I'm just your everyday dungeon master. Ignore that jar full of souls. And those bones in the corner are just props, don't worry. I'm definitely NOT a lich. Definitely.
1) You need to pick a fantasy trope / archetype found in multiple sources (books/TV shows / movies / videogames / comicbooks) that guides your design. You need to have some fantasy that people will want to play out in mind and then design the class to enable them to play out that fantasy.
2) You need to choose the general type of class you think best fulfills that fantasy:
A resourceless martial class that is always ready to go. (like a barbarian / rogue)
A spike-y martial class that can give it's all to be very powerful but a limited number of times per day. (like a monk/fighter)
A half-caster that uses magic to enhance or supplement their martial prowess (like a paladin/ranger)
A tough spellcaster with a narrower spell selection that is supplemented with minor martial abilities (like a cleric/druid)
A squishy spellcaster that must rely on their powerful spells (like a sorcerer/wizard)
As part of this you need to decide which aspects of the game your class is best and worst at: do they deal high single-target damage? do they control/kill swarms of minions? do they get the party where they need to go safely? do they keep the party safe outside of combat? do they do the talking with NPCs? do they control enemies to prevent they doing stuff? do they kill enemies? do they keep the party alive & well to be able to keep fighting? Are they good at sneaking / spying on the baddies? --- Note: you should be picking 2 of these abilities for your class to be especially good at and 2 for them to be not good at.
3) You need to decide a "hallmark" ability that defines what makes this class special and unique compared to all other classes. e.g. for bards it is bardic inspiration, for rogues it's sneak attack, for barbarians it's rage, for druids it is wildshape... This hallmark ability will be what you build off of to make key-stone abilities for each subclass.
I want to make a homebrew class that's balanced and uses the 2024 rules do you have any tips or guidelines?
What kinda class r u going for? Martial or spellcaster?
Certified lover boy, certified dungeon master. WOP WOP WOP WOP!
I'm just your everyday dungeon master. Ignore that jar full of souls. And those bones in the corner are just props, don't worry. I'm definitely NOT a lich. Definitely.
Martial or spell caster but if it is a spellcaster I want it to focus on charming enemies
1) You need to pick a fantasy trope / archetype found in multiple sources (books/TV shows / movies / videogames / comicbooks) that guides your design. You need to have some fantasy that people will want to play out in mind and then design the class to enable them to play out that fantasy.
2) You need to choose the general type of class you think best fulfills that fantasy:
As part of this you need to decide which aspects of the game your class is best and worst at: do they deal high single-target damage? do they control/kill swarms of minions? do they get the party where they need to go safely? do they keep the party safe outside of combat? do they do the talking with NPCs? do they control enemies to prevent they doing stuff? do they kill enemies? do they keep the party alive & well to be able to keep fighting? Are they good at sneaking / spying on the baddies? --- Note: you should be picking 2 of these abilities for your class to be especially good at and 2 for them to be not good at.
3) You need to decide a "hallmark" ability that defines what makes this class special and unique compared to all other classes. e.g. for bards it is bardic inspiration, for rogues it's sneak attack, for barbarians it's rage, for druids it is wildshape... This hallmark ability will be what you build off of to make key-stone abilities for each subclass.
Thanks