How does one brew properly?

[Trandir]

In a couple of weeks I will begin a campaign with a DM that himself heavly hombrew the 5e system by adding/chainging items, subclasses and feats.

So since there is already so much homebrew why not bring something of mine too.

I asked and he is willing to look and possibly accept my very own subclass to play with. The problem is that I have no idea on both how to balance and how do do it proprerly.

Can anyone give me any advice on how to do it?

[nickl_2000]

Generally when I am homebrewing I either look for something missing in official subclasses and build to fit that. Or pick something as a theme and run with it, maybe you want a melee druid, or a fighter who uses wisdom, or a cleric domain that is missing (this is actually pretty easy to find, look into pathfinder or 3.5 and find missing domains or sub domains).

I mentioned it in the 5e forum, but check out my analysis as a place to start for decent balance.

Also check out the 5e homebrew class and subclass contests on here, there are a lot of good homebrews there.

One last thing I will say. Don't completely focus on combat, there is a tendency for many to do that. Add in value to the social or exploration tiers as well

[Trandir]

Generally when I am homebrewing I either look for something missing in official subclasses and build to fit that. Or pick something as a theme and run with it, maybe you want a melee druid, or a fighter who uses wisdom, or a cleric domain that is missing (this is actually pretty easy to find, look into pathfinder or 3.5 and find missing domains or sub domains).

I mentioned it in the 5e forum, but check out my analysis as a place to start for decent balance.

Also check out the 5e homebrew class and subclass contests on here, there are a lot of good homebrews there.

One last thing I will say. Don't completely focus on combat, there is a tendency for many to do that. Add in value to the social or exploration tiers as well

Hello again. Thank you for the tips and I did looked into your guide. It will be usefull particularly when I will actually do the homebrewing

[Kane0]

In a couple of weeks I will begin a campaign with a DM that himself heavly hombrew the 5e system by adding/chainging items, subclasses and feats.

So since there is already so much homebrew why not bring something of mine too.

I asked and he is willing to look and possibly accept my very own subclass to play with. The problem is that I have no idea on both how to balance and how do do it proprerly.

Can anyone give me any advice on how to do it?

Well, good news is that you're starting with a subclass rather than a class which makes your job easier.

This section of the forum is the perfect place to put up your ideas so we can help you with the balancing, but if you want to do the initial eyeball measure yourself have a look at other subclasses to compare against. The finer points are mostly practice and feedback from that point.

[Trandir]

Well, good news is that you're starting with a subclass rather than a class which makes your job easier.

This section of the forum is the perfect place to put up your ideas so we can help you with the balancing, but if you want to do the initial eyeball measure yourself have a look at other subclasses to compare against. The finer points are mostly practice and feedback from that point.

Thanks for the advice. I already put a first version of a possible subclass here if you want to give it a look.

[FiberPilot]

You start with a good idea that has a good feel to it.

Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
Then you playtest it.
.
.
.

[Vaern]

1) Use existing material as a guideline.
I've homebrewed a bit of 3.5 content, and when doing so I generally use existing material as a reference point for balancing my own stuff. For example, I won't give a class a spell-like ability at a level lower than a wizard would be able to learn the equivalent spell. My personal rule is that people should want to play a class because it is a novel concept for a fun character, not because the abilities it offers are so powerful that it's the only valid option.

2) Peer review
That's what the homebrew section here is for. Have people look over your material and give their opinions. If it's overpowered, underpowered, awkwardly worded, etc. they'll tell you how you can fix it.

3) Playtesting
Even if everything looks good on paper, you can really only be sure how something will work when you see it in action. Roll up a few mock encounters and see how your content functions.

[Icecaster]

Hi!

Homebrewing is fun to get into! A lot of people had said things I would've said anyways, and that stuff is great advice, so my main piece of advice to give you is to use flavor text. Always. So many people don't think about it, and it's often the downfall of homebrew. It's great to start a 'brew with flavor text and add on as you go. The first reason is that when you show somebody, whether it be someone on the forums or your DM for review, it will clue them in as to what exactly you want [your subclass] to do, and since it's homebrew, they by definition do not know. By giving them some context for the features, it makes it much easier to see how the mechanics would fit into a character. Flavor text will almost certainly help you to create a character using your homebrew, and it will tell your DM what they should expect from your character in role-play situations. Second, flavor text helps you during the homebrew by, right at the start, giving you an inspirational direction that can help with coming up with ideas for features that add to both the thematics and mechanics of a 'brew.

Basically, flavor text is often overlooked, but it helps everybody involved in the homebrew, so don't underestimate its importance!