Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t require that many materials to start playing. There are plenty of things that you can buy for it – like sets of dice, adventure modules, handbooks, and more than a handful of different types of accessories.
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However, the primary driving force behind Dungeons & Dragons is delving into your imagination and being able to explore various worlds and settings however you want (or almost however you want). As a Dungeon Master, you have almost limitless potential to create and craft, so why would you let yourself be beholden to what has already been published? This is where homebrew comes into play.
What Is Homebrew?
You might be super invested in Dungeons & Dragons to the point where you’re too afraid to ask just what Homebrew is, but have no fear because the answer is pretty straightforward. Homebrew is material for Dungeons & Dragons that has been made by players rather than Wizards of the Coast or other third-party publishers.
Just about anything you make or create can be homebrew – from items, spells, classes, and house rules to entire campaigns. Homebrew material can’t be found in any published rulebook or manual, which means it’s entirely up to the Dungeon Master (possibly you) to work out how to ensure that it stays balanced.
Online communities, like
Reddit or the D&D Beyond forums, are great ways to discuss
and flesh out various types of homebrewed material.
Why Choose Homebrew?
When it comes down to it, homebrewed material can seem really intimidating – and for good reason. It, realistically, is a lot of work. If you’re making an entire homebrewed campaign, then there’s a lot of prep work involved between sessions and even before the entire campaign starts.
If you’re making a homebrew class, then you need to be aware of how to keep it balanced rather than making it overpowered or underpowered. If you’re homebrewing anything, you need to work with the people around you to keep it fair and to keep it fun. So, is homebrew worth it?
To put it simply, yes, homebrew is worth the effort. You really get to inject your own creativity into the world of Dungeons & Dragons and truly craft something that you can be proud of. Dungeons & Dragons can be really fun if you have the right party of people working together, but it can be even better if you add your own flair and style.
What Does “Balanced” Mean?
Balanced, is, admittedly, a subjective term when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons. There is published material that could easily be considered “game-breaking,” and yet because it’s published, some people don’t tend to consider it unbalanced or broken.
All balanced really means, in the light of Dungeons & Dragons, that everyone at the table feels like they have a fair shot. Things are not too easy because of the items they have at hand, and they’re not too hard because of items someone else has at hand when both should be of equal levels.
How To Keep Homebrew Balanced
Probably one of the most concerning points about homebrew is figuring out how you’re going to keep it balanced. You don’t want to give players an unfair advantage over the others, even if they came up with the idea themselves and are super excited about it.
The easiest way to try and make sure that things are kept balanced is to run a brief battle or campaign and test it out for yourself. If you’re going to use a homebrewed class, spell, or item, it’s best to understand how it works inside and out. There’s a decent chance that your players could still surprise you (they can get very creative sometimes), and if they do, don’t punish them for it.
Just because they got creative and managed to break the game a little doesn’t mean that your homebrew is broken.
Types Of Homebrew
Now that you’ve definitely decided to try Homebrew yourself, there are a few things that you can do to get over that intimidating mountain of work. Rather than do it all on your own, without any ideas or suggestions, we here at TheGamer have a decent amount of material to help get you started.
Items, Weapons, And Spells
Tips To Homebrew A Cursed Item
How To Create Magical Contagions
How To Make Sentient Magic Items
Character Homebrew
How To Homebrew A Character Background
Tips For Homebrewing A Subclass
Tips To Homebrew A New Species
World Building Homebrew
Ways To Make Your Homebrew World Feel More Real
Tips For Homebrewing A Warlock Patron
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