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View Full Version : What's the best homebrew you've seen?



ErrantX
2010-10-02, 09:29 AM
Instead of having an incredibly negative thread where we bash on homebrew or talk about why folks don't allow it, let's instead talk about the best homebrew we've seen on this site or others and why we feel that way!

Providing links to it provides for major kudos as well.

I'll start by saying one of my favorite pieces of homebrew has to be our very own Djinn_In_Tonic's Seidkona of the Iron Bands (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136589). It's one of the most original and flavorful classes I've seen on Homebrew and it has great rules and mechanics to back them up. Open for lots of great potential vestiges. This class is what got me to give the binder a chance and now the binder makes my shortlist for favorite classes. Another favorite of mine is another well known Playgrounder, Lord_Gareth's Children of the Mausoleum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6123947&postcount=6) from one of the past PrC contests. Such incredibly creepy druids that give off a sort of intensity of cool that doesn't usually come from druids. The flavor text alone in this class is worth the trip to check it out.

So, what all do you like?
-X

The Rose Dragon
2010-10-02, 09:50 AM
Hellfire Ballet Style.

I can't really comment on the mechanics, but it's good to have a nice martial arts style that you can use with firewands and flame pieces.

Lord_Gareth
2010-10-02, 09:59 AM
D20 Rebirth. That is all. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132683)

Ormur
2010-10-02, 10:04 AM
I've never paid much attention to home brew and I admit I'm a bit prejudiced against it but Oslecamo's monster classes made me want to play some of them, like the dragons and Rakshasa. I think it's also a very useful addition since the HD and LA of most monsters pretty much make them unplayable normally.

Fawsto
2010-10-02, 10:09 AM
Must agree: this thread is much, much more positive. Nice iniciative.

Unfortunatly I have not read any homebrews lately that really impressed me, however.

Cheers,

Fax Celestis
2010-10-02, 10:18 AM
D20 Rebirth. That is all. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132683)

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m21/xogrim/broFistLogo.png

Lord_Gareth
2010-10-02, 10:20 AM
I have an outstanding question on your Pyrearch thread you still need to answer, you bardic bastahd!!!!EXCLAMATION POINT!!111!!!ONE

Fax Celestis
2010-10-02, 10:25 AM
I have an outstanding question on your Pyrearch thread you still need to answer, you bardic bastahd!!!!EXCLAMATION POINT!!111!!!ONE

You lie. <_< I totally didn't just go answer it right now.

EDIT: Also I am a big fan of Flickerdart's Implacable Man (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153003).

Lord_Gareth
2010-10-02, 10:38 AM
'Brewers in general can learn from Fax's example in opening themselves up to critique, seriously considering it, and being willing to change your creation. For some reason my Harrowed class (see siggy) has a cult of obscure posters who worship at its feet, but it would have never gotten there if I hadn't been willing to admit when I had bad ideas (often) and fix them.

SurlySeraph
2010-10-02, 10:41 AM
Since d20r has been covered, I'll bring up The Demented One's ToB disciplines. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7315805&postcount=52)

ErrantX
2010-10-02, 11:04 AM
'Brewers in general can learn from Fax's example in opening themselves up to critique, seriously considering it, and being willing to change your creation. For some reason my Harrowed class (see siggy) has a cult of obscure posters who worship at its feet, but it would have never gotten there if I hadn't been willing to admit when I had bad ideas (often) and fix them.

I'd agree with this. d20r is a huge undertaking and one man cannot do it alone. While I may not always agree with some of Fax's choices in d20r (I love a lot of it but... sorcerer is going away from where I'd be happy but I see why), I am mostly on board with it and enjoy his changes. I'm a little envious of your Harrowed Cult Lord_Gareth, I've yet to write anything that's half as big a hit as that. Maybe one day! Perhaps my Libram of Battle will get there? :smallbiggrin:

-X

mrcarter11
2010-10-02, 11:11 AM
I try to keep up to date with D20r, I find it to be very good in most cases. As for cults.. I'm generally a big fan of anything Errant makes.. Having playtested most of his stuff at one time or another.. As for LoB, I still love that project and regularly use some of it.

aje8
2010-10-02, 01:46 PM
Xenotheurgy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122103) has to take the cake for me. Awesome flavor, great (if complex) mechanics. Simply awesome.

Morph Bark
2010-10-02, 01:48 PM
Sadly, the best homebrew I've seen was on the gleemax WotC forums, but that stuff is all lost now. I've seen good stuff here and I've saved a lot of it, favourited it, etc, so that it may see use someday, but few of it has really made me jump up and down. I do have to say though, that while I am not really a fan of a lot of his work, DragoonWraith's Midnight Occultist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157493) has me adrool for wanting to play binders or meldshapers. Especially together.

Oh, and some planetouched (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109785) homebrew races. Because I love planetouched and they were made very well in the likeliness of the official ones.

ErrantX
2010-10-02, 01:49 PM
Yeah, I totally forgot about that system. Xenotheurgy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122103)was pretty rad. Realms of Chaos and those that assisted on that project definitely get props.

DragoonWraith has made a bang of really great homebrew as well, yeah. The Midnight Occultist won a PrC Contest, as have a few of his other works. Chtonic Serpent / The Bound was also a pretty good 'Brew as well.

-X

hamishspence
2010-10-02, 01:50 PM
I was kind of impressed by Guide to Hell by Dicefreaks:

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9435886&postcount=105

DragoonWraith
2010-10-02, 01:53 PM
I'll happily second the nomination of the Seiškona of the Iron Bands; I really love that PrC. The Harrowed I'm also a huge fan of, though I think I've been a bit more critical of it, heh. Almost all of TD1 and Krimm Blackleaf's stuff is absolutely incredible, and I'm an especially big fan of the Sleeping Goddess discipline.

Eldan
2010-10-02, 01:59 PM
Oh, and some planetouched (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=109785) homebrew races. Because I love planetouched and they were made very well in the likeliness of the official ones.

:smallredface:
Didn't think I'd be named in the same thread as Djinn or TDO or Fax...

Anyway, a lot of what I love has been said (d20r: I love some things, but not others: basically, I love everything other than the classes: investing feats and skill sets are great, but I still haven't seen a single class I'd actually want to play, TDO's disciplines; the Seidkona), but I'd also like to mention Krimm Blackleaf's prestige classes. They ooze awesomeness, and he does ToB gishes. I love gishes, and I love ToB, so I love Krimm's classes.

Morph Bark
2010-10-02, 01:59 PM
Almost all of TD1 and Krimm Blackleaf's stuff is absolutely incredible, and I'm an especially big fan of the Sleeping Goddess discipline.

Their work has certainly gathered its fame. I haven't thoroughly read all of it, though I will have to at some point in the near future, as I wish to run some campaigns where the classes, PrCs, races and martial disciplines used must all be homebrew, as a sort of massive playtesting gig.

Recently in another thread here I mentioned what homebrew has seen use in my campaigns and I mentioned one of Krimm's works that - sadly - I think was one of his lesser works, despite how clear it was that it was also a very great attempt. He told me (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9459487#post9459487) that he has altered it though, but I haven't reviewed the exact changes, so I can't comment on the differences.



:smallredface:
Didn't think I'd be named in the same thread as Djinn or TDO or Fax...

Well hey, even us smalltime 'brewers sometime need cred and you certainly deserved it there. I think I've seen more of your work that I've liked, but that's the only thing I have in my favourites on Chrome I think - and one of the very few in the "Races" folder.

Chambers
2010-10-02, 02:05 PM
Two of my favorite homebrews are E6 (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/206323-e6-game-inside-d-d.html) and the Races of War Feats (http://dungeons.wikia.com/wiki/Races_of_War_(3.5e_Sourcebook)/Warriors_with_Style#The_Failure_of_Feats).

I like the concept of E6, but for maybe a different reason than most people like it. I think E6 is the best way to run Epic level games. Instead of starting at level 20 or 30 or whatever and have Epic spellcasting break the game...play in an E6 world and have the characters be level 15. Or level 10. Compared to the rest of the world, the characters are crazy powerful, yet the characters are still manageable from a DM's perspective.

I like what the Races of War feats do for non-spell casting warriors. They vastly increase the worth of a feat. I haven't used them in a game yet - I think they would need to be used carefully, with the DM aware of the implications, for them to be used correctly. But I think used sparingly they can add a lot to some of the blander non-spellcasting classes (Core Fighter, I'm looking at you).

Lord_Gareth
2010-10-02, 02:06 PM
Who volunteers to make a Harrowed/Swordmage PrC?

Morph Bark
2010-10-02, 02:16 PM
Who volunteers to make a Harrowed/Swordmage PrC?

No doubt that would be tempting/interesting to see...

DragoonWraith
2010-10-02, 02:19 PM
Huh, I'll keep that idea in mind. I have a lot of crap going on right now, but it's a very interesting idea.

Zaydos
2010-10-02, 02:27 PM
Well my personal favorite is DragoonWraith's Midnight Occultist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157493), besides that I like Krimm and the Demented One's ToB stuff (it's actually what got me onto these forums), and any theurge style class.

Xefas
2010-10-02, 02:31 PM
I'm a fan of the Hundredfold Facets of Enlightenment (http://forums.white-wolf.com/cs/forums/t/6820.aspx) and Realm Guard. (http://www.burningwheel.org/forum/showthread.php?9572-Realm-Guard-Rangers-of-the-North-%28v1-6%29)

The former because it did pretty much exactly what I wanted with elder Infernal stuff. The latter because not only is it useful 'brew in its own right, but because it sets a very nice framework for other homebrewers to follow in its footsteps (which I'm currently making use of).

But yeah, anything by the The Demented One is great. Before my last Exalted game, I linked my players to his repository in the Exalted wiki and said something akin to "Anything by this man is canon. You don't have to ask."

Cogidubnus
2010-10-02, 02:37 PM
Seconding Oslecamo's Monster Classes (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142724), and also Gorgondantess' Alignment-based warriors (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160730).

NineThePuma
2010-10-02, 03:11 PM
TG Oskar's stuff. I don't have a link handy (stupid itouch) but EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES IS AWESOME.

From the Ki-based pseudo-supernatural classes to the now much more awesome Ranger, to the Bez-Kismet's awesome debuffs, to the Warmage and Healer retools. It is all awesome. Not to mention his less retool-y stuff, including Complete Martial.

true_shinken
2010-10-02, 03:14 PM
No love for the Blue Mage (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19526914/New_Class_-_Blue_Mage!)?!
Can't find the full class, damn. Here is the full class (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19526914/New_Class_-_Blue_Mage!&post_num=1242#456986449).
Heck, there is even a version here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160606).

BobVosh
2010-10-02, 03:24 PM
I don't really like classes, but that is because some are hard to push pass DMs despite them being awesome.

However I have used a fair amount of monsters/template homebrew from these forums. I really liked the broken template (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10905) from Vorpal Tribble.

Also another vote for D20R.

I found most of Vorpal Tribble, Demented One's, and Krimm Blackleaf's stuff to be great.

ErrantX
2010-10-02, 03:38 PM
Agreed on TD1 and Krimm for being excellent homebrewers. It was their work that convinced me that the Tome of Battle was definitely worth it.

-X

Fawsto
2010-10-02, 03:53 PM
Would it be too much of a work to create a lasting topic in the homebrew forum to compilate a list of links to these homebrews? I would imagine it would give them much more attenction and increase their use in other groups tables.

What you guys think?

Edit: Would be thread necromancy to try and bring back something like "From the Playground"?

Fax Celestis
2010-10-02, 04:05 PM
JackMann got really burnt out on maintaining it before he went into the military. It'd be easier to maintain if it was multieditable. I can set up an index on my wiki, but it's off-site.

Siosilvar
2010-10-02, 04:08 PM
Anything by:
Fax Celestis
The Demented One
Krimm Blackleaf
Vorpal Tribble
Djinn in Tonic
Zeta Kai

Most stuff by:
Icewalker
Xallace
afroakuma
ErrantX

Fawsto
2010-10-02, 04:11 PM
Does this forum supports multieditable threads? If it does, count me in for the job! Well, if I get some help of course... University is not an easy thing.

If we can't do that, linking them to your wiki would be the close second best thing.

Fax Celestis
2010-10-02, 04:15 PM
My wiki (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php)'s recently activated captcha, so public access (instead of the previous request-only) is available again. If you want to make an index, I'd put it here (http://wiki.faxcelestis.net/index.php?title=GitP:Homebrew_Index) and then make a thread in the homebrew section about it.

Morty
2010-10-02, 04:17 PM
I have a soft spot for Oslecamo's Mob rules (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129179), because they let GMs actually challenge the PCs with large numbers of weak enemies. I also pay close attention to d20r.

PlzBreakMyCmpAn
2010-10-02, 04:21 PM
None, really. Perhaps I'm a harsh critic. Dragoonwraith's stuff should make it, but I don't like the flavor of the midnight occultist.

Some have flaws in the fluff like how blue mages won't survive to learn PAO and non-PC templates (DM's using custom templates against their players seems cheesy to me). Over complicating things happens often too.

The others fall into two categories: does what other things can do (yet another gain special mount class) or does things nothing else should be able to do (turn all evil creatures regardless of type ... because comon how fair is that?)

Its hard to come up with things that a) aren't duplicates of existing abilities and b) aren't completely borked. Even things that appear innocent (gaining pp with attacks) aren't even with only mild creativity (fine sized dagger + psionic healing)

That said I have 1 homebrew class I've been working on for a while based off a BG thread about how much is needed to keep fully optimized casters in check. If I ever stop tweaking it, I will post it.

Djinn_in_Tonic
2010-10-02, 04:23 PM
As mentioned, almost anything by Fax Celestis, The Demented One, Krimm_Blackleaf, or The Vorpal Tribble is assured to be of high quality. What the best homebrew is, however...that's another story. I love the work of the above, but sometimes I don't like the concept behind it.

I love the idea behind the Warheart Items (TDO and Krimm, I believe), and think that's a really wonderful piece of work. I love many of the concepts behind the Swordmage (DragoonWraith). I really love (not to toot my own horn here, but I'm being honest) the Psychokinetic Wright, Madspark Eccentric, and Seiškona of the Iron Bands. As mentioned, Fax's d20r is an amazing project, and I am in awe of it.

Isolating one or more as the best thing I've seen, however, is impossible. There are so many wonderful mechanical creations, so many wonderfully flavorful creations (add Lord_Gareth and Hyooz to that list: I may not always agree with their mechanics, but somethings the flavor is amazing...), and so many that are excellent in both areas that I can't honestly make a call.

arguskos
2010-10-02, 04:24 PM
The Astrologist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101423), by Pair O' Dice Lost, has long been one of my favorite works. I can't quite place why, but I do love it so. Most of Dice's works are pretty good.

afroakuma's works are uniformly badass as well. Love all of them, especially the Modron and Slaad reworkings.

DragoonWraith
2010-10-02, 04:31 PM
None, really. Perhaps I'm a harsh critic. Dragoonwraith's stuff should make it, but I don't like the flavor of the midnight occultist.
Heh, my entire body of works gets a pass because of the flavor of one class? Mostly, I'm honored to have even been mentioned, since you seem to be pretty anti-homebrew in general, but I do have a question: do you like my work in general, just not the Midnight Occultist, or do you specifically like the Midnight Occultist except for the fluff?

Also, what's wrong with the fluff? I mean, it's pretty much taken straight from the Binder's fluff to begin with...

The Dark Fiddler
2010-10-02, 05:14 PM
I really enjoy homebrew, but like with most things, favorites often come down to what the most recent thing I've read is... anyway:

Vaynor's Reality Master (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117942) that I discovered yesterday in the IRC, thanks to a discussion of a class that imposes reality upon the D&D world as a weapon. It may not do that, but it's still pretty cool, even if just because I can, after 10 levels, bury my enemies in a 100 cubic feet of lava.

Rich's Champion Class is also pretty good, something I've wanted to play for a while (and am finally getting a chance to!). Not sure why I like it though.

Xefas's Make Your Own Outsider (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77010) class is another favorite of mine, because I like the idea of being able to actually play an angel/devil/demon without terrible LA and Racial HD.

Hyooz's Slender Man (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7707638&postcount=11) gets points from me because of my Slender Man obsession.

And any one of the few things I've made, even if they all suck. :smallyuk:

Morph Bark
2010-10-02, 05:28 PM
Oh yeah! Now that the name's come up, I remember perfectly. This (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/jFppYwv7OUkegKhONNF.html). It is, without a doubt, what I consider the best homebrew ever. Say what you will about fixes to something borked like that not counting, I don't care, it does what it should do. My games have bloomed on the diplomatic level because of it.

SurlySeraph
2010-10-02, 07:42 PM
We need a link to Vorpal's monsters. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8080635#post8080635)

Optimator
2010-10-03, 02:39 AM
OW4 and Seerow's Paladin remake.

Sdonourg
2010-10-03, 06:58 AM
Kellus' The Way Words Work has never been mentioned? :smallconfused:

Violet Octopus
2010-10-03, 10:17 PM
There are a lot of base classes and PrCs out there that I admire on a mechanical level (especially many of the dual-advancement classes, and alternate magic systems that fill a new niche), and I'm always stunned by how prolific some of the brewers are. I'm going to say my favourite brew though, is stuff with excellent fluff (especially when it has interesting mechanics that express it), and reworkings of systems.

The former because while I can produce a half-decent mechanic every now and then, I suck at writing fluff. Djinn in Tonic's classes, and many of Krimm's classes come to mind. Campaign settings are also great, especially The New World (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/YPgbz2j3PckGjjviJU5.html) series. The creative process behind them is fascinating and instructive, but the world itself feels real and meaningful. I eant to adventure there, I want to run campaigns there.

In the latter category, obviously d20r is the most remarkable one, but I also want to mention AstralFire's Avatar: SAGA Edition (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6576995), and have Avatar d20 and Sword and Sorcery SAGA on my to-read list. The sheer volume of work that goes into some of these things is incredible, and I admire people's persistence.

Knaight
2010-10-03, 10:22 PM
Blood Sweat and Steel could be counted as one large homebrew project, if so it is easily my favorite.

Otherwise, Knacks (http://www.fudgefactor.org/2004/06/01/firefight2.html) hold the title. The goal is action movie gunfights, and they accomplish that beautifully.

No, neither of these are d20. The thread technically didn't specify it.:smallamused:

The Rose Dragon
2010-10-03, 10:25 PM
No, neither of these are d20. The thread technically didn't specify it.:smallamused:

You're a little too late to introduce a non-d20 homebrew, as that is what I did in the second post.

true_shinken
2010-10-03, 11:17 PM
Xefas's Make Your Own Outsider (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77010) class is another favorite of mine, because I like the idea of being able to actually play an angel/devil/demon without terrible LA and Racial HD.

Man, this one is awesome! I'll probably use it for a BBEG in my campaign.

Masaioh
2010-10-03, 11:34 PM
Pretty much anything by Frank and K, and Rithaniel's base classes. Both can be found on dungeons.wikia.com

Zeta Kai
2010-10-03, 11:47 PM
There are just so many great homebrew projects here that I love dearly that it would be almost impossible to choose. But, if I absolutely had to choose, I'd go with AfroAkuma's Silver Hellstar (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5453448#post5453448). He was asked to provide a villain, & he gave us a campaign setting. An awesome one.

zenanarchist
2010-10-03, 11:54 PM
I've got to vote up arguskos' "Measure of a man" The link escapes me though....I deleted the subscription when my email inbox got flooded. But he's got some great stuff on there. All weaponry.

Jjeinn-tae
2010-10-04, 12:09 AM
I found several on WoTC a long while back that I really liked; some final fantasy classes, an improved sorcerer with a lot of the flavor of Pathfinder sorcerers... and at will prestidigitation. I know they didn't need the boost, but I loved the flavor. Also there was the "Goblin Eyepoker," a goblin specialized in using pointy sticks. Lost those links when I switched computers, but I just remembered that I saved some of the classes I found there... Maybe I should have my players run across an eyepoker.

thegurullamen
2010-10-04, 02:00 AM
afroakuma's Vote Up A Villain villains. Nearly all of them. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5281866&postcount=45

dsmiles
2010-10-04, 06:05 AM
I've been out of the 3.5 homebrew scene for a while, now, and I've never posted any of my own 3.5 homebrew (since it was pretty campaign-world specific). But out of the limited amount of 4e homebrew I've seen, I have to go with Djinn in Tonic's 4e Paragon Paths (converted from his 3.x prestige classes), specifically the Madspark Eccentric. Best.Paragon.Path.EVAR!

Aotrs Commander
2010-10-04, 10:32 AM
OW4 and Seerow's Paladin remake.

Seconded.

Tempest Stormwind's Sublime Marshal was another; both of which I officially replaced the prior classes with.

(The Falling Star school Tempest started (and others finished) is pretty good too, though I confess to some bias having a bit of input on that myself.)

Aharon
2010-10-04, 10:35 AM
Only tangentially related:
I recently saw some good homebrew about the far realms on this board. A search on the homebrew-subboard with the search term "far realms" didn't turn it up, though. Does anybody remember it and can perhaps point me toward it? I liked it, especially since it had some scaling monsters and a scary clown :smallbiggrin:

The-Mage-King
2010-10-04, 11:08 AM
Animana's Limit classes (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528498/The_Limit_Warriors?pg=1) are among my favorites. Haven't had a chance to try one, but still...

Tyndmyr
2010-10-04, 01:16 PM
The giant's diplomacy rules.

They make sense, and fix a rather broken area of the rules.
They don't require sweeping changes, or indeed, any other homebrew at all, therefore, they mesh quite well with just about any setting or game.
They are fairly simple. The actual article is fairly long, since it goes into detail on the why's and such, but the rules themselves can be summarized quite briefly, in a couple of tables.

So, all in all, you have a widely applicable set of fairly broken rules that are fixed briefly and elegantly. Good homebrew.

Jjeinn-tae
2010-10-04, 01:56 PM
Animana's Limit classes (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528498/The_Limit_Warriors?pg=1) are among my favorites. Haven't had a chance to try one, but still...

Thank you, that's the ones I was talking about! :smallbiggrin: I knew if they were still around someone would link them here.

Ormagoden
2010-10-04, 02:08 PM
I'm a really big fan of this Monk homebrew (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35152&page=2#33).

The-Mage-King
2010-10-04, 02:47 PM
Thank you, that's the ones I was talking about! :smallbiggrin: I knew if they were still around someone would link them here.

Yeah, he says he might be reposting them here in the next week, with some extra polishing as well...

Morph Bark
2010-10-04, 02:57 PM
Thank you, that's the ones I was talking about! :smallbiggrin: I knew if they were still around someone would link them here.

Yeah, he says he might be reposting them here in the next week, with some extra polishing as well...

So it appears, yes.

I guess my attempt at re-making my Limit Dragoon from the WotC boards was an endeavor that had further-stretching consequences than I'd have hoped. Good consequences. :smallwink:

The-Mage-King
2010-10-04, 03:36 PM
So it appears, yes.

I guess my attempt at re-making my Limit Dragoon from the WotC boards was an endeavor that had further-stretching consequences than I'd have hoped. Good EXCELLENT consequences. :smallwink:

Fix'd that for you.

cooperflood
2010-10-04, 04:18 PM
Here's a quick "top five" from me.

Sublime Way Marshall by Tempest Stormwind (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528454/Sublime_Way_Variant_Marshal,_ala_Tempest_Stormwind ) The granddady of them all. This is the class that first got me to start looking for more homebrew options. Took an interesting "idea" and turned it into the class it always should have been.

War Summoner by Zagan (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8485772&postcount=11) This PrC combines two of my favorite archetypes (Summoning and Leadership) and creates one bad-ass character.

Battle Shifter by The Demented One (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74521) A great class for an under supported alternative class feature, shapeshift.

Tome Monk by Frank and K (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Monk,_Tome_(3.5e_Class)) Work by these authors always produces strong reactions for a variety of reasons. The two classes here represent two of the best options that can be easily dropped into a non-tome game. The Tome Monk is what the monk class has always desperately wanted to be, but has always miserably failed at.

Tome Summoner by Frank and K (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Summoner_(3.5e_Class)) A spontaneous caster in the Beguiler/Dread Necromancer vein. Wonderfully done with a nice spell list and solid class features.

Lord Bingo
2010-10-04, 05:13 PM
A friend of mine brewed a really tasty mead seasoned with orange zest:smallwink:

dsmiles
2010-10-04, 05:18 PM
A friend of mine brewed a really tasty mead seasoned with orange zest:smallwink:

That's funny, I know a guy who brewed a chocolate stout. Mmmmmmmm...yummy! :smallbiggrin:

Dusk Eclipse
2010-10-04, 10:20 PM
I don't remember who posted it, but the Sunlime Way Ranger is definetly one of my favorite homebrew ever.

Also most of what I have seen from Dragoon Wraith is on that list, my personal favorites are the Chthonic Serpent Discipline and the Midnight Occulitist.

Eldariel's Ephemeral blade is also pretty good, though I still have to find the opportunity to play it.

T.G. Oskar
2010-10-04, 10:47 PM
I'd say mine, but...well, that's not being humble.

Still; if I were to mention one homebrew that I like (and that grew a bit after looking at it closely), it's the Penny Dreadful's War-marked (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124700). It's an attempt to make a martial class with an unique flavor by making lots of combat styles, each featuring abilities that simply can't be replicated by feats, spells or maneuvers (darned it be about the supernatural feel of them; after all, martial characters need some love). I reckon it could be polished a bit more, but it's a class I attempted to use once.

It's a shame the Doc is a bit absent nowadays, and that the ToS is slowly fading into oblivion; good stuff emerged from there.

Also, thanks Dyth for at least cheering me up!

CockroachTeaParty
2010-10-04, 11:27 PM
Another shout out for the True Xenotheurge and all that madness. Were all the little sub-discipline breaches ever completed? When I tried to make one, there were still gaping holes in the xenogheurge's list of options.

Makiru
2010-10-04, 11:35 PM
Back on the WotC Mature boards, before the big purge, there was the ToB Discipline and base class Ecchinobi. While the content is what you'd probably expect from the name, the actual mechanics and class were, IMO, superbly built. Maybe someday I'll post what I saved from that thread here, especially if I remember who originally created it.

As far as things from this board are concerned, I cannot plug Pirates vs. Ninjas enough (see sig)...and that's not just because I'm friends with Dariun. He put a lot of work into the system (and still is) and it has been immense fun to beta-test.

lsfreak
2010-10-04, 11:40 PM
As with others, I'd agree that there are some homebrew monsters, like Fax, Dragoon Wraith, afromakua, The Demented One, and probably a least one or two I've spaced off, whose work is simply amazing and puts the vast majority of official stuff to shame.

Realm of Chaos' work, at least so far, isn't quite as refined, but Xenotheurgy and Descent of Shadows are both definitely worth mentioning.

But if I had to single out a single thing, I'd have to say Lycanthromancer's psionics rewrite. It is elegant and excellent.

PlzBreakMyCmpAn
2010-10-05, 01:54 AM
Heh, my entire body of works gets a pass because of the flavor of one class?not what i said, but I had tracked down all the previously mentioned links.


do you like my work in general, just not the Midnight Occultist, or do you specifically like the Midnight Occultist except for the fluff?both


Also, what's wrong with the fluff? I mean, it's pretty much taken straight from the Binder's fluff to begin with...I can't give you a straight answer on this board. Find me on freer ones like BG.

ErrantX
2010-10-05, 02:18 AM
I'm glad this thread is continuing. :smallbiggrin:

Please, if you can, post links to the homebrew you really love so we can all go and check it out! Doesn't have to be your one and only favorite either. Whatever your favorites are, be it top 1, top 3, top 5, top 500. Doesn't matter. Links are important if possible, but if not, at least credit where credit is due!

-X

Zaakar
2010-10-05, 05:00 AM
Can't really tell my favourite, but Avramir (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114832) by Lappy9000 is great.

Knaight
2010-10-05, 06:17 AM
The 1001 Weapons of Awesemniss (Or something similar, it was horribly misspelled) back on the Gleemax board kicked up some pretty good stuff. The last post was some moron who came on to brag about his monks fists and how horribly power gamed they were, but other than that it was a good thread.

Il_Vec
2010-10-05, 10:08 PM
If you were to DM a game and wanted to substitute the corebook monk, would you use the D20r Monk or the Tome Monk?

Fax Celestis
2010-10-05, 10:19 PM
If you were to DM a game and wanted to substitute the corebook monk, would you use the D20r Monk or the Tome Monk?

I'd use mine, but I'm biased.

Morph Bark
2010-10-06, 02:14 AM
If you were to DM a game and wanted to substitute the corebook monk, would you use the D20r Monk or the Tome Monk?

Homebrew required? Because otherwise I'd just go Unarmed Swordsage. My games tend to be even split between "we use homebrew" and "let's not use homebrew this time".

And considering d20r has some changes from the basic system, wouldn't its Monk version only truly work in a d20r game rather than a standard DnD game?

gorfnab
2010-10-06, 02:46 AM
No love for the Blue Mage (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19526914/New_Class_-_Blue_Mage!)?!
Can't find the full class, damn. Here is the full class (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19526914/New_Class_-_Blue_Mage!&post_num=1242#456986449).
Heck, there is even a version here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=160606).
Yeah Blue Mage!

BTW: here is the link for it on BG, Blue Mage (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=8721.0)

I'm kinda partial to some of the Shadowcaster homebrew found here: Descent of Shadows: Project Shadow Returns (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74519)

dsmiles
2010-10-06, 04:22 AM
If you were to DM a game and wanted to substitute the corebook monk, would you use the D20r Monk or the Tome Monk?

I find the core monk to be a perfectly acceptable class, considering the halfling monk-on-a-rope (as he came to be known, long story, maybe I'll tell it some time) took out the BBEG in one hit (nat 1 on the save vs. QP). But,I haven't personally read either, though I hear good things about Fax's d20r work.

true_shinken
2010-10-06, 12:13 PM
I find the core monk to be a perfectly acceptable class, considering the halfling monk-on-a-rope (as he came to be known, long story, maybe I'll tell it some time) took out the BBEG in one hit (nat 1 on the save vs. QP). But,I haven't personally read either, though I hear good things about Fax's d20r work.

The problem with d20r is that it's too much out there. It's harder to 'just pick' a class from d20r and into your own game than to do the same with a Pathfinder class.



Still; if I were to mention one homebrew that I like (and that grew a bit after looking at it closely), it's the Penny Dreadful's War-marked (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124700). It's an attempt to make a martial class with an unique flavor by making lots of combat styles

This is my problem with the Warmarked. Replacing the Fighter for something with 'unique flavor' is alreayd bad, since the Fighter is supposed to be very generic.
Also, actually getting any 'unique flavor' requires a bit more fluff than a single paragraph. YMMV.

Both are very good homebrew and in their own, but for the aforementioned reasons, I wouldn't use'em in my games.

Fax Celestis
2010-10-06, 12:15 PM
The problem with d20r is that it's too much out there. It's harder to 'just pick' a class from d20r and into your own game than to do the same with a Pathfinder class.

What? Why? Drop the prowess line, switch the skills and proficiencies to the original class' lists, and give it twice the number of skill sets it gets as skills per level. Done and done. Everything else is directly portable.

true_shinken
2010-10-06, 12:18 PM
What? Why? Drop the prowess line, switch the skills and proficiencies to the original class' lists, and give it twice the number of skill sets it gets as skills per level. Done and done. Everything else is directly portable.
With Pathfinder, you just need to switch skills and that's about it. That's my point.

Tyndmyr
2010-10-06, 12:19 PM
If you were to DM a game and wanted to substitute the corebook monk, would you use the D20r Monk or the Tome Monk?

In practice, I use Unarmed Swordsage.

However, if only those two options were available, I would select D20r. I don't like the premise the tome classes are based on.

Fax Celestis
2010-10-06, 12:30 PM
With Pathfinder, you just need to switch skills and that's about it. That's my point.

So, five seconds as opposed to fifteen. Got it.

ErrantX
2010-10-06, 12:34 PM
In practice, I use Unarmed Swordsage.

However, if only those two options were available, I would select D20r. I don't like the premise the tome classes are based on.


So, five seconds as opposed to fifteen. Got it.

I'd take the d20r classes over the Tomes classes any day of the week. The Tomes represent a lot of thought and work, but totally in the opposite direction. Fax's work represents more rational thought towards the breaks in 3.5 and just plain works better (in theory, I've not used any of the d20r rules myself). Pathfinder is simpler, but honestly, I don't think it's better. Honestly, it looks like they stapled the ninja rules to the core monk and let it go. Highly lame. Unarmed swordsage is way more elegant, or d20r monk.

-X

Tyndmyr
2010-10-06, 12:42 PM
So, five seconds as opposed to fifteen. Got it.

Yes, pathfinder is a fast port.

It is not always worth porting, though. Some of their ideas are fine. Some are...meh.

Zaydos
2010-10-06, 12:56 PM
In practice, I use Unarmed Swordsage.

However, if only those two options were available, I would select D20r. I don't like the premise the tome classes are based on.

This; I can't say I've looked heavily at either system but what I have seen of the Tome classes was :smalleek: THE POWER :smalleek: and I've never played a game anywhere near that power... except maybe that one session where the DM told me to make the strongest character I could, let me have a pixie familiar and let Practiced Spellcaster work for my Focused Conjurer/Chaos Mage (my other concept was a Focused Transmuter/Master Specialist; it came out to be about 3 times stronger due to differences in build) and then had me help cheese out the entire party.

true_shinken
2010-10-06, 01:13 PM
So, five seconds as opposed to fifteen. Got it.
Actually, first you have to read prowess, understand what it is and then realize you won't be bringing it to D&D. Then you have to understand d20r's skill and proficiency rules and only then can you port.
So a few minutes at least.

Fax Celestis
2010-10-06, 01:15 PM
Actually, first you have to read prowess, understand what it is and then realize you won't be bringing it to D&D. Then you have to understand d20r's skill and proficiency rules and only then can you port.
So a few minutes at least.

You still only have to read it once to decide if you're using it or not. Sure, five minutes for a cursory overview, but after that, it's negligible to swap it back.

true_shinken
2010-10-06, 01:19 PM
You still only have to read it once to decide if you're using it or not. Sure, five minutes for a cursory overview, but after that, it's negligible to swap it back.

But you would still have to consult it anytime you would convert a class. I find it to be too much work; if a player requested using something from d20r specifically I'd consider it, but I won't do it myself.

Esser-Z
2010-10-06, 01:36 PM
There's more to the PF Switch that just skills. Skills, CMB/CMD, the increased number of feats... not to mention all the base classes being altered to some extent.

And then there're the various conversions that have to be done for compatibility. Take Diamond Mind. Concentration isn't a skill in PF! (The obvious solution, which really should be implemented back in 3.x too, is replacing it with Autohypnosis. Autohyp actually has USES for a martial adept. Furthermore, despite the default psionic flavor... the skill is actually a REALLY NICE implementation of heroic will and determination and so forth).

If you don't implement Fax's new mechanics (I would. I love Prowess), d20r IS a very easily compatible system. It really, really doesn't take long at all to convert this sort of thing--certainly less time than the rest of character creation, by far. I'd say less time than statgen (unless you insist on rolling, which ugh), even!

Tyndmyr
2010-10-06, 01:44 PM
I believe the description was of porting a PF class to 3.5. In that case, typically only skills need to be modified.

I agree that other ports can be more complex, but for the purpose of grabbing a class for a 3.5 game, he's correct.

Esser-Z
2010-10-06, 01:45 PM
I believe the description was of porting a PF class to 3.5. In that case, typically only skills need to be modified.

I agree that other ports can be more complex, but for the purpose of grabbing a class for a 3.5 game, he's correct.

True. The PF classes ARE very easily ported into 3.5. Mostly just swap the skill list and add the x4 at level back, yeah.