So i've always thought trying D&D would be fun, but was never really motivated to get into it. Recently i saw some YT vids of "Outsidexbox" playing and it looked really fun and inspired me to look into it further... but none of the basic races or classes really suited me(a veteran of RPGs and MMOs). That just inspired me further to come up with an original character that pulls from my own experiences in the fantasy worlds ive explored and enjoyed most of my life.
So obvious this isn't done yet, I still need to finish the backstory(it's done in my head 100% i just haven't finished writing it yet, I think its quite good... but then dont all parents think their babies are cute) and I need to finish putting in the advancement stones, there will be 40 in all. My thinking is that the DM(dungeon master, thats right, right?) will roll w/e there is a chest and if its above 10, or even/odd or w/e(these are the things i need help with, this is all such a quagmire to me, but im very sincere in learning) theres a chance that one of the stones will be in the chest and each of the stones has a number value assigned to it, then I EAT the stone and absorb ONE of the THREE powers it contains(I get to choose which one). Balancing and redundancy is something im really worried about since I pretty much don't know anything about whats already in the game.
Name: SKREEK, Formerly Knight Captain of the Necromancer Trions Demon Army
RACE: REANIMATED HUMAN SKELETON IMBUED WITH MAGICAL STONES
JOB(class): Red Mage ~ physically able to handle himself in a hand to hand fight, but must rely on magicks to buff himself and party members and debuffs to the enemy to be victorious
The LEFT EYE is a RED GEM(find name later) that imbues great intelligence and battle prowess
The RIGHT EYE is a YELLOW GEM(find name later) that RESTRAINS the gifts of the RED GEM(fnl), keeping Skreek under Trions control
Nestled INSIDE Skreeks brain cavity is a BLUE GEM(find name later) that allows for the casting of magicks, simple at first due to the restraints of the YELLOW GEM(fnl) however its power can grow with time, its soft glow can be seen emanating through Skreeks mouth and nose
Immune to poison, immune to bleeding resistant to electricity, resistant to sleep weak to fire very weak to blunt
Skreek has no memory of his time as a human, his only clue as to who we was is a cheap brass ring with an inscription on the inside of the band that reads: "yours forever, Liabelle"
||ACTUAL BACKSTORY||
Long ago, Trion, a lowly necromancer, an apprentice infact to the Fearsome Chekotay: Bringer of the Delta-Deaths... was bored and snooping around his masters library. In his snoopings he came across a book loosely chained to the wall and adorned with rather plain looking skulls. This excited young Trion and almost in sync with his rising excitement the skulls at the corners of the book began to glow and become more ornate and the chains began to tighten. Needless to say this only spurred Trion on further, gripping, kicking and prying at the book which has now become hot to the touch! The book became too hot to touch and burned Trions hands and infact began to smoke and singe the books around it. Trion began to panic and ran out of the room, however when he reached the door he heard the distinct sound of chains rattling. This stopped him in his tracks, he turned around to see the book had returned to normal. .......|| I have a lot more to write here, as i said its all written 100% in my head i just need to put it down, im not very organized, heck im doing this all in NOTEPAD hah(explains the weird spacing). ||
-GEMS FOR ADVANCEMENT- (so i basically just found a hippy chart with a list of gems and their meanings, so there was ALOT of spiritual junk that KINDA works for RPG stuff, but since they are hippies, theres also a lot of contradictions and inappropriate sexual stuff that needs to be changed, very open to input please)
++BREAK DOWN++
==ADVENTURINE== prosperity = +25% gold for the rest of the campaign well-being = +1 morale for the entire team good luck = increased chance of an advancement stone in next chest
==AMAZONITE== confidence = +1 to base Constitution stat self-love = quickly withdraw from the fight, taking time to heal creative expression = put your feet on your hands and your hands on your feet and yell "I AM THE KICK PUNCHER!!!"
==AMETHYST== intuition = +1 to base Intelligence stat balance = +1 to base Dexterity stat higher wisdom = +1 to base Wisdom stat
==ANGELITE== divine love = to express your love for your lord and savior your spread your arms in a "t" and spin around like a lunatic hitting anyone in your path. you become dizzy. gentleness = you "hug" the nearest enemy preventing them from acting for one combat round healing = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and created "Bonemeal" you may eat some to heal yourself.
==APATITE== energetic clearing = fart, causing the enemy to be stunned if a 15 or higher is rolled psychic attunement = hear the thoughts of the closest enemy in the room authenticity = +1 to base Charisma stat
==BLACK ONYX== blocking negativity = adds resistance to dark magicks patience = +1 to base Wisdom stat determination = +1 to base Constitution stat
==BLACK TOURMALINE== protection = +2 physical protection for next combat round banishing = politely asks any supernatural beings to please leave the area, must roll a crit security = +1 to base Constitution stat
==BLUE CALCITE== serenity = removes any negative status effects, effecting the mind restoration = renews a small amount of HP each combat turn releasing stress = you violently explode all of your bones hitting all enemies in the area, releasing all pent up stress.
==CARNELIAN== passion sexual energy creativity = +1 to base Charisma stat
==CITRINE== brightness = create light to illuminate dark areas positive energy = be a force of positive energy for your teammates, raise morale by +1 clearing = disarm any traps already known about with a difficulty check below 10 and any trap known or unknown below 5. can only be used once a day.
==CLEAR QUARTZ== awareness amplifying energy clarity
==DALMATIAN STONE== loyalty = express your loyalty to your fellow adventurers, increasing morale by +2 for the duration of the combat encounter(all stats +1, does not effect animal companions) family bonds = if any of your enemies happen to be related, they are instantly(magically) stuck together connection with animals = resurrect one dead animal for the next combat round, animal companion has 1 HP(animal is also a skeleton)
==GARNET== self-esteem victory = each enemy vanquished increases team morale by +1(takes 5 morale to take effect in any way) eternal love
==HEMATITE== courage = roar loudly attempting to intimidate your enemies inner strength = +1 to base Strength stat grounding = root self to ground, cannot be moved for 2 combat rounds
==LABRADORITE== awakening joy = today's gonna be a great day! +1 personal morale at the start of a new day interdimentional travel = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and have created a "TARDIS" you may teleport back to town for provisions as long as there are no dangers in sight innovation = +1 to improvised weapons
==LAPIS LAZULI== psychic vision = view through walls if there are living beings on the other side celestial energy = restore mana to a party member nobility = +1 to base Constitution stat
==LEAPARDSKIN JASPARD== adaptability = shroud yourself to more easily walk amongst the skin-bags in towns shamanic journeys = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and created a totem, you may use this to view great distances animal magick = rearrange your bones into an animal to increase movement speed... or just for the hell of it
==LEPIDOLITE== emotional balance relaxation = rip your head off and bean it at your nearest enemy spiritual growth = +1 to your base Intelligence stat
==MAHOGANY OBSIDIAN== earth energy = imbue your weapon with the earths elemental energy personal power integrity
==MALACHITE== wealth beauty = shine your skull thus blinding your enemies individuality
==MOONSTONE== intuition sensuality safe travel
==RED GOLDSTONE== happiness = ingenuity = +1 to improvised weapons boldness = leap to the front of the party, guaranteeing you will take the first blow
==RED JASPER== strength = +1 to base Strength stat honesty stability = +1 to your base Dexterity stat
==ROSE QUARTZ== unconditional love = heal a comrade with a portion of your own HP(amount based on dice roll) emotional healing = embrace your fellow adventurer preventing you both from moving for one full combat turn but healing them for half their health compassion = when an enemy is near death, deal a compassionate CRITICAL BLOW... to put him out of his misery, compassionately.
==RUBY FUCHSITE== integration = disassemble yourself and reassemble yourself in the form of armor around a teammate friendship = lend your team a hand, literally! throw your arm at a teammate for them to use as an improvised weapon trust
==SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN== spiritual protection = +2 to magical protection for next combat round transmutation = change one substance to another acceptance
==SODALITE== communication = +1 to base Charisma stat self-expression = you tell a joke distracting all nearby npcs truth
==TIGER'S EYE== willpower = +1 to base Wisdom stat warrior's spirit = +1 to base Strength stat self-motivation = +1 to base Constitution stat
==UNAKITE== attraction = you are the handsomest skeleton in all the land, +1 to personal morale for the duration of the campaign resolving conflict = +1 to base Charisma stat healing the past
Hey RandomSelect! Welcome to the hobby and to the forums!
Let's put a pause on the character class, we'll find our way back to it, and talk about what you're trying to do. Have you ever played D&D before? More importantly what are you going for? Is this a class, a subclass, a race?
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
oh i put that all at the top, he is a skeleton revived from a human and imbued with magical gems that allow him to fight and cast magic so i went with red mage(it's been my favorite for years). and no, ive never played an actual game of tabletop D&D, i once many years ago played a D&D online but i didnt really take to it because i had no idea what i was doing since i had no background in the game.
for weapons i was thinking a rapier or a classic skeleton cutlass but mainly just himself, like ripping an arm or a leg off and throwing or swinging it, or batting his head like a baseball. thats why i gave a few gems the +1 to improvised weapons( i heard them mention that in one of the videos i watched).
oh, and what im trying to do ultimately is make my own personal character that would be acceptable in a real game(you know, a friendly relaxed game) without too much hassle to anyone else.
to give a little background, if you have ever played the videogames borderlands, my favorite characters to play were Krieg and Claptrap, the offbeat unconventional but still useful ones.
what else, im really keen to talk more about this. i know it needs a lot of work and i have no reason to expect the help, im just really excited about the character Skreek ive built in my head.
Not to put you off, but you're headed down a dangerous road. You're playing a skeleton red mage, which are both going to be homebrewed. I rarely suggest a new player ever homebrew or play homebrew as it requires in depth knowledge of the rule system. I'm even more hesitant about the homebrew class. I rarely feel like a homebrew class is necessary or deftly done. Homebrew subclasses are tricky to balance, now do that for 20 levels.
D&D 5e does not cater to monsters with types other than humanoid being races. It's been done, but I worry undead may be too powerful.
I'm not familiar with red mages so I can't give you well rounded feedback or which existing class to build from, but from skimming it it doesn't seem like a set concept and just a bunch of abilities strung together with a name. It also seems like it could be far too powerful or too DM reliant, or both, to play enjoyably. You may want to try an eldritch knight as you get some of the same mechanics as the red mage.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
well to start i have no idea what "D&D 5e" means heh, but i really do understand all of your hesitations and thats why i wanted help, i didnt want to just make a completely pre-built character and then have have him not fit in the world at all. i need to know the rules of the different spells, summoning rituals umm... cantripts(is that a thing, i swear i heard that was a thing)?
you are not putting me off, i know its a huge world to enter with loads of lore and rules to get to know and it was like slamming my face into a wall trying to do that alone, but i really want to make skreek happen.
red mages(in brief), are swordsmen, jacks of all trades and masters of none. strongest in their enfeebling and enhancing magics. they can heal but not for reliably (*edit*)long(*edit) amounts of time, they can fight hand to hand(that is, weapon to weapon... or in skreeks case weapon to severed arm or foot) well enough but should rely on enhancing magics to win the day
as far as DM reliant, i think he would only need to make extra rolls when theres a treasure chest involved. but again, thats the system of advancement i feverishly thought up in my creative haze of(again) not knowing the game nearly well enough, im very down for input before i do the last 10 gems
and if you think the stats i gave the skeleton are too OP, i can see where thats fair, i just went with what seemed realistic and what ive experienced in other games, im not married to to mechanics of it. im married to Skreek and his story and SOME of his silly skeletony abilities
Astromancer has a great point. When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons, it's really okay to start in the box before you go thinking outside the box.
Basically, if I was going to Dungeon Master a game for you, and you showed me this character concept, I'd likely turn you down and ask you to make a character within the existing rules; Choosing a race, class, and background from the Player's Handbook and working from there. The reason is balance. D&D is a group game and if everyone makes characters within the same rules framework it makes the game feel more fair to everyone.
That being said, good news is there are hundreds (thousands, maybe?) of other tabletop roleplaying games. I recommend you try D&D because it's a lot of fun, but if you feel like the rules don't give you the freedoms you want, there are other games to choose from!
not to beat a dead unicorn, but i said this is NO WHERE NEAR done. thats why i came here. i need help to reign him in to the rules of (somewhat) regular play and to make him balanced. im aiming for him to be MAINLY support with the odd "bonesplosion" here and there. i did try(again w/o know rules) to balance most of his abilities by giving them negative effects
as I understand, you are asking for help in balancing two separate things:
A custom homebrew race.
A custom homebrew class.
This can be done, but as others have said, balance can be tricky and it is, as you've noted, a massive undertaking as a new player that hasn't played D&D before.
I will council that, before you invest a lot of time and effort into this - find a game and a DM that is onboard with you playing such a character in their adventure/campaign. As someone above said, most DMs will want their players to play races and classes from the official books. In such a case, it doesn't matter how awesome and balanced your homebrew creation is, if the DM doesn't want homebrew race/class in their game, then you're going to be frustrated that you put in a lot of work and then can't play it.
This counts double for wanting to play undead within a campaign as D&D roleplay is most commonly a group of heroic adventurers attempting to overcome the forces of evil. An undead character has a hard time fitting into that.
That said, here's some of the help you asked for. Firstly you need to separate out race & class.
Homebrew Race
The D&D approach to homebrew races is fairly easy to follow within a framework. I suggest looking at the existing races to get an idea, but normally the following applies:
Stat bonuses. Usually this is +2 to a specific stat and +1 to another stat.
Around 3-5 racial features that add flavour to the race, including options like:
darkvision (limited ability to see in the dark).
a bonus proficiency
limited bonuses to combat
You suggested above that your character have the following racial abilities (and my notes):
Immune to poison - full immunity is generally taboo. Even Warforged, who are effectively magical war robots, only have resistance to poison (and advantage on saving throws vs poison). Suggest you go with resistance.
immune to bleeding - this is a fairly niche ability as bleed damage doesn't really crop up in D&D. Seems ok.
resistant to electricity - on top of resistance to poison, this is fairly powerful, but still in the realm of things that can be gained by a race.
resistant to sleep - perfectly normal for a race, as seen on Elves etc. Warforged even have immunity to sleep magic.
weak to fire - this is something that D&D race design avoids - vulnerability. The reason is that the design means that the DM can easily find themselves in a situation where a standard fireball spell can easily kill your character as they take double damage.
very weak to blunt - similarly here - blunt weapons and attacks are fairly frequent, so vulnerability to bludgeoning damage would be a BIG downside and I strongly recommend that this is avoided.
A note on vulnerabilities - the reason these are avoided is because a DM has to decide what opponents the player characters face. Knowing that one of the characters is vulnerable to fire and bludgeoning damage can put the DM (and the player) in a situation where the player believes that the DM is picking on them, because several sessions in a row involve fighting monsters that feature both of these damage types - it restricts the DM in terms of what monsters they use, because they have to consider the character vulnerabilities.
Homebrew Class
Balancing a whole homebrew class is a tricky job that takes the professional designers of D&D lots of time and playtesting to get right. The design approach to homebrew, of the current edition of D&D, is to use an existing class and then homebrew a subclass.
I've read through your notes on the gems and your ideas for your red mage class and I will be blunt - that's not a D&D class.
Take a look at the official classes. Take a look at the way they are designed around key features at specific levels. They all have subclasses, which introduce subclass features.
From what you've described, I think that you can make your character work by playing a Warlock, possibly with a homebrew subclass. The gems and their abilities could make for some really cool features for a Warlock subclass! Another viable option as you mentioned being a support caster would be Wizard. :)
Whilst possibly not what you were hoping to read, I hope this has been of help!
Honestly, I think the best place to start would be the Basic Rules. That might sound silly, but having a good grasp on the fundamentals of the game will greatly increase your enjoyment of it. I’m a big fan of “outside the box” concepts and unconvential things in my D&D games, but only when somebody (or myself) has put the work in to figure out how to make it function in a balanced way within the system. Reading the Basic Rules is free and easy to do here on dndbeyond. You can also probably find a campaign in Play-by-Post or Looking for Game that will help you better understand how of the rules work, and maybe even be a content sharing campaign so you can delve into the other rule books. They really do help for developing Homebrew!
"I've read through your notes on the gems and your ideas for your red mage class and I will be blunt - that's not a D&D class." well im not surprised as i took my knowledge of redmage from final fantasy and i just completely winged it on the gems haha
all in all, your input has given me a lot of homework, thanx.
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So i've always thought trying D&D would be fun, but was never really motivated to get into it. Recently i saw some YT vids of "Outsidexbox" playing and it looked really fun and inspired me to look into it further... but none of the basic races or classes really suited me(a veteran of RPGs and MMOs). That just inspired me further to come up with an original character that pulls from my own experiences in the fantasy worlds ive explored and enjoyed most of my life.
So obvious this isn't done yet, I still need to finish the backstory(it's done in my head 100% i just haven't finished writing it yet, I think its quite good... but then dont all parents think their babies are cute) and I need to finish putting in the advancement stones, there will be 40 in all. My thinking is that the DM(dungeon master, thats right, right?) will roll w/e there is a chest and if its above 10, or even/odd or w/e(these are the things i need help with, this is all such a quagmire to me, but im very sincere in learning) theres a chance that one of the stones will be in the chest and each of the stones has a number value assigned to it, then I EAT the stone and absorb ONE of the THREE powers it contains(I get to choose which one). Balancing and redundancy is something im really worried about since I pretty much don't know anything about whats already in the game.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D&D Character sheet BIO
Name: SKREEK, Formerly Knight Captain of the Necromancer Trions Demon Army
RACE: REANIMATED HUMAN SKELETON IMBUED WITH MAGICAL STONES
JOB(class): Red Mage ~ physically able to handle himself in a hand to hand fight, but must rely on magicks to buff himself and party members and debuffs to the enemy to be victorious
The LEFT EYE is a RED GEM(find name later) that imbues great intelligence and battle prowess
The RIGHT EYE is a YELLOW GEM(find name later) that RESTRAINS the gifts of the RED GEM(fnl), keeping Skreek under Trions control
Nestled INSIDE Skreeks brain cavity is a BLUE GEM(find name later) that allows for the casting of magicks, simple at first due to the restraints of the YELLOW GEM(fnl)
however its power can grow with time, its soft glow can be seen emanating through Skreeks mouth and nose
Immune to poison, immune to bleeding
resistant to electricity, resistant to sleep
weak to fire
very weak to blunt
Skreek has no memory of his time as a human, his only clue as to who we was is a cheap brass ring with an inscription on the inside of the band that reads: "yours forever, Liabelle"
||ACTUAL BACKSTORY||
Long ago, Trion, a lowly necromancer, an apprentice infact to the Fearsome Chekotay: Bringer of the Delta-Deaths... was bored and snooping around his masters library.
In his snoopings he came across a book loosely chained to the wall and adorned with rather plain looking skulls. This excited young Trion and almost in sync with his rising excitement the skulls
at the corners of the book began to glow and become more ornate and the chains began to tighten. Needless to say this only spurred Trion on further, gripping, kicking and prying at the book which has now
become hot to the touch! The book became too hot to touch and burned Trions hands and infact began to smoke and singe the books around it. Trion began to panic and ran out of the room, however when he
reached the door he heard the distinct sound of chains rattling. This stopped him in his tracks, he turned around to see the book had returned to normal. .......|| I have a lot more to write here, as i said its all written 100% in my head i just need to put it down, im not very organized, heck im doing this all in NOTEPAD hah(explains the weird spacing). ||
-GEMS FOR ADVANCEMENT- (so i basically just found a hippy chart with a list of gems and their meanings, so there was ALOT of spiritual junk that KINDA works for RPG stuff, but since they are hippies, theres also a lot of contradictions and inappropriate sexual stuff that needs to be changed, very open to input please)
++BREAK DOWN++
==ADVENTURINE==
prosperity = +25% gold for the rest of the campaign
well-being = +1 morale for the entire team
good luck = increased chance of an advancement stone in next chest
==AMAZONITE==
confidence = +1 to base Constitution stat
self-love = quickly withdraw from the fight, taking time to heal
creative expression = put your feet on your hands and your hands on your feet and yell "I AM THE KICK PUNCHER!!!"
==AMETHYST==
intuition = +1 to base Intelligence stat
balance = +1 to base Dexterity stat
higher wisdom = +1 to base Wisdom stat
==ANGELITE==
divine love = to express your love for your lord and savior your spread your arms in a "t" and spin around like a lunatic hitting anyone in your path. you become dizzy.
gentleness = you "hug" the nearest enemy preventing them from acting for one combat round
healing = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and created "Bonemeal" you may eat some to heal yourself.
==APATITE==
energetic clearing = fart, causing the enemy to be stunned if a 15 or higher is rolled
psychic attunement = hear the thoughts of the closest enemy in the room
authenticity = +1 to base Charisma stat
==BLACK ONYX==
blocking negativity = adds resistance to dark magicks
patience = +1 to base Wisdom stat
determination = +1 to base Constitution stat
==BLACK TOURMALINE==
protection = +2 physical protection for next combat round
banishing = politely asks any supernatural beings to please leave the area, must roll a crit
security = +1 to base Constitution stat
==BLUE CALCITE==
serenity = removes any negative status effects, effecting the mind
restoration = renews a small amount of HP each combat turn
releasing stress = you violently explode all of your bones hitting all enemies in the area, releasing all pent up stress.
==CARNELIAN==
passion
sexual energy
creativity = +1 to base Charisma stat
==CITRINE==
brightness = create light to illuminate dark areas
positive energy = be a force of positive energy for your teammates, raise morale by +1
clearing = disarm any traps already known about with a difficulty check below 10 and any trap known or unknown below 5. can only be used once a day.
==CLEAR QUARTZ==
awareness
amplifying energy
clarity
==DALMATIAN STONE==
loyalty = express your loyalty to your fellow adventurers, increasing morale by +2 for the duration of the combat encounter(all stats +1, does not effect animal companions)
family bonds = if any of your enemies happen to be related, they are instantly(magically) stuck together
connection with animals = resurrect one dead animal for the next combat round, animal companion has 1 HP(animal is also a skeleton)
==GARNET==
self-esteem
victory = each enemy vanquished increases team morale by +1(takes 5 morale to take effect in any way)
eternal love
==HEMATITE==
courage = roar loudly attempting to intimidate your enemies
inner strength = +1 to base Strength stat
grounding = root self to ground, cannot be moved for 2 combat rounds
==LABRADORITE==
awakening joy = today's gonna be a great day! +1 personal morale at the start of a new day
interdimentional travel = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and have created a "TARDIS" you may teleport back to town for provisions as long as there are no dangers in sight
innovation = +1 to improvised weapons
==LAPIS LAZULI==
psychic vision = view through walls if there are living beings on the other side
celestial energy = restore mana to a party member
nobility = +1 to base Constitution stat
==LEAPARDSKIN JASPARD==
adaptability = shroud yourself to more easily walk amongst the skin-bags in towns
shamanic journeys = if you have unlocked "Transmutation" and created a totem, you may use this to view great distances
animal magick = rearrange your bones into an animal to increase movement speed... or just for the hell of it
==LEPIDOLITE==
emotional balance
relaxation = rip your head off and bean it at your nearest enemy
spiritual growth = +1 to your base Intelligence stat
==MAHOGANY OBSIDIAN==
earth energy = imbue your weapon with the earths elemental energy
personal power
integrity
==MALACHITE==
wealth
beauty = shine your skull thus blinding your enemies
individuality
==MOONSTONE==
intuition
sensuality
safe travel
==RED GOLDSTONE==
happiness =
ingenuity = +1 to improvised weapons
boldness = leap to the front of the party, guaranteeing you will take the first blow
==RED JASPER==
strength = +1 to base Strength stat
honesty
stability = +1 to your base Dexterity stat
==ROSE QUARTZ==
unconditional love = heal a comrade with a portion of your own HP(amount based on dice roll)
emotional healing = embrace your fellow adventurer preventing you both from moving for one full combat turn but healing them for half their health
compassion = when an enemy is near death, deal a compassionate CRITICAL BLOW... to put him out of his misery, compassionately.
==RUBY FUCHSITE==
integration = disassemble yourself and reassemble yourself in the form of armor around a teammate
friendship = lend your team a hand, literally! throw your arm at a teammate for them to use as an improvised weapon
trust
==SERPENTINE==
hidden mysteries
observation
instinct
==SNOWFLAKE OBSIDIAN==
spiritual protection = +2 to magical protection for next combat round
transmutation = change one substance to another
acceptance
==SODALITE==
communication = +1 to base Charisma stat
self-expression = you tell a joke distracting all nearby npcs
truth
==TIGER'S EYE==
willpower = +1 to base Wisdom stat
warrior's spirit = +1 to base Strength stat
self-motivation = +1 to base Constitution stat
==UNAKITE==
attraction = you are the handsomest skeleton in all the land, +1 to personal morale for the duration of the campaign
resolving conflict = +1 to base Charisma stat
healing the past
Hey RandomSelect! Welcome to the hobby and to the forums!
Let's put a pause on the character class, we'll find our way back to it, and talk about what you're trying to do. Have you ever played D&D before? More importantly what are you going for? Is this a class, a subclass, a race?
Tooltips | Snippet Code | How to Homebrew on D&D Beyond | Subclass Guide | Feature Roadmap
Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
oh i put that all at the top, he is a skeleton revived from a human and imbued with magical gems that allow him to fight and cast magic so i went with red mage(it's been my favorite for years). and no, ive never played an actual game of tabletop D&D, i once many years ago played a D&D online but i didnt really take to it because i had no idea what i was doing since i had no background in the game.
for weapons i was thinking a rapier or a classic skeleton cutlass but mainly just himself, like ripping an arm or a leg off and throwing or swinging it, or batting his head like a baseball. thats why i gave a few gems the +1 to improvised weapons( i heard them mention that in one of the videos i watched).
oh, and what im trying to do ultimately is make my own personal character that would be acceptable in a real game(you know, a friendly relaxed game) without too much hassle to anyone else.
to give a little background, if you have ever played the videogames borderlands, my favorite characters to play were Krieg and Claptrap, the offbeat unconventional but still useful ones.
what else, im really keen to talk more about this. i know it needs a lot of work and i have no reason to expect the help, im just really excited about the character Skreek ive built in my head.
Not to put you off, but you're headed down a dangerous road. You're playing a skeleton red mage, which are both going to be homebrewed. I rarely suggest a new player ever homebrew or play homebrew as it requires in depth knowledge of the rule system. I'm even more hesitant about the homebrew class. I rarely feel like a homebrew class is necessary or deftly done. Homebrew subclasses are tricky to balance, now do that for 20 levels.
D&D 5e does not cater to monsters with types other than humanoid being races. It's been done, but I worry undead may be too powerful.
I'm not familiar with red mages so I can't give you well rounded feedback or which existing class to build from, but from skimming it it doesn't seem like a set concept and just a bunch of abilities strung together with a name. It also seems like it could be far too powerful or too DM reliant, or both, to play enjoyably. You may want to try an eldritch knight as you get some of the same mechanics as the red mage.
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
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well to start i have no idea what "D&D 5e" means heh, but i really do understand all of your hesitations and thats why i wanted help, i didnt want to just make a completely pre-built character and then have have him not fit in the world at all. i need to know the rules of the different spells, summoning rituals umm... cantripts(is that a thing, i swear i heard that was a thing)?
you are not putting me off, i know its a huge world to enter with loads of lore and rules to get to know and it was like slamming my face into a wall trying to do that alone, but i really want to make skreek happen.
red mages(in brief), are swordsmen, jacks of all trades and masters of none. strongest in their enfeebling and enhancing magics. they can heal but not for reliably (*edit*)long(*edit) amounts of time, they can fight hand to hand(that is, weapon to weapon... or in skreeks case weapon to severed arm or foot) well enough but should rely on enhancing magics to win the day
as far as DM reliant, i think he would only need to make extra rolls when theres a treasure chest involved. but again, thats the system of advancement i feverishly thought up in my creative haze of(again) not knowing the game nearly well enough, im very down for input before i do the last 10 gems
and if you think the stats i gave the skeleton are too OP, i can see where thats fair, i just went with what seemed realistic and what ive experienced in other games, im not married to to mechanics of it. im married to Skreek and his story and SOME of his silly skeletony abilities
Astromancer has a great point. When it comes to Dungeons and Dragons, it's really okay to start in the box before you go thinking outside the box.
Basically, if I was going to Dungeon Master a game for you, and you showed me this character concept, I'd likely turn you down and ask you to make a character within the existing rules; Choosing a race, class, and background from the Player's Handbook and working from there. The reason is balance. D&D is a group game and if everyone makes characters within the same rules framework it makes the game feel more fair to everyone.
That being said, good news is there are hundreds (thousands, maybe?) of other tabletop roleplaying games. I recommend you try D&D because it's a lot of fun, but if you feel like the rules don't give you the freedoms you want, there are other games to choose from!
not to beat a dead unicorn, but i said this is NO WHERE NEAR done. thats why i came here. i need help to reign him in to the rules of (somewhat) regular play and to make him balanced. im aiming for him to be MAINLY support with the odd "bonesplosion" here and there. i did try(again w/o know rules) to balance most of his abilities by giving them negative effects
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D&D Beyond FoundersHi there RandomSelectGaming,
as I understand, you are asking for help in balancing two separate things:
This can be done, but as others have said, balance can be tricky and it is, as you've noted, a massive undertaking as a new player that hasn't played D&D before.
I will council that, before you invest a lot of time and effort into this - find a game and a DM that is onboard with you playing such a character in their adventure/campaign. As someone above said, most DMs will want their players to play races and classes from the official books. In such a case, it doesn't matter how awesome and balanced your homebrew creation is, if the DM doesn't want homebrew race/class in their game, then you're going to be frustrated that you put in a lot of work and then can't play it.
This counts double for wanting to play undead within a campaign as D&D roleplay is most commonly a group of heroic adventurers attempting to overcome the forces of evil. An undead character has a hard time fitting into that.
That said, here's some of the help you asked for. Firstly you need to separate out race & class.
Homebrew Race
The D&D approach to homebrew races is fairly easy to follow within a framework. I suggest looking at the existing races to get an idea, but normally the following applies:
You suggested above that your character have the following racial abilities (and my notes):
A note on vulnerabilities - the reason these are avoided is because a DM has to decide what opponents the player characters face. Knowing that one of the characters is vulnerable to fire and bludgeoning damage can put the DM (and the player) in a situation where the player believes that the DM is picking on them, because several sessions in a row involve fighting monsters that feature both of these damage types - it restricts the DM in terms of what monsters they use, because they have to consider the character vulnerabilities.
Homebrew Class
Balancing a whole homebrew class is a tricky job that takes the professional designers of D&D lots of time and playtesting to get right. The design approach to homebrew, of the current edition of D&D, is to use an existing class and then homebrew a subclass.
I've read through your notes on the gems and your ideas for your red mage class and I will be blunt - that's not a D&D class.
Take a look at the official classes. Take a look at the way they are designed around key features at specific levels. They all have subclasses, which introduce subclass features.
From what you've described, I think that you can make your character work by playing a Warlock, possibly with a homebrew subclass. The gems and their abilities could make for some really cool features for a Warlock subclass! Another viable option as you mentioned being a support caster would be Wizard. :)
Whilst possibly not what you were hoping to read, I hope this has been of help!
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Honestly, I think the best place to start would be the Basic Rules. That might sound silly, but having a good grasp on the fundamentals of the game will greatly increase your enjoyment of it. I’m a big fan of “outside the box” concepts and unconvential things in my D&D games, but only when somebody (or myself) has put the work in to figure out how to make it function in a balanced way within the system. Reading the Basic Rules is free and easy to do here on dndbeyond. You can also probably find a campaign in Play-by-Post or Looking for Game that will help you better understand how of the rules work, and maybe even be a content sharing campaign so you can delve into the other rule books. They really do help for developing Homebrew!
that was EXACTLY the feedback i was looking for.
"I've read through your notes on the gems and your ideas for your red mage class and I will be blunt - that's not a D&D class." well im not surprised as i took my knowledge of redmage from final fantasy and i just completely winged it on the gems haha
all in all, your input has given me a lot of homework, thanx.