Iv tried making some of my own stuff, subclasses, classes monsters and tables. Do you have any advice that could help out?

So as much as I would like to call myself one, I’m no expert on anything, but I can give you the list of questions I try to ask myself as I work 1. Can I get what I want with what already exists? Its really easy when you come up with an idea to jump strait to writing new content, but that’s not always the best option. One of the biggest “mistakes” I see people make is trying to homebrew an idea that can already be accomplished by just re-flavoring something else, or doing some sort of multiclass build. This doesn’t necessarily produce bad homebrew, but it tends to be lackluster, or just a overly specific version of something else 2. What makes this Unique The second big “mistake” I see, is when people try to build a new homebrew by just borrowing features and abilities from other classes/subclasses and the like. Its a really easy way to makes something, but it tends to just create a mix match that doesn’t feel unique. I try to start each project by asking myself what this homebrew does that nothing else can do, or how the class might do something similar something else, but in a new and interesting way 3. What is the scope once you know what makes your brew unique, you can start to figure out how much work you need to do. does this idea really need to be an entire class? or would a single subclass suffice? Is this a full race, or just a sub-race? Is this idea something that would work better as a powerful magic item, or is there enough here to build a subclass around? 4. What is your core mechanic? It's super important to have a core idea to build around. Your core mechanic is generally going to be the most complicated thing in your homebrew, and everything else should build on it, or modify the way it works. this helps everything feel whole and connected.  5. Is it Fun A Really easy mistake to make when producing content is to get lost in the mechanics and lose track of the fact that this is a game. Sure, mathematically, it might make sense to roll 3 separate dice every time you use an ability, but when you are playing the game, those extra dice rolls slow down combat and break the flow of the game. Always be asking yourself if the mechanics you have thought up are actually fun, or if they are getting in the way. 6. Does it all work together? I cannot tell you ho many times I have gone through and written up a bunch of really great mechanics, only to scrap them later because they don’t work together. Nothing ever happens in isolation. It’s all a complex system, and it’s Important to step back frequently and look at how your homebrew interacts with both itself, and other content. 7. Does it balance? Note that the question isn’t “is it balanced” but “does it balance.” See, the thing is, balance isn’t so much about weather any particular feature or ability might be over or underpowered. its bout how they all balance together, and what strengths and weaknesses that creates. Any powerful homebrew should have a glaring weak spot if you know where to look. 8. What does it do when? No one should ever feel left out at the table, so try to think about as many scenarios and playstyles as possible. If you make a class that is really powerful in combat, but useless in social situations, keep in mind that this means the player is being left out of the action when that action doesn’t involve a fight, and that not necessarily a good thing. Keep an eye one the action economy and make sure that a character or creature has something to do with every type of action. 9. What's in a Name? Now this one is just me, but I find that it really helps me to come up with names for abilities and features that all fit around a central theme, and I use those names to inform what sort of features I make honestly just as much as I name my features based on what they do. You would be amazed how much help it can be to just brainstorm cool ability names related to your core concept. Or to have a theme for how your subclasses are named. It can give you a square footing from which to build, especially when you are in uncharted territory and struggling for ideas. 10. Does it match the PHB Something that took me way too long to really learn was how to match my content to the language of the players handbook. Especially for someone who started from a different system, it’s important to keep track of how 5e says and does things, and try to word things similarly so that they can be easily understood, or so you don’t create weird loopholes in the rules. When all else fails, keep the PHB and DMG on hand just to look at how they phrase things. I really hope this sort of advice helps. I’ve been at this for almost 5 years now, just in 5e, and I’m still learning. There are probably plenty of people who would disagree with my advice, but It has worked well enough for me ^^

H

The warlock normally gets power from their Patrón, but in a pinch any other brand of tequila will work at one caster level lower.

Yikes

2020 will be a good year

Cause it's two natural 20s and that means whatever you'll do, you'll do with success

Literally us.

me, encountering Tiamat for the first time in Hoard of the Dragon Queen:

2020 will be a good year

Cause it's two natural 20s and that means whatever you'll do, you'll do with success

*DM screen falls during combat, exposing a plate of chicken tenders*

DM: nooooo my tendies are exposed!! *scrambles to put up screen*

Rest of party: *monklike chant* forbidden tendiesssss

D A M N

Size comparison of Y’gathok, the Ceaseless Hunger and Bjorn, our level 20 Goliath Barbarian.

You ever think about the kind of guy who makes a cursed amulet? Like, “ooh hoo hoo, whoever puts this on is gonna have a nasty surprise!” Get a real hobby.

We decided that whenever our bard casts the Calm Emotions spell, he’s just playing You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift.

Okay but this is a very accurate experience of my college accounting classes.

[math is introduced]

there is a splitting

ARGGGGGG

All are feeling this, yes? there is a splitting

[further math is introduced]

WHAT IS TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND?

[mathematical lingo is introduced]

THERE IS A SOUND OF CLANGING!

SURELY YOU ALL ARE HEARING THIS YES?

ARGGGGGGG!

["okay--"]

there is a fire. there is a fire behind the eyes.

a splitting,

splitting,

splitting.

Is this required?

Stealth checks are one of the worst checks to fail honestly. Fail a history check you just don’t have the info you need. Fail a stealth check you are almost always immediately put into a dangerous situation

I say we make all checks life or death. 

Fail a nature check? You are pinned underneath a tree.

Fail a history check? You are immediately killed by a famous historical figure.

Fail an acrobatics check? You sprain all of your joints.

Fail a performance check?  A crowd boos you and deal 1d4 psychic damage per person in the crowd.

Divination specialists are often portrayed as passive servants of fate. Shuck the stereotype by playing yours as a bit more proactive. Wizard: “Yea, I forsee that before the next full moon, this house will be nothing but charred ruins” Scared villager: “are you sure?” Wizard, throwing a lit torch in the house’s window: “Yeah pretty sure”  

The main quest of your D&D campaign is that the PCs have been sent to investigate why everyone, regardless of skill or preparation, fails catastrophically at exactly 1 out of 20 things they try to do.

Literally my fiance this is his first time DMing, and his first time playing DnD. He was gonna do a prewritten campaign for myself and our friend, and he would play a character in it.

There is now like 8 or 9 people intermittently playing in this campaign. They just crawled out of the woodwork and started rolling dice.

I WANNA TALK ABOUT MY CAMPAIGN WITH MY FRIENDS BUT THEY’RE ALL PLAYING IN IT

1d10 Ways To Explain Your D&D Character’s Amnesia...

You were captured! And your Brain partially devoured by a hungry Mind Flayer. You managed to escape its grasp, but not before your memories became forfeit.

You walked across one of the many forest circles into the Feywild as a Child. You lived a crazy but happy life there, and saw things no regular man, woman or child could see. That was until you wandered back into the Prime Material Plane, and suddenly those memories scattered, and you were left as a being with no memory, alone in the woods… (See ‘Fey Crossings: Memory Loss’, Page 50 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

You were once a powerful Wizard that knew their own mortality. In a fit of desperation, you crafted a Clone of yourself, younger and more perfect in almost every way. But when you died of a combination of old age and madness, something went wrong. You woke up in the younger body of your Clone, but your memories were lost. But every now and again, you remember the spells of your past, if only you could remember them so well as to cast them…

You were once a Prodigy, a Wizard with a sharp mind. So great was your intellect that you were brought before a Local Member of Nobility who wished to employ you as their Diplomatic Representative and Adviser to their Workings. You sat down with them and their Family, until you noticed a thin red string of ooze behind each of them. Before you could react, the Oblex struck at your mind. Your memories quickly became scattered and faded as you ran from the attacking creature. You escaped, but collapsed. When you woke up, all you remember saying is the Noble’s Name and “Red String”. And to this day, you still check people for that suspicious “Red String”.

A Deal with a mighty Devil cost you your memories in exchange for phenomenal arcane powers. You often wonder what you were like back then. Were you Married? Were you a Parent? Or even a Traitor? And that seems to bring an amusing smile to your face…

Perhaps you were a great hero, or a well-loved citizen, or some lonely cleric just took pity on you. You don’t remember… Thanks to a failed resurrection ritual, you were indeed brought back to life, but brought back with no memories of before…

You have a great fear of caves, the underground, and most of all the weather. Perhaps because your mind was shattered by the maddening winds of Pandemonium. How did you get there you might ask, were you imprisoned there by some otherworldly being, or did you venture there of your own volition? (See ‘Pandemonium: Mad Winds’, Page 62 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Your memories were snatched away from you by a powerful mage, perhaps because you knew too much about a certain someone or a certain something…

You’re originally from the Prime Material Plane, but travelled to Elysium on some sort of extra-planar pilgrimage. How did you get there? You don’t remember. All you remember is staring at those pearly white beaches, never willing to leave. (See ‘Elysium: Overwhelming Joy’, Page 60 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide)

Your mind was shattered by the Abyssal Demon Lords. Sometimes you can still feel their maddening presence…