Hello, all. First time making a homebrew on DDB, and I'm in need of some guidance.

I'm trying to add the following to a subrace a friend of mine has requested for our campaign:

"As a bonus action you can channel solar energy into one simple or martial weapon you're holding. Choose a damage type between fire or radiant. Until this ability ends, you deal an extra 1d6 damage of the chosen type to any target you hit with the weapon. If the weapon isn't magical, it becomes magical for the ability's duration. The weapon sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. This ability lasts up to 1 minute or until your sheathe your weapon. Afterward you can't use this ability again until you finish a short or long rest.

The damage this effect does increases by 1d6 at 6th level, 11th level, and 16th level."

I have NO idea where to start... I'd assume Actions? Any help is appreciated!

That’s rather simple since most of it is plain text. Create a “General” Action with an “Activation Type” of bonus action, a "Reset Type” of Short Rest, and set “Display As Attack” to Yes. Put 1 in for the “Dice Count” and d6 in for the “Die Type” and now it’s time to make a choice. You could either set a Damage Type as either Fire or Radiant and then repeat creating this Action for the other damage type, or you could leave that blank and only do it this once. That’s up to you. It won’t add the damage to the weapon, but it will display the 1d6 roll for the player to hit easily. Make sure to fill out the Snippet field for both the trait itself and the associated Action(s) so the info will present on the character sheet. (You only need the main Description filled out, you can skip it on the Action.) The parts about making the weapon magic and the light are all just plain text. Yer done, so re-save can be Trait and then don’t forget to hit the main [SAVE CHANGES] button under Basic Information for the whole race.

Thank you! A follow-up question, do I need to do anything for the d6 increases at certain levels? Or does this just need to be included in the Description field?

My apologies, yes you do. (Sorry, I brainfarted.) After you have saved the Action you then must edit your new action and scroll all the way to the bottom and you’ll see a new subform labeled “Level Overrides.” You will need to add three of them, one for each level when it increases.

If I may suggest, why not use the standard 5th, 11th, and 17th levels that most similar traits and cantrips use?

A further suggestion on the wording of your trait to simplify and truncate it a bit (if you don’t mind):

As a bonus action you can channel solar energy into one simple or martial weapon you're holding, choose either fire or radiant damage. While this trait is active the weapon deal an additional 1d6 damage of the chosen type, and sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. If the weapon isn't magical, it becomes magical. These benefits lasts up to 1 minute, or until your sheathe your weapon. Once you use this trait you cannot use it again until you finish a short or long rest. 

The additional damage your weapon deals increases by 1d6 when you reach higher levels: 5th (2d6), 11th (3d6), and 17th level (4d6). 

👆That says all the same stuff you wrote, just a little more succinctly and it groups all the like information together (so the benefits are all together, and the durational information is all together).

One more thing I forgot to mention, when you are adding the level overrides you also need to add a “Limited Use” of 1 in the other new subform that will be there. (My bad, I’m distracted today.)