dndbeyond images not loading A PERMANENT WORKAROUND!!! (thank you Jay_Lane)
Your own homebrews are always free for you and your friends to use, and your friends’ homebrews are always free for you to use too. You only need a subscription to use other people’s homebrews, like if you wanted to use mine for example and we weren’t in a campaign together. If we were in a campaign together you could use my homebrews for free too.
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting
Epic Boons on DDB