Need help with new homebrew classes

Hey! I started DM-ing about a year ago and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for homebrew classes if you already have some please let me know.

I already have an idea of a human that I able to turn into a dragon. The age of the dragon depends on the level of the character but the first few times they change they have to roll a con save DC 13 to see if they try to eat their party if they succeed 5-10 times in a row depending on the age of the dragon,  if they succeed the save the required amount of times they don't need to make the save when they transform. If they do not transform for 8 days, if they try to transform they have to make a strangth save depending on the age of the dragon (DM's choice) If they fail they can no longer transform into a dragon for 13 days (If they fail the strength save 3 times they can never change into a dragon again) after that they have to make a strength check DC 14 to be able transform into a dragon again 

If you have any ways to improve this please feel free to let me know.

Thanks so much!

If you want to do this, your better bet might be to create some kind of Druid subclass. I'd also suggest you look at the new Circle of the Titan subclass from the latest Unearthed Arcana for inspiration.

As a general rule, 1-to-1 transformations into complex creatures is something the 2024 rules have avoided. This is because it creates all kinds of questions and conflicts with rules. It's usually better (as they do in the Circle of the Titans) to create a unique stat block for the player to use, rather than just say "they get to be X kind of dragon." You can create leser, greater, ancient versions of the stat block and use that. You might suggest using something like the dragon summon block from Summon Dragon as a jumping-off point. Either way, Wild Shape is a good place to start when looking at how to do a shapechanging class.

If I'm homebrewing, and my goal is to remain consistent with the existing character class rulesets, then I wouldn't use a rule where the character has to make increasingly infrequent checks to use a class feature. If you look through the 2024 classes, you'll see they are almost entirely free of penalties. This is a deliberate shift from past rulesets, so that the classes are focused on the positives, rather than disincentivizing players from choosing a class because something might be "too hard" or might prevent them from doing something they want to do. Rare exceptions (such as the Barbarian's Rage feature) tend to be more about placing restrictions in specific situations, and also tend to be stubborn holdovers from previous editions.

I'd also HIGHLY advise against succeed-or-suck mechanics in your homebrews. These create heavy incentives for players to lean into abilities and skills which allow them to succeed on crucial checks, and you end up with a character class that lacks dynamism. If you need to pass a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check to use your core class ability, for instance, every person who takes the class is going to lean into Strength and Athletics, just to avoid failing the check and wasting the ability. Better to put a use-per-rest limiter on the feature (again, see Wild Shape).

I'd ALSO advise against any class feature where a character might "accidentally" eat their party. Not only is it not terribly thematic (dragons famously possess high levels of intellect and self-control), these mechanics are alienating for players. If someone at my table eats my character, I, as a player, am going to resent them, as a player, for selfishly choosing a character option knowing they were ignoring the risk it would pose to me.

Last... I mean, that's an interesting idea for a class feature, but if you're building a whole class, you need considerably more meat on that bone. Just "turns into a dragon sometimes" isn't going to flesh out an entire class. I'm going to suggest, again, that you look into a subclass of some sort, or possibly just a homebrew race. I'd also encourage you to head over to the Homebrew forum for more feedback, as that's where you're going to get people more interested in homebrew-specific questions and answers.

This feels like more of a subclass, possibly fighter or druid, than a full class to me. Circle of the Draconic Wrath, Dragon Knight, etc. A full class around this would likely need heavy lore and be worked into a setting, not dropped in. I find the idea that a player turns into a dragon and then if they fail a save, well, time to roll up new character(s). If anything, I would build this feature into a magic item that one can take the risk of using if they really need to do so. I might also say that I don't understand the abilities being used for the saving throws. I think that wisdom or charisma makes more sense to me, not strength and constitution, as it is the mental aspect of keeping control over yourself, but that is up to you. 

I think that Homebrewing an entire class can be a little ambitious, but if you would enjoy doing that then I think you should go ahead. It can take a lot of playtesting and fine-tuning, and those are days to months to years of dedication that might not even bear any fruit for you. If you really find yourself needing something new, start small with your Homebrew- a Feat or a Subclass or something. See how that goes, and make your judgements on whether or not it is worth your time. I recommend checking out some third party content. Valda's Spire of Secrets has ten classes and a heck of a ton of subclasses, so you can get that if you're willing to pay for it. It could give you some inspiration for your own stuff. 

And there is a Homebrew forum on beyond, like RWinnie stated. The people there probably have a lot more ideas than I can offer.

Quote from WolfeCriedPup >>

This feels like more of a subclass, possibly fighter or druid, than a full class to me. Circle of the Draconic Wrath, Dragon Knight, etc. A full class around this would likely need heavy lore and be worked into a setting, not dropped in. I find the idea that a player turns into a dragon and then if they fail a save, well, time to roll up new character(s). If anything, I would build this feature into a magic item that one can take the risk of using if they really need to do so. I might also say that I don't understand the abilities being used for the saving throws. I think that wisdom or charisma makes more sense to me, not strength and constitution, as it is the mental aspect of keeping control over yourself, but that is up to you. 

I think that Homebrewing an entire class can be a little ambitious, but if you would enjoy doing that then I think you should go ahead. It can take a lot of playtesting and fine-tuning, and those are days to months to years of dedication that might not even bear any fruit for you. If you really find yourself needing something new, start small with your Homebrew- a Feat or a Subclass or something. See how that goes, and make your judgements on whether or not it is worth your time. I recommend checking out some third party content. Valda's Spire of Secrets has ten classes and a heck of a ton of subclasses, so you can get that if you're willing to pay for it. It could give you some inspiration for your own stuff. 

And there is a Homebrew forum on beyond, like RWinnie stated. The people there probably have a lot more ideas than I can offer.

Quote from RWinnie >>

If you want to do this, your better bet might be to create some kind of Druid subclass. I'd also suggest you look at the new Circle of the Titan subclass from the latest Unearthed Arcana for inspiration.

As a general rule, 1-to-1 transformations into complex creatures is something the 2024 rules have avoided. This is because it creates all kinds of questions and conflicts with rules. It's usually better (as they do in the Circle of the Titans) to create a unique stat block for the player to use, rather than just say "they get to be X kind of dragon." You can create leser, greater, ancient versions of the stat block and use that. You might suggest using something like the dragon summon block from Summon Dragon as a jumping-off point. Either way, Wild Shape is a good place to start when looking at how to do a shapechanging class.

If I'm homebrewing, and my goal is to remain consistent with the existing character class rulesets, then I wouldn't use a rule where the character has to make increasingly infrequent checks to use a class feature. If you look through the 2024 classes, you'll see they are almost entirely free of penalties. This is a deliberate shift from past rulesets, so that the classes are focused on the positives, rather than disincentivizing players from choosing a class because something might be "too hard" or might prevent them from doing something they want to do. Rare exceptions (such as the Barbarian's Rage feature) tend to be more about placing restrictions in specific situations, and also tend to be stubborn holdovers from previous editions.

I'd also HIGHLY advise against succeed-or-suck mechanics in your homebrews. These create heavy incentives for players to lean into abilities and skills which allow them to succeed on crucial checks, and you end up with a character class that lacks dynamism. If you need to pass a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check to use your core class ability, for instance, every person who takes the class is going to lean into Strength and Athletics, just to avoid failing the check and wasting the ability. Better to put a use-per-rest limiter on the feature (again, see Wild Shape).

I'd ALSO advise against any class feature where a character might "accidentally" eat their party. Not only is it not terribly thematic (dragons famously possess high levels of intellect and self-control), these mechanics are alienating for players. If someone at my table eats my character, I, as a player, am going to resent them, as a player, for selfishly choosing a character option knowing they were ignoring the risk it would pose to me.

Last... I mean, that's an interesting idea for a class feature, but if you're building a whole class, you need considerably more meat on that bone. Just "turns into a dragon sometimes" isn't going to flesh out an entire class. I'm going to suggest, again, that you look into a subclass of some sort, or possibly just a homebrew race. I'd also encourage you to head over to the Homebrew forum for more feedback, as that's where you're going to get people more interested in homebrew-specific questions and answers.

 Thank you both for the information and If you are willing to give any feedback to what I do as I progress through out making and improving homebrew