I'm going to be making my first homebrew race soon, and I want to know if there's a guide I should stick to for balance, just so I know how to keep my character fair for everyone else while still having some fun.
Home brew is inherently unbalancing due to factors that appear on paper balanced but are not upon test/play.
The most balanced is to use an existing tested and approved species, rename it, make it look different . Of course the cynic can say why bother?
This also goes to what/why you want a homebrewed species. You can also take an existing one give it a different back ground and with minor change or 2 give them that ability you want them to have. But this can be unbalanced.
I'm going to be making my first homebrew race soon, and I want to know if there's a guide I should stick to for balance, just so I know how to keep my character fair for everyone else while still having some fun.
The balance for homebrew is ultimately in the DM's control; you shouldn't be trying to put anything together without giving them final say. They're the ones that know what the game's going to be like.
There's no guide as such, but you can look at the species in the new PHB for guidance. In particular, it should be helpful for those with inherent spellcasting.
First, I’ll note there are custom species rules in Tasha’s.
But, besides that, I’d go a step further than jl8e and say you shouldn’t be homebrewing for your own character at all. Homebrewing is for the DM to do if they want to introduce something new into the world. Players might homebrew for their own fun, but shouldn’t expect a DM to allow a custom species, that’s a part of world building which is the DM’s purview.
Instead, I’d suggest talking with your DM about what you’re looking for. Could be they’re open to it and I’m just being a party-pooper, could be you can get there by just reskinning an existing species, something like that. I guess I’m saying more, talk to them, don’t just show up with something homebrew and expect others to accept it.
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I'm going to be making my first homebrew race soon, and I want to know if there's a guide I should stick to for balance, just so I know how to keep my character fair for everyone else while still having some fun.
Home brew is inherently unbalancing due to factors that appear on paper balanced but are not upon test/play.
The most balanced is to use an existing tested and approved species, rename it, make it look different . Of course the cynic can say why bother?
This also goes to what/why you want a homebrewed species. You can also take an existing one give it a different back ground and with minor change or 2 give them that ability you want them to have. But this can be unbalanced.
The balance for homebrew is ultimately in the DM's control; you shouldn't be trying to put anything together without giving them final say. They're the ones that know what the game's going to be like.
There's no guide as such, but you can look at the species in the new PHB for guidance. In particular, it should be helpful for those with inherent spellcasting.
First, I’ll note there are custom species rules in Tasha’s.
But, besides that, I’d go a step further than jl8e and say you shouldn’t be homebrewing for your own character at all. Homebrewing is for the DM to do if they want to introduce something new into the world. Players might homebrew for their own fun, but shouldn’t expect a DM to allow a custom species, that’s a part of world building which is the DM’s purview.
Instead, I’d suggest talking with your DM about what you’re looking for. Could be they’re open to it and I’m just being a party-pooper, could be you can get there by just reskinning an existing species, something like that. I guess I’m saying more, talk to them, don’t just show up with something homebrew and expect others to accept it.