As a follow up to last week's Artificer teardown, we're taking a dive into the Artificer subclasses: Artillerist and Alchemist. We'll analyze the subclasses and develop a template for brewing your own subclasses. Structure The subclass features unlock at 3rd, 6th, and 14th levels. This mirrors the Bard progression, which is notoriously difficult to design … Continue reading Artificer Subclass Template
Category: Homebrew
The Hive (Warlock Patron)
Check out The Hive, a new Warlock patron on DM's Guild! This post will be updated with build notes once I've cleaned them up.
The Fletcher (Ranger)
I love the concept of a Ranger that's just out in the wilderness, living off the land. This survivalism should be reflected in the Ranger's craftsmanship. Since most Rangers are ranged attackers, it makes sense that they should be able to craft their own projectiles. Even special projectiles that will help them in the variety of situations they may encounter in the wilderness. Meet the Fletcher!
Kitbashing the Warlord
Among new class options, the Warlord is highly coveted. Especially so among 4th Edition (4e) veterans. In fact, the Warlord is probably the most popular class concept that hasn’t been graced with a playtest treatment via Unearthed Arcana. With no expectations as to when we might see an official Warlord (sub)class, how close can we get with the current options in 5th Edition (5e)?
Passive Skills vs. Reliable Talent
Reliable Talent makes all your skills passive. In order to see what you're really getting from this class feature, you need to find out what skills already function passively, and what skills only function actively. We'll examine passive skill treatment in the rules and analyze where each skill should fall.
Non-Metal Druid Armor
Since the Druid's non-metal armor restriction is purely thematic, we're taking a close look at the rules and reskinning the metal options to give Druids access to the full armory!
Two-Weapon Fighting Calcs
Over the past couple weeks, we've looking into issues with Two-Weapon Fighting and solutions to fix Two-Weapon Fighting. While discussing potential solutions is a good starting place, theorycrafting can often fall flat at the table. In order to identify which systems are the most balanced and deserve testing, you've got to run the numbers. The … Continue reading Two-Weapon Fighting Calcs
Two-Weapon Fighting Hacks
Last week we explored the mechanics and design goals of two-weapon fighting. This week, we're going to examine some hacks to make it more competitive with other fighting styles. Feel free to borrow pieces of these to spruce up two-weapon fighting in your game. While the goal is to achieve a system that fits into … Continue reading Two-Weapon Fighting Hacks
Super Smash Bros. Items
This week we're bringing you some combat items from the classic Nintendo game, Super Smash Bros. While this series has seem numerous incantations, we're going back to the original N64 edition to get some ideas for combat items. You can view the items below or get the full PDF here. Most of these are relatively … Continue reading Super Smash Bros. Items
The Evil of Mandating Equipment
D&D 5e is great because it allows you the flexibility to build on top of the system. Sometimes we rush to fill gaps that are empty for a reason. Designing good content requires knowing these pitfalls so you can navigate them. Character features mandating equipment are one such case. What can we learn from Mike Mearls about how to design them?









