Can someone illuminate why I cannot straight up homebrew a class like how Matthew Mercer created the blood hunter class? I find myself wanting to create things that, at the subclass level just doesn't quite work right, i.e reworking some of the base warlock class features that I simply do not want or want to work differently. Is there something I am missing or is this something that just isn't possible for a reason I am not aware of? Any help is much appreciated. d^ u ^b
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(Stormknight):
moved from Feedback to Support
I'll start off with saying that if it were as simple as just flicking a switch to allow users to create classes, then the team would already have flicked that switch.
Every page & function that becomes "user facing" needs a lot of work in terms of ensuring there aren't any errors or security vulnerabilities.
There are many other areas that the team can be developing that are much more beneficial than working on homebrew classes. There are a few players who want Artificer, Mystic, or their own homebrew class on D&D Beyond, but compared to that, the work on character sheets, granular sharing, inventory management, or campaign management is something that will benefit pretty much everyone.
That's how they prioritise.
So, whilst it has been said, "It is not planned to add homebrew CLASSES" the real takeaway from that is the "not planned" - it's not in the current schedule. It may happen later, but for now, you'll have to trust the team at their word about how massively complex it would be.
This is not a functionality available on DDB, nor is it currently planned to be -- though it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it will be considered in the distant future. I for one do hope it becomes a function in the future, but for now accept that they have higher priorities to better serve the game as written and become the premier tool for the legal D&D system (such as growing AL support, Dungeon Master tools like encounter builders or DM screens, the recently added creatures section of the character sheets)
The priority is to offer tools that effect the most players-- So homebrew rulesets, base classes, and other similar aren't a priority. DM Tools, for example, took a backseat to getting the character sheet in absolute tip-top shape because there are far more players than DMs. DM tools would be prioritized before alternate rulesets provided in the DMG for similar reasons. Alternate rulesets from the book would be prioritized before support for homebrewed rulesets-- etc. etc.
In addition to that, classes introduce mechanics that tend to be more unique, and require more rules coding and cross-checking to avoid bugs that can make a non-functional character sheet. We already see now in every bit of homebrew that a mistake in creating something can make a character sheet non-functional. Imagine it's not just a magic item you can unequip though, but the core class that makes the entire character engine run. This is a major hurdle beyond the more immediately relevant point of 'What will help the most people' and prioritizing features by that metric.
Edit: I took too long to write, and Stormknight is much more succinct and knowledgable. All hail Stormknight!
Edit: I took too long to write, and Stormknight is much more succinct and knowledgable. All hail Stormknight!
*takes a screenshot*
Ahem ... though I did have to go back and edit out the typos after posting. :)
In all seriousness though, the development team has more than doubled in size and should be delivering significantly more features during 2019. From what has been shared with me, these new features are going to be amazingly cool. As always, the team take things that the community has requested and then delivery waaaaay more in functionality.
Can someone illuminate why I cannot straight up homebrew a class like how Matthew Mercer created the blood hunter class? I find myself wanting to create things that, at the subclass level just doesn't quite work right, i.e reworking some of the base warlock class features that I simply do not want or want to work differently. Is there something I am missing or is this something that just isn't possible for a reason I am not aware of? Any help is much appreciated. d^ u ^b
Hi there Baai,
I'll start off with saying that if it were as simple as just flicking a switch to allow users to create classes, then the team would already have flicked that switch.
Every page & function that becomes "user facing" needs a lot of work in terms of ensuring there aren't any errors or security vulnerabilities.
There are many other areas that the team can be developing that are much more beneficial than working on homebrew classes. There are a few players who want Artificer, Mystic, or their own homebrew class on D&D Beyond, but compared to that, the work on character sheets, granular sharing, inventory management, or campaign management is something that will benefit pretty much everyone.
That's how they prioritise.
So, whilst it has been said, "It is not planned to add homebrew CLASSES" the real takeaway from that is the "not planned" - it's not in the current schedule. It may happen later, but for now, you'll have to trust the team at their word about how massively complex it would be.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
This is not a functionality available on DDB, nor is it currently planned to be -- though it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it will be considered in the distant future. I for one do hope it becomes a function in the future, but for now accept that they have higher priorities to better serve the game as written and become the premier tool for the legal D&D system (such as growing AL support, Dungeon Master tools like encounter builders or DM screens, the recently added creatures section of the character sheets)
The priority is to offer tools that effect the most players-- So homebrew rulesets, base classes, and other similar aren't a priority. DM Tools, for example, took a backseat to getting the character sheet in absolute tip-top shape because there are far more players than DMs. DM tools would be prioritized before alternate rulesets provided in the DMG for similar reasons. Alternate rulesets from the book would be prioritized before support for homebrewed rulesets-- etc. etc.
In addition to that, classes introduce mechanics that tend to be more unique, and require more rules coding and cross-checking to avoid bugs that can make a non-functional character sheet. We already see now in every bit of homebrew that a mistake in creating something can make a character sheet non-functional. Imagine it's not just a magic item you can unequip though, but the core class that makes the entire character engine run. This is a major hurdle beyond the more immediately relevant point of 'What will help the most people' and prioritizing features by that metric.
Edit: I took too long to write, and Stormknight is much more succinct and knowledgable. All hail Stormknight!
*takes a screenshot*
Ahem ... though I did have to go back and edit out the typos after posting. :)
In all seriousness though, the development team has more than doubled in size and should be delivering significantly more features during 2019. From what has been shared with me, these new features are going to be amazingly cool. As always, the team take things that the community has requested and then delivery waaaaay more in functionality.
Pun-loving nerd | Faith Elisabeth Lilley | She/Her/Hers | Profile art by Becca Golins
If you need help with homebrew, please post on the homebrew forums, where multiple staff and moderators can read your post and help you!
"We got this, no problem! I'll take the twenty on the left - you guys handle the one on the right!"🔊
Have there been any updates on this yet?
Short answer, No. They are still not planning on implementing homebrew classes anytime soon.
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