Homebrew is a term that almost everyone has heard of if they have ever played DnD.
Homebrew products are available for almost everything.
From items, to monsters, and even complete playable races.
My Homebrew Races 5e guide for intermediate and beginner players will teach you how to create your own Homebrew races for DnD.
It’s a great idea to use Homebrew elements in a campaign.
These elements are what I use in every campaign I create for my players.
Homebrew can be difficult to use.
It is almost impossible to master Homebrew the first time you try it.
Start small with a magic item.
If you’re feeling ambitious, or have experience with Homebrewing, you might consider creating a race.
It doesn’t take too much to create your own race.
You should not make it too strong in the beginning, or have a poor level progression, as most Homebrewers’ races do.
The Creative part: Why and How to create your Homebrew Race?
You want to create your own DnD race.
First, ask yourself why you want to do this.
Homebrew items, monsters, and races all share the same characteristics.
It fills a niche and isn’t overpowered or broken, but it is still fun to use.
I’m a huge fan of storytelling and world-building.
The first thing I recommend is to look at lore and background.
While you don’t have to write a whole novel about your race, it is important that you at least have information about how the race interacts with other races and creatures.
Give a brief overview of the culture and how it looks.
It is a good idea if you have a knack for sketching to create rough sketches that will help to bring life to your Homebrew race.
Next, you need to have some lore.
What is their history and how do they influence the world today?
Are there any legends or gods that they are associated with in this world?
Perhaps there is one common goal among this race, such as finding a lost city and retaking part of their ancestral homeland.
Your brainpower and time should be spent thinking about the strength of this race at the beginning and how it progresses.
It is important to determine which abilities your new type has and how they fit into the world.
Ask yourself: What niche does this race fit into?
Does it have enough power to impact the battle but not take over?
Get started with History and Building a Civilization
History
You can skip this section if you are just interested in playing your race and don’t care about other people playing it.
You can skip this part if you don’t like telling stories or you love making up things as you go along.
My experience is that DnD loses a lot of its immersion element if you just try to fit in a random race into the world.
History and civilization go hand in hand.
It is important to think about the major events.
Is there something significant that has happened to them?
As if a God had sent them to a holy place made of gold to live in.
Was there genocide committed by another race thousands years ago?
You don’t need to write a thesis on them.
A few paragraphs with interesting facts are fine.
I try to find at least 3 positive and 3 negative things.
It can be dangerous to begin putting out exact dates.
This could hinder your story or limit you.
These 6 events are your starting points.
Now, choose the latest one.
This should be something that is very significant and still lingers in your race’s collective mind.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, but it can be used to explain why this race behaves the way they do or why their population is so small.
To find inspiration, you can always look at real-life experiences.
Civilization
Don’t spend hours doing this.
You can find other civilizations that you find interesting in our real history.
Let’s take a look at a few things.
The first is, what does an average citizen do?
Is he in the field, has there been major urbanization, or are they still hunter-gatherers or hunters?
The second is to look at the structure of the social hierarchy.
Who is at the top of the hierarchy?
What is the role of the top?
Is it a king, or a council made up of priests and bishops?
These factors can have a significant impact on the way you think about your race.
This hierarchy can be used to determine your average technology and mindset level.
Take a look on who is at the bottom of everyone.
Is it just the poor or deformed?
This could be part of the history for any subraces that your Homebrew might have.
Consider how advanced this civilization is compared to others.
Are they more advanced or less?
Do they feel inferior or superior to other races?
How does technology affect their relationships with the environment, animals, and nature around them?
Consider the Appearance Of Your Race
It is okay to have a crazy race.
It is okay to have fun and do whatever you want.
If you are looking for something simpler, such as a humanoid or humanoid race, appearance can make a big difference on how they interact with the world.
To get the most immersion possible, a slime race is a good choice.
I love to make them unique from the rest of the world, and to consider their anatomy.
Different bodies require different things.
It can have an impact on their strength, stamina and apatite as well as the need to sleep.
What is the relationship between other races in this world?
It is likely that your brand-new Homebrew race will come in contact with other races during the campaign.
Perhaps it’s the first time anyone has ever seen your race or it’s the first time in 100 years or maybe your race is very common.
Some races will always have better relationships with you than others, and vice versa.
This can help you spot people and creatures and determine the party dynamics.
Avoid making too many enemies for your race.
This can hinder the adventure and immersion if you suddenly get help or have a normal discussion with someone from an archenemy species.
Define Their Uniqueness and Niceness
Homebrews can be monsters or items, but it’s because you feel there is something missing that makes DnD more enjoyable.
You should have at least one unique, distinctive aspect to your race.
You can’t have it all.
It could be their past, their abilities, or how they look.
It is important to make the race interesting enough for people to want to continue their campaign.
The Technical: How does your race work and how strong is it?
Ability Scores
Each race has a boost to its ability score.
Don’t go above the +2 or +1 level and make your new race super-powered right away.
It’s not fun.
You should make sure that your Ability Score Boost is only decided after you have established the race and any interesting events that may have given you a boost in a stat.
Your race should be 8 feet tall and 300 pounds in weight.
They must also be able to throw large stones over distances of tens of miles.
There are two ways to increase your ability.
The classic +2 is where an ability can be made stronger by 2 points.
This isn’t overpowered.
There is also the +1 ability to one, which is a bit underpowered.
I prefer a +2.
Some races, such as humans, get a +1 for every stat.
This is a decently balanced system, as most stars are weak and a plus one doesn’t change the game.
When you combine +2 with a ++1 or another +2, things get overwhelming.
Some races, such as the mighty orc, get both a +2 & a +1, but get a 2 in another stat.
What language is your race proficient in?
Your race’s proficiency in a particular subject will have a significant impact on how you interact with the world.
You can become proficient in a few things:
Tools- The ability to use tools or other items such as instruments or transport methods is a valuable thing for everyday travel and daily life.
If a tool is an integral part of their culture, civilization, or even morphology, you could consider them part of your race.
Skills- The way your race evolved, settled, and thrived it can have an impact on the skills it has.
It is sensible to teach your race a skill that allows them to breathe underwater if they come from a watery world.
They might make great hunters if they come from mountains.
You need to be able to track prey over long distances and they must be able to feed themselves.
Languages- I don’t know if that is the average number of languages a race has, but it seems to be 2.
You must ensure that at least one of these languages is common.
Otherwise, you will have difficulty communicating with your fellow travelers.
A new language can be created for your race.
This language has very limited influence so you can make it weird by incorporating clicking sounds.
Weapons- Certain races are able to use a few weapons.
These can be basic weapons such as the bow or unique Homebrew weapons.
I recommend not giving more than three skills to your Homebrew tribe.
What are the unique racial features of your new race?
There is no way to ignore racial characteristics when writing a guide on Homebrew 5e DnD race guides.
They are an important part of the 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons race construction and can have a significant impact on the power and utility of a race.
A racial characteristic is an ability that a base race has that is unique.
It is unique to a single race and it can be a deciding factor in choosing a race.
Unfailing endurance is an example of a racial characteristic.
They have the advantage of being able to drop to one hp once they’ve had a rest.
It is possible to create a unique racial feature or base it on an existing one.
The Way of the Long Death is an example of a monk.
They must spend key points instead of the long rest requirements to achieve the same effect as relentless endurance.
Remember to balance your character, as with everything on this list.
Your race’s overall strength is determined by your abilities and features.
Although it might be fun to have a strong race, if there isn’t a real challenge, it can quickly become boring.
FAQs
What is the most common 5e Homebrew Race error?
This would, in my opinion, make the racial aspect too powerful. This could have the effect of influencing the whole game. I’d rather have a weaker racial characteristic than one that is too powerful.
How important is Homebrew lore?
It’s not important. It is much more important to maintain a good balance in the game. Second, the lore. Lore can be a great way to flesh out your race or to influence the world’s dynamics, but when you are creating your first Homebrew, your primary focus should be on balancing your new race’s abilities and powers.
Can a beginner create their own DnD race?
I wouldn’t recommend it if this is your first Homebrew or if you’ve never played more than three or four different races. It’s better to start small. You could start with a simple item, or a monster of medium level. This will help you balance better.
Conclusion
While creating your own race can be fun, it’s not as enjoyable as playing for long campaigns.
You will quickly find out the hard way if you rush to build the race, and you don’t take balance in account or language skills.
This is even more true if you have a DM who loves to take advantage of players’ mistakes.
You can ask your DM for help if you make a race that isn’t working or has some problems.
If it’s for the good of the game, most Dungeon Masters will not make a problem of it.
It can be daunting to start homebrewing from scratch.
Start small with items.
Make a ring that grants a racial ability to your race.
You can then test it to make sure it suits your playing style and is exactly what you wanted.
