Hey everyone, i'm a Dungeon Master and I love my Players. Running two campaigns weekly and while we don't go crazy with it, there is a bit of homebrew in both. I have came across many that are good or excellent even, but always by what I find or what some of my Players find. Wanted to know from you guys, either DM's or Players, what homebrews you came across that is one of the best or favorites you've seen / created?
Sadly most homebrew that people have come up with is so unbalanced that it is not practical.
I try to avoid Home Brew. That being said
I created a class I call the Corpsman. It can only do healing and aid types of cleric spells as well as advanced first aid. It is a party NPC Cleric when nobody wants to play one.
I am right now working on a Ring of Healing or call it Ring of the Corpsman, or Ring of the Cleric.
It advances with the wearer. At level 1 is can cast cure wounds as a 1st level Cleric once per long rest. It is a bonus action to use it and it only works on the person wearing it. However, it is more limited on spell slots. At first level it has 1 slot, at third level it gets a second slot to a maximum of 9 slots at level 17. It can only do Cure Wounds and Heal
Sadly most homebrew that people have come up with is so unbalanced that it is not practical.
I disagree, most Homebrew is based on DMs not wanting to play in the settings and modules provided, so they come up with their own settings and items. Critical Role is nothing more than an overly successful Homebrew that has become a media sensation, and now they are publishing rules books.
The broken unbalanced Homebrew things are usually just Non-DMs trying to design Power fantasy, so it really doesn't count.
---
Best Homebrew... Probably the Star Wars or Mass Effect 5e systems. They are technically fan supported Homebrews designed and balanced for fair play. They are good enough for my Game.
For fantasy games, I tend to take AD&D books look for things from that era, and see how to make it work in the current editions. I suggest Dungeon Dad and Pointy Hat for ideas. (Both have Youtube channels, and they give out Google docs of their creations)
Sadly most homebrew that people have come up with is so unbalanced that it is not practical.
I disagree, most Homebrew is based on DMs not wanting to play in the settings and modules provided, so they come up with their own settings and items. Critical Role is nothing more than an overly successful Homebrew that has become a media sensation, and now they are publishing rules books.
The broken unbalanced Homebrew things are usually just Non-DMs trying to design Power fantasy, so it really doesn't count.
It really depends on how you look for it. If you just browse the homebrew classes or items here on DDB, the great majority of it is quite unbalanced and poorly written. You need to have a pretty good grasp of balance yourself to find the good ones even after filtering by downloads/upvotes/whatever.
Alternatively, if you mainly look at places like Kobold Press or other places that actually sell homebrew for money, those products obviously have higher standards.
One supplement I've enjoyed is Strongholds and Followers available through MCDM. A lot of great ideas for building a "home base" for your party as well as recruiting NPC followers.
@scatterbraind " It really depends on how you look for it."
I think I pointed out in my post these points fairly well, DMs doing Homebrew which is actually the vast majority of actually used Homebrew, and almost every DM uses, myself included, is going to tend towards balanced. While here at DnDB the homebrew section is basically where people can build power fantasy. I personally use open groups for 5e material for my games. I think I made a few joke posts in the Homebrew section years ago. Still proud of my first Homebrew, and still tempted to use it against players.
I’d say one of the best made was to take the weapon masteries from the last one dnd play test and make a feat that works for weapon categories, so say a master swordsman use a weapon mastery for any sword, and can change using a different mastery as a bonus action, here they are called forms or stances not masteries, eg dragon stance does the push, pixie stance does vex, etc. So far it has made martials far more dynamic and they still don’t out shine mages, plus it is not so good every martial feels s/he has to take it.
@scatterbraind " It really depends on how you look for it."
I think I pointed out in my post these points fairly well, DMs doing Homebrew which is actually the vast majority of actually used Homebrew, and almost every DM uses, myself included, is going to tend towards balanced. While here at DnDB the homebrew section is basically where people can build power fantasy. I personally use open groups for 5e material for my games. I think I made a few joke posts in the Homebrew section years ago. Still proud of my first Homebrew, and still tempted to use it against players.
Well, that's down to this community, isn't it? If more good DMs posted things on the homebrew here, there would be more good homebrew here, wouldn't there? It's really down on us that the situation is what it is.
I personally am generous about sharing my stuff on as many platforms as possible because I know by hard experience what its like to be limited in the sites you are able to access or deal with because of disability or limitations or poverty or whatever, and I'm more than happy to share whatever homebrew I come up with with whoever's interested. I took a long break from D&D after I got disgusted with 2nd edition, just came back to 5e so I might be a little rusty at keeping things balanced or might not understand a new rule change that makes these things more powerful than I realize, but here they are (except the College of Sensuality, not quite done with that yet; its basically inspired by that alien the main characters in Larry Niven's Ringworld book meet, the comfort/sex worker on the long distance alien ships who views her profession as not only a profession but an art)
I’d say one of the best made was to take the weapon masteries from the last one dnd play test and make a feat that works for weapon categories, so say a master swordsman use a weapon mastery for any sword, and can change using a different mastery as a bonus action, here they are called forms or stances not masteries, eg dragon stance does the push, pixie stance does vex, etc. So far it has made martials far more dynamic and they still don’t out shine mages, plus it is not so good every martial feels s/he has to take it.
Sounds very interesting. Could you explain it for someone who has no idea what the last one dnd play test or any of the rest of 'em said, and basically needs explained what you are talking about essentially from scratch?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
I think I pointed out in my post these points fairly well, DMs doing Homebrew which is actually the vast majority of actually used Homebrew, and almost every DM uses, myself included, is going to tend towards balanced.
I was just clarifying, since homebrew material is not marked as "power fantasy" or "DM-created-actually-used-homebrew," nor do I think those two categories are exclusive. You're basically saying that bad homebrew is bad and good homebrew is good without really saying how to tell or where to find it.
this is some great balanced homebrew content my friend has made and its super flavorful as well as easy to understand. extremely rewarding but not OP or stupid like most trash homebrew people just throw together. you all should check it out.
I've been publishing homebrew for going-on 2 years now (links in my sig to the relevant threads, they're mixed between DMs Guild and DTRPG).
Of my collection:
Favourite Adventure - the Steepfield Cheese Chase, which has 86 puns
Favourite Playable Race - Faerie Dragonborn, who have their own lore and are more than just small dragonborn
Second Favourite - the Wild Hunt, which allows you to imbue any steed or vehicle you are riding/driving with elemental power. One of these is fire. Yes, it's Night Rider for D&D.
Favourite Class - Circle of the Spiritwood Druid, which lets you transform into the Spirit of the Oak, Briar, or Vine using your wildshape
Favourite Item - Published would be the Cipher Hilt. Unpublished (as yet, I have 86 pages to format for this to be released) is the Big Bag of Boundless Ball Bearings, which is like a bag of ball bearings which connects to a storeroom in Mechanus. Its capacity for chaos is quite marvelous.
Favourite Magical Table has to be the Cursed Gems I made for my campaign, which has 300 actual gemstones (with some glass mixed in), each of which is unique in appearance, has an actual gemstone name from real life, and each inflicts a different curse on the target when thrown at them. Some are innocuous, and others are life-changing (examples being that smoke always drifts towards you at a fire, or that you always glow with the same intensity as the moon, or that gravity reverses for you).
Agree that a lot of homebrew is overly powerful because it was made by someone who wanted to do something, not by the person who has to deal with it. Homebrew made by DMs is usually more balanced than that made by players!
I love the constant responses of "all homebrew is OP nonsense. Check out my homebrew which is good and balanced.
Depends, players post OP busted stuff. DMs tend to post stuff to be used by their players and is usually somewhat balanced, and of course there are a few humorous memes in there as well.
examples: (ignore the Mastery as that wasn't added by me)
(and since I listed a different meme I made before in this thread over a year ago, I will go with a different meme. Also something I would put in my game, but I would need an NPC with it. Probably Major Alex Louis Armstrong.)
Whenever you make homebrew, it's just best to get someone to proof read as well as test out your homebrew content.
It can be balanced but you just need another set of eyes to ensure what you're cooking is good otherwise it can be OP ya. I have made hot garbage before but also some bangers- it really comes down to execution.
Whenever you make homebrew, it's just best to get someone to proof read as well as test out your homebrew content.
It can be balanced but you just need another set of eyes to ensure what you're cooking is good otherwise it can be OP ya. I have made hot garbage before but also some bangers- it really comes down to execution.
Agreed. That’s part of why I always have at least three other people review everything I write and put it through as much playtesting as I can, usually with repeated rounds of external review after each revision. I try my darndest to put stuff through the ringer as much as I can before I publish anything.
Hey everyone, i'm a Dungeon Master and I love my Players. Running two campaigns weekly and while we don't go crazy with it, there is a bit of homebrew in both. I have came across many that are good or excellent even, but always by what I find or what some of my Players find. Wanted to know from you guys, either DM's or Players, what homebrews you came across that is one of the best or favorites you've seen / created?
Sadly most homebrew that people have come up with is so unbalanced that it is not practical.
I try to avoid Home Brew. That being said
I created a class I call the Corpsman. It can only do healing and aid types of cleric spells as well as advanced first aid. It is a party NPC Cleric when nobody wants to play one.
I am right now working on a Ring of Healing or call it Ring of the Corpsman, or Ring of the Cleric.
It advances with the wearer. At level 1 is can cast cure wounds as a 1st level Cleric once per long rest. It is a bonus action to use it and it only works on the person wearing it. However, it is more limited on spell slots. At first level it has 1 slot, at third level it gets a second slot to a maximum of 9 slots at level 17. It can only do Cure Wounds and Heal
I disagree, most Homebrew is based on DMs not wanting to play in the settings and modules provided, so they come up with their own settings and items. Critical Role is nothing more than an overly successful Homebrew that has become a media sensation, and now they are publishing rules books.
The broken unbalanced Homebrew things are usually just Non-DMs trying to design Power fantasy, so it really doesn't count.
---
Best Homebrew... Probably the Star Wars or Mass Effect 5e systems. They are technically fan supported Homebrews designed and balanced for fair play. They are good enough for my Game.
For fantasy games, I tend to take AD&D books look for things from that era, and see how to make it work in the current editions. I suggest Dungeon Dad and Pointy Hat for ideas. (Both have Youtube channels, and they give out Google docs of their creations)
It really depends on how you look for it. If you just browse the homebrew classes or items here on DDB, the great majority of it is quite unbalanced and poorly written. You need to have a pretty good grasp of balance yourself to find the good ones even after filtering by downloads/upvotes/whatever.
Alternatively, if you mainly look at places like Kobold Press or other places that actually sell homebrew for money, those products obviously have higher standards.
One supplement I've enjoyed is Strongholds and Followers available through MCDM. A lot of great ideas for building a "home base" for your party as well as recruiting NPC followers.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
@scatterbraind " It really depends on how you look for it."
I think I pointed out in my post these points fairly well, DMs doing Homebrew which is actually the vast majority of actually used Homebrew, and almost every DM uses, myself included, is going to tend towards balanced. While here at DnDB the homebrew section is basically where people can build power fantasy. I personally use open groups for 5e material for my games. I think I made a few joke posts in the Homebrew section years ago. Still proud of my first Homebrew, and still tempted to use it against players.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/19804-thieyre
Meme to monster
I’d say one of the best made was to take the weapon masteries from the last one dnd play test and make a feat that works for weapon categories, so say a master swordsman use a weapon mastery for any sword, and can change using a different mastery as a bonus action, here they are called forms or stances not masteries, eg dragon stance does the push, pixie stance does vex, etc. So far it has made martials far more dynamic and they still don’t out shine mages, plus it is not so good every martial feels s/he has to take it.
My Brews:
Race: Tropical Dwaves Spells: Summon Spirits Rites of Mummification
Monster: Osprey Feat: Skill Mastery–Animal Handler (Provides DCs for training animals applicable to those with and without this feat)
Well, that's down to this community, isn't it? If more good DMs posted things on the homebrew here, there would be more good homebrew here, wouldn't there? It's really down on us that the situation is what it is.
I personally am generous about sharing my stuff on as many platforms as possible because I know by hard experience what its like to be limited in the sites you are able to access or deal with because of disability or limitations or poverty or whatever, and I'm more than happy to share whatever homebrew I come up with with whoever's interested. I took a long break from D&D after I got disgusted with 2nd edition, just came back to 5e so I might be a little rusty at keeping things balanced or might not understand a new rule change that makes these things more powerful than I realize, but here they are (except the College of Sensuality, not quite done with that yet; its basically inspired by that alien the main characters in Larry Niven's Ringworld book meet, the comfort/sex worker on the long distance alien ships who views her profession as not only a profession but an art)
====
edit: CoS prob has been done already anyway ....
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Sounds very interesting. Could you explain it for someone who has no idea what the last one dnd play test or any of the rest of 'em said, and basically needs explained what you are talking about essentially from scratch?
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Most HB here is terrible. These are some of my the things I've made which I think are actually good and decently balanced:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/877405-assassins-garrote - This one can be OP if the player is smart about it and the DM isn't. But it is really unique and gives the infiltration playstyle actual oophf behind it.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/946107-champion-of-the-realm - This one isn't that interesting but it is well balanced, just a fix to the Champion Fighter subclass.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/798149-school-of-lichdom - This one is another one that radically changes play style, but I think it works out relatively balanced but I wish I could play test it to see how it actually works out.
These two are silly ones but I think are actually pretty balanced at the same time.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/771700-oath-of-bureaucracy
https://www.dndbeyond.com/subclasses/947642-tyromancer
I was just clarifying, since homebrew material is not marked as "power fantasy" or "DM-created-actually-used-homebrew," nor do I think those two categories are exclusive. You're basically saying that bad homebrew is bad and good homebrew is good without really saying how to tell or where to find it.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Nathan Allred
this is some great balanced homebrew content my friend has made and its super flavorful as well as easy to understand. extremely rewarding but not OP or stupid like most trash homebrew people just throw together. you all should check it out.
I've been publishing homebrew for going-on 2 years now (links in my sig to the relevant threads, they're mixed between DMs Guild and DTRPG).
Of my collection:
Favourite Adventure - the Steepfield Cheese Chase, which has 86 puns
Favourite Playable Race - Faerie Dragonborn, who have their own lore and are more than just small dragonborn
Second Favourite - the Wild Hunt, which allows you to imbue any steed or vehicle you are riding/driving with elemental power. One of these is fire. Yes, it's Night Rider for D&D.
Favourite Class - Circle of the Spiritwood Druid, which lets you transform into the Spirit of the Oak, Briar, or Vine using your wildshape
Favourite Item - Published would be the Cipher Hilt. Unpublished (as yet, I have 86 pages to format for this to be released) is the Big Bag of Boundless Ball Bearings, which is like a bag of ball bearings which connects to a storeroom in Mechanus. Its capacity for chaos is quite marvelous.
Favourite Magical Table has to be the Cursed Gems I made for my campaign, which has 300 actual gemstones (with some glass mixed in), each of which is unique in appearance, has an actual gemstone name from real life, and each inflicts a different curse on the target when thrown at them. Some are innocuous, and others are life-changing (examples being that smoke always drifts towards you at a fire, or that you always glow with the same intensity as the moon, or that gravity reverses for you).
Agree that a lot of homebrew is overly powerful because it was made by someone who wanted to do something, not by the person who has to deal with it. Homebrew made by DMs is usually more balanced than that made by players!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
DM's Guild Releases on This Thread Or check them all out on DMs Guild!
DrivethruRPG Releases on This Thread - latest release: My Character is a Werewolf: balanced rules for Lycanthropy!
I have started discussing/reviewing 3rd party D&D content on Substack - stay tuned for semi-regular posts!
I may be biased, but I’m partial to this author’s stuff: (https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=IamSposta&page=1&sort=4a).
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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I love the constant responses of "all homebrew is OP nonsense. Check out my homebrew which is good and balanced.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
WOW,,, necro thread... I really wish DnDB had a 6 month autolock feature.
Depends, players post OP busted stuff. DMs tend to post stuff to be used by their players and is usually somewhat balanced, and of course there are a few humorous memes in there as well.
examples: (ignore the Mastery as that wasn't added by me)
For the loot roll of my players: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/3124219-beautiful-sword
(Technically a meme, but I made this as a 'power fantasy' joke. It's been used by people too which makes this even funnier.)
https://www.dndbeyond.com/backgrounds/110141-isekai
(and since I listed a different meme I made before in this thread over a year ago, I will go with a different meme. Also something I would put in my game, but I would need an NPC with it. Probably Major Alex Louis Armstrong.)
https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/3272675-bigflex-body-builders-quarter-staff-of-working-out
I didn’t do that first part, only did the second part. Just putting that out there.
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I'll one-up you. All homebrew is OP nonsense and DON'T check out my homebrew, which is hot garbage.
Whenever you make homebrew, it's just best to get someone to proof read as well as test out your homebrew content.
It can be balanced but you just need another set of eyes to ensure what you're cooking is good otherwise it can be OP ya.
I have made hot garbage before but also some bangers- it really comes down to execution.
Agreed. That’s part of why I always have at least three other people review everything I write and put it through as much playtesting as I can, usually with repeated rounds of external review after each revision. I try my darndest to put stuff through the ringer as much as I can before I publish anything.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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This might not be the best, but I created some spells and a race that are fun:
Spell: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2644151-emotional-damage-better
Race: https://www.dndbeyond.com/species/1756988-half-angel
Spell: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2636167-uncontrollable-levitation
Wand: https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/9051365-wand-of-emotion
I hope these things help!