Hey everybody! After more than a year of procrastinating, then writing, then procrastinating some more, I think the super super first alpha version of my Avatar DND class is ready to be posted as a whole.

This class is designed to give you as many possibilities as you could have as a bender, while not making you feel like you're a worse bender just because you can't, for example, control lightning: you don't need to be a bloodbender, or even learn basic phase changing, you could also just stick with plants and call it a day!

Now yes, the balancing may still be all over the place, but please be respectful when addressing those kinds of issues; I know they exist, and I'm happy for any constructive criticism.

Also, the "spells" section currently allows you to customize your bending techniques in a lot of ways, which can have a pretty significant impact on gameplay while still leaving lots of room for flavor, but it is still incomplete, so if you have an idea, feel free to let me know.

Here's the link to the full document, there's a 20 page limit so the element-specific techniques I've finished so far didn't make the cut.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this document. I hope this idea is as enjoyable to you as it is to me.

The Deadeye ranger focuses on long range engagements and capitalization on Critial Hits. Included are some changes to Hunters Mark to make it feel more like a real class feature, we think it deserves the love.

Please let us know what you think, either here or on discord. Feedback is super important to us :) If you like what you see, check out our 3 hour One-Shot set in our Mad Max inspired world, with rules for car chases and battles!

So, I took some of your advice and try to combine them in a way, and here it is!!

Now for the final question, do you think it would be at least not op and be playable?

If no, what other things should I change?

Hi everyone!

This is the latest relic from a small community project I run: every week my followers vote for a relic type and a mood, and I try to build the item from the winning combination.

This time the result was Handaxe + Dark & Shadow.

The Axe of the Devoured Flame can extinguish or suppress light to gain charges, then spend them to deal extra necrotic damage. When fully charged, it also becomes better as a throwing weapon and returns to the wielder after each attack.

The fun part is that Light & Shine almost won the poll too, so I kept a little of that idea inside the final concept: it literally consumes light and turns it into shadow.

As always, I’d love some feedback on the mechanics and balance. Would you use something like this at your table?

📜

Axe of the Devoured Flame

Weapon (handaxe +2), very rare (requires attunement)

Property Light, Thrown (range 20/60)
Weight 2 lb.

Magic Weapon +2. You gain a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

Dual Aspect. As a bonus action, you can speak the command word to transform the axe into a torch with a violet flame, or vice versa. In torch form, it can’t be used as a weapon.

Light Devourer. The axe can hold up to 3 charges. As an action, while it is in axe form, you can extinguish a nonmagical flame or suppress until the next dawn a magical light created by a spell of 2nd level or lower within 30 feet of you. The axe gains 1 charge, up to its maximum. It loses all charges at dawn.

Shadow Bite. Once per turn, when you hit with the axe, you can expend 1 charge to deal an extra 2d6 necrotic damage, or 3d6 instead if the target is in dim light or darkness.

Shadow Recall. While the axe has 3 charges, after each ranged attack made with it, it reappears in one of your free hands, whether the attack hits or misses. If you have no free hand, it falls at your feet.

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✏️ Art by J. Zangrilli (Azarneth's Forbidden Emporium)

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I create printable item cards, cursed treasures, NPCs, tales & omens, and strange creatures for fantasy roleplaying games. You can find the project on Patreon and follow the daily updates on Instagram. 🧙‍♂️🎲

So in my eberron campaign one of the big Warforged bosses is a Fallen angel who voluntarily went to hell because he was disappointed with how the gods did nothing but coddle humanoidkind, and decided to be the one who made them suffer like they should for taking advantage of their kindness. He’s a replacement for Zariel, and he made a deal with one humanoid, the BBEG (Merrix d’cannith), to help subjugate as much as Khorvaire as they possibly can, and those who oppose are up to “Ultron” to take care of. He commands a legion of self replicating drones that are powered by soul coins. I need a statblock for both his fallen angel form and his Ultron form. The fallen angel form needs sorcery and battle mastery, and the Ultron version needs to be able to confuse and replicate, and shoot Encephalo rays.

So I made this subclass after I watch Qingxiao trailer (a character from wuthering waves) so in an impulse I made this, and I need balancing cause I wanna try it on a new campaign I was in, session 0 start next week, so I hope this can be balanced before session 0 start

I just wanted the classic Hexblade back: a spooky, Shadowfell-infused magic swordfighter that actually works with the new core rules. Since WotC didn't give us one (and have since said they probably won't), I decided to homebrew it myself.

Link to my Free Homebrew 5.5e Hexblade Warlock PDF

My homebrewed Hexblade redesign for 5.5E. Art by Rylan Woodrow (also me).​

Hello! Inspired by things such a Diablo and Baulders Gate, as well as one of my DMs, I've put together a sheet to generate random magic items. One of my players suggested I should share it so here you guys go!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/158AkQj3OGaYt6ZEigTz2qvk9eR5H0BRJ03zkyFvIzJk/edit?usp=sharing

Only run it through 2 Playtests so far, so I'm welcome to any feedback regarding moving some numbers around or the rarities of certain effects, and if you don't like some effects (Such as Otherworldy Logic, I favour Chaos!) you can simply click the checkbox on the Index Page to prevent it from showing up

I will say, the generated results aren't meant to be given as is to the players, GM is still needed to decide if the item is attunement, which of the 3 options below (Armor, Accessory, Weapon) it should belong to, or if a reroll is needed. Addiontally if you have multiple instances of the same effect such as Healthy scattered on your equipment, you only take the best.

Hope you have a great day!

The Syphoners

"They do not study the Weave. They do not pray for it, bargain for it, or bleed for it in trial. They simply take it from the throat of a dying wizard, from the last gasp of a priest's prayer, from the marrow of anyone fool enough to cast a spell in their presence. The arcanomancy kingdoms call them Heretics, because magic that is stolen rather than earned is, to them, an insult to the very idea of the Weave. The Syphoners do not care. They were hungry before your kingdoms had names, and they will be hungry after."

Syphoners are aberrant predators that feed on arcane energy and the life force bound to it. Unlike liches, warlocks, or wild mages, a Syphoner has no source, patron, or bloodline... it manufactures its power entirely from what it steals. This is what marks them as anathema in every arcanomancy kingdom: they are proof that magic can be taken by force from anyone who wields it, with no ritual, no covenant, and no permission asked.

They are vanishingly rare, most scholars believe fewer than a hundred exist across the world but a single Syphoner that reaches maturity can hollow out a kingdom's magical institutions in a generation. They grow stronger with every spellcaster they drain, advancing through discrete stages much like the undead nobility they are sometimes mistaken for.

Syphoner Wisp

The first stage. A Wisp is newly born, usually from residual arcane energy left behind after a spellcaster's violent death and little more than an instinct-driven hunger given shape.

Syphoner Reaver

By the time a Wisp survives long enough to drain a dozen spellcasters, it condenses into a Reaver. Reavers hunt deliberately, stalking adventuring parties for the wizards and clerics among them and picking off the "boring" fighters last, if at all.

Syphoner Matriarch/ Patriarch

A Matriarch/Patriarch has drained enough powerful casters: archmages, high priests, sometimes entire covens...that its body no longer resembles anything mortal. Trailing ribbons of stolen light hang off a towering, crests, spikes and horns, and its presence alone causes active spells to gutter and flare unpredictably. Matriarchs are the ones arcanomancy kingdoms write laws about, and hunt with everything they have, they know if those are the ones who are left unattended, apocalypse and fall of magic is approaching.

Syphoner Progenitor, "The First Heretic"

Only one is known to exist for certain, and most arcanomancy kingdoms pray it stays that way. The Progenitor is the source rumor traces every Syphoner back to... a colossal, half-crystalline silhouette wreathed in the ghosts of ten thousand stolen spells, each one still murmuring the last words of the caster it was torn from. Where it walks, wards fail, enchantments unravel, and the dead stay dead a little less reliably.

I'm reworking an old Angel player race I made a while back for my setting to make their subrace traits something other than innate spellcasting. The three subraces are Powers, warriors of god sent to fight demons, Virtues, who command the elements (as in weather and other natural phenomena, not fireballs), and Guardians, sent to protect or aid people, places, and things. Here's the traits each share in common:

angel race 5e doc

Every race in my setting is hombrewed, and they tend to be a tad stronger than those in official 5e books. I like their traits to have strong synergies with other character options, but obviously nothing game-breaking.

I'd appreciate some ideas!

Hello all! My playgroup plays a fairly heavily homebrewed version of 5.5e involving each player having 2 classes, but not gestalt rules. We've been getting by using a Google Sheet and a lot of working around certain problems, but I wanted to see if we could get any help finding a program to make a custom sheet in. The goal is to have it be as "automated" as possible, calculating simple things like ability scores, hit points, to hit bonuses, etc. The main issue with the current sheet is that there's no way to reset it beyond manually changing all of the numbers back.

The ideal end product would be something similar to D&D Beyond, but I also know that isn't a realistic goal right now. If there would be any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated! And for anyone interested in seeing our Google Sheet as it is now (mostly working, still has kinks in it), here's a link for it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XtquqZNIPLv8H4mJFZ0eC0WMYrzCXd3vNRR88ER-24w/edit?usp=sharing

I need help, I want reviews and opinions on this Animate Dead spell variant. Basically I wanted more variety on creating Undead creatures. I was looking at this variant: Alternate Animate Dead by SaintHills, but I thought it was too convoluted, so I made one that uses CR instead of XP pools and such (most creature conjuring spells does that too). Here t is:

Animate Dead (Variant)

>Choose a pile of bones or a corpse of a creature within range. The target becomes a Undead creature of CR 1/4 or below, such as a Skeleton or Zombie. You can also select to raise the remains of a fallen creature that isn't a Construct of CR 1/4 or below, such as a Riding Horse, becoming a undead creature subjected to the template below.

On each of your turns, you can take Bonus Action to mentally command any creature you made with this spell if the creature is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move on its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature takes the Dodge action and moves only to avoid harm. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.

The creature is under your control for 24 hours, after which it crumbles to dust and cannot be reanimated again*. To maintain control of the creature for another 24 hours, you must cast this spell on the creature again before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell rather than animating a new creature.

*I think that part of the spell that says that the creature stops obeying you and act as their on when the spell ends to be weird, so I changed it to be that they crumble to dust, just like in Skyrim when the necromancy spells duration ends.

Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. You animate or reassert control over one* additional Undead creatures of CR 1/4, two creatures of CR 1/8 or four creatures of CR 0, for each spell slot level above 3.

*normally it would be two Skeletons/Zombies for each spell slot level above 3, but I wanted to not extrapolate on the number of lower CR creatures and that the variety of the spell comes with the cost of less creatures, so I got to be just one per slot (I still don't know if this is a good decision).

Skeleton Template

>- Retained Characteristics. The Skeleton retains its Hit Dice, Strength, Dexterity, speed, vulnerabilities, resistances, immunities, senses, features, actions, and reactions.

- Lost Characteristics. The Skeleton loses its original saving throw and skill bonuses, as well as any legendary actions, legendary resistances, class features, regeneration, or spellcasting traits it had in life. The creature also loses the swallow or tentacles attack actions.

Ability Scores. The Skeleton's ability scores change as follows: Con 15 (+2), Int 6 (-2), if it isn't already lower), Wis 8 (-1), Cha 5 (-3).

Type. The creature's type changes to undead.

Natural Armor. The AC bonus of the Skeleton's natural armor is reduced by 2, to a minimum of 0.

Additional Senses. The Skeleton gains darkvision to a radius of 60 feet.

Immunities. The Skeleton gains immunity to poison damage, as well as to the Exhausted and Poisoned conditions.

Vulnerabilities. The Skeleton gains vulnerability to Bludgeoning damage.

Languages. The Skeleton retains its known languages, but it can't speak.

Actions. If the creature has a breath weapon, its damage type changes to slashing, and it changes to a Dexterity saving throw. The skeleton loses the swallow action if it had it in life.

Zombie Template

>- Retained Characteristics. The Zombie retains its Hit Dice, Strength, vulnerabilities, resistances, immunities, senses, features, and actions.

- Lost Characteristics. The Zombie loses its original saving throw and skill bonuses, as well as any reactions, ranged attacks, legendary actions, legendary resistances, class features, regeneration, or spellcasting traits.

Ability Scores: The Zombie’s ability scores change as follows: Int 3 (-4), Wis: 6 (-2), Cha: 5 (-3), if they aren't already lower, the Zombie’s Strenght score is increased by 1 and Constitution score is increased by 2, and its Dexterity score is decreased by 6, to a minimum value of 6 (-2).

Type. The creature's type changes to undead.

Natural Armor. The AC bonus of the zombie's natural armor is reduced by 2, to a minimum of 0.

Speed. The zombie has all its speeds reduced by 10 feet.

Saving Throws. The zombie gains proficiency in Wisdom saving throws.

Additional Senses. The zombie gains darkvision to a radius of 60 feet.

Immunities. The zombie gains immunity to poison damage, as well as to the poisoned condition.

Languages. The zombie retains its known languages, but it can't speak.

Additional Traits. The zombie gains the Undead Fortitude trait:

- Undead Fortitude: If damage reduces the zombie to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the zombie drops to 1 hit point instead.

Some thing I am thinking is that of putting more options of using the spell on higher spell slots, like making a 5h or 6th spell make a CR 1 Undead creature. The problem is that this would step on Create Undead area. I also want to change Create Undead in this same matter, but I struggling to do so. I thought in two options to fix the problem:

1 - Make Animate Undead make higher CR creatures when using higher spell slots and leaving Create Undead as it is, making a spell that does more Undead creatures but with less variety (maybe I would have to adjust the number of creatures that both spells create to balance that). The Animate Dead could be something like that:

>Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. You animate or reassert control over one additional Undead creatures of CR 1/4, two creatures of CR 1/8 or four creatures of CR 0, for each spell slot level above 3. Using a level 4 spell slot allows the caster to create a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 1/2. If you use a level 5 spell slot, you can create a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 1. When using a 6th level spell slot you can create a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 2. A 7th level spell sloth could create a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 3. A 8th spell slot allow to create a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 4. Finally, a 9th spell slot would be able to reate a Undead or raise a corpse of a creature of CR 5.

To balance that, I could make limitation on how many creatures of higher CR can be controlled at once.

2 - Change the Create Undead spell just like Animate Dead, making something like that:

Create Undead (Variant)

>You can cast this spell only at night. Choose up to three corpses of pile of bones within range. Each one becomes a CR 1 undead creature under your control. You can also select to raise the remains of a fallen creature that isn't a Construct of CR 1 or below, such as a Brown Bear, becoming a undead creature subjected to the template below.

The thing is that IDK if this would be balanced, maybe making that its just two corpses of CR 1, or even just one (with the possibility of making more lower CR creatures at once). like:

>You can cast this spell only at night. Choose up to two corpses of pile of bones within range. Each one becomes a CR 1 undead creature under your control. You can also select to raise the remains of a fallen creature that isn't a Construct of CR 1 or below, such as a Brown Bear, becoming a undead creature subjected to the template below.

Alternatively, you can create or raise the remains of four CR 1/2 creatures, eight CR 1/4 creatures, twelve 1/8 creatures or twenty four CR 0 creatures, in the same way described above.

Thats my ideas, thanks for reading :)