DM's Guild Suggestions and Reviews?

[Darkholme]

Just getting into 5e, and there's a LOT of DM's guild materials.

Are there any you thought were really good that you would recommend?
Any real stinkers to avoid?

[Trolleitor]

I usually just look at the ones with more than 10 reviews. But, sometimes, even that is not enough.

[Giant2005]

I usually just look at the ones with more than 10 reviews. But, sometimes, even that is not enough.

That is pretty stringent criteria considering how rare it is to get a review.
My most downloaded item has 2,367 downloads but only 2 reviews. Between everything, I only have a combined total of 10 reviews (from 6,696 downloads). Most of those reviews I headhunted myself by finding reviewers that were willing to accept a free copy in return for a review (I had one guy review basically everything because he was actually reliable - usually they just take their copy and call it a day).
The number of reviews is only an indication of how well the writer managed to find reviewers, nothing more.

[CrazyCrab]

That is pretty stringent criteria considering how rare it is to get a review.
My most downloaded item has 2,367 downloads but only 2 reviews. Between everything, I only have a combined total of 10 reviews (from 6,696 downloads). Most of those reviews I headhunted myself by finding reviewers that were willing to accept a free copy in return for a review (I had one guy review basically everything because he was actually reliable - usually they just take their copy and call it a day).
The number of reviews is only an indication of how well the writer managed to find reviewers, nothing more.

Honestly, I'm with you on that. My best selling item, a magic item booklet, with almost 3000 downloads has no reviews, only a bunch of ratings.
I suppose I could go out and find people to review it, but honestly that's not why I've been writing these supplements.

I'd say just type in whatever you're looking for, then do a bit of 'judging by the cover'. I know it is generally a bad practice, but if there is nothing on the cover other than black text on a white background, that's a bit of a warning sign. Narrow things down, then have a look at the previews.

Or just buy a bunch of 'pay what you want' items, paying 0$. Then check them out, then if you feel like it's really awesome you may feel like tossing the author a $ or two by buying it again. That's generally what I end up doing.

[Shining Wrath]

I've never gotten a review. I suspect some people actually have an established network that review their stuff for them; which, of course, casts doubt on the sincerity of the reviews.

[Gastronomie]

If you're just getting into 5e, my sincere advice is to not use the stuff in DM's Guild and simply stick to non-homebrew classes listed in the Player's Handbook.

There is no way to be 100% sure a certain class is balanced or well-made, even if someone recommended it on here. Why take the potential risk and ruin your first experience in such a wonderful game? The official stuff is, simply put, safer to use.

DM's Guild is for when you've completely went through all the classes in the main book, became bored, and want to try out new ideas. Or alternatively, when you have a really specific character concept that you can't make with official stuff. But really, through re-fluffing and a bit of customization via feats and multiclassing, most concepts can be created in the 5e system without much effort.

[Darkholme]

Right; so I can't count on reliable reviews.

What about recommendations?

[Gastronomie]

If reviews aren't reliable, there's no way recommendations are either. Bribery works, as does the occasional "stupid customer" who doesn't know what he's talking about.

In all honesty, best to stick to official material. I have looked through a lot of Guild material and am yet to find anything I want to actually use.

[Giant2005]

Right; so I can't count on reliable reviews.

What about recommendations?

I recommend all of my stuff! I am reliable I swear!
Seriously though - the only way to really know is by taking a look at things yourself. Most writers are smart enough to have some PWYW items (or at least a hell of a preview) so you can see their stuff and decide if you like their style or not. If you like their free stuff, then you might be more inclined to check out any of their paid work that is of a subject you care about.
Just to make this plug complete, my PWYW items are Intelligence Matters, The Drunkard, The Disfigured Mage, and Ranger Revised. Check them out if you care enough to.

[mgshamster]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/productforums.php

EN World actually has a dedicated review system, and there's a decent number of DM Guild stuff on there.

[mgshamster]

I recommend all of my stuff! I am reliable I swear!


I second this. Giant2005 produces some good stuff. I've reviewed some of his products on the DM Guild, and based on what I've read, I would recommend his work.

[mephnick]

If you're just getting into 5e, my sincere advice is to not use the stuff in DM's Guild and simply stick to non-homebrew classes listed in the Player's Handbook.

Agreed. Learn the system, what you like and don't like. No offense to the authours here but 99% of "published" homebrew is awful and you need to know the system to tell for yourself.

[Giant2005]

I second this. Giant2005 produces some good stuff. I've reviewed some of his products on the DM Guild, and based on what I've read, I would recommend his work.

Thanks for the endorsement! Still, you shouldn't have done that. Now that you have outed yourself as someone that actually reviews things, you are going to be hounded by desperate creators all looking to have their stuff reviewed.

[MrStabby]

I really wouldn't recommend DM guild stuff. I haven't seen anything there that isn't better than you could homebrew yourself.

If you have the judgement to tell if something s right for your table, then you have the skill to be able to make something yourself - it isn't like it really requires a lot of excess creativity. Your player comes up with a concept they want, you discuss it with them and find the style/mechanics they want and balance it. Most of the stuff there isn't actually original - just some rehashed cultural or fantasy trope (or a class from a previous edition) turned into a class or spell; there isn't anything wrong with this (most of my homebrew fall into this category so this isn't a criticism).

If you do this yourself rather than rely on someone else then not only are you providing content that is specifically tailored to your table but also the author of the content is on hand to make rulings. In the long run I think it will work out much better for you.

As to the comments on reviews - I can't say I looked too closely at the relationship between reviews and quality but I might be more tempted to look at the ratio if reviews to downloads. Given any review is only going to be done by people who care passionately enough to put their time into a review with no recompense, all of them are likely to be on the extreme end.

I am not saying there isn't some usable content buried in amongst the rest - just that it is not worth the effort trying to find it.

[SharkForce]

If you're just getting into 5e, my sincere advice is to not use the stuff in DM's Guild and simply stick to non-homebrew classes listed in the Player's Handbook.

There is no way to be 100% sure a certain class is balanced or well-made, even if someone recommended it on here. Why take the potential risk and ruin your first experience in such a wonderful game? The official stuff is, simply put, safer to use.

DM's Guild is for when you've completely went through all the classes in the main book, became bored, and want to try out new ideas. Or alternatively, when you have a really specific character concept that you can't make with official stuff. But really, through re-fluffing and a bit of customization via feats and multiclassing, most concepts can be created in the 5e system without much effort.

you don't necessarily know you're getting good stuff from sticking to official material either, so that's a bit of a wash. i mean, most of the official stuff is good, but some of it, not so good.

[Darkholme]

If reviews aren't reliable, there's no way recommendations are either.


In all honesty, best to stick to official material. I have looked through a lot of Guild material and am yet to find anything I want to actually use.
AFAIC the official offerings are scant and gravely insufficient.

I attribute this to the skeleton crew they are working with these days, and infer that's why they made the decision to create the DMs Guild to begin with.


Most writers are smart enough to have some PWYW items (or at least a hell of a preview) so you can see their stuff and decide if you like their style or not. If you like their free stuff, then you might be more inclined to check out any of their paid work.

Just to make this plug complete, my PWYW items are Intelligence Matters, The Drunkard, The Disfigured Mage, and Ranger Revised. Check them out if you care enough to.
Plug appreciated. I don't promise to give you money, but I will gie your free stuff a look-through and see if I like it, and go from there.


EN World actually has a dedicated review system, and there's a decent number of DM Guild stuff on there.I will definitely check that out. Thanks!


Agreed. Learn the system, what you like and don't like. No offense to the authours here but 99% of "published" homebrew is awful and you need to know the system to tell for yourself.Fair point. I am working on learning the ins and outs of the system, and I intend to make myself quite familiar with all the official material before I start grabbing 3PP or IPP content.


I really wouldn't recommend DM guild stuff. I haven't seen anything there that isn't better than you could homebrew yourself.
...
If you do this yourself rather than rely on someone else then not only are you providing content that is specifically tailored to your table but also the author of the content is on hand to make rulings. In the long run I think it will work out much better for you.
...
I am not saying there isn't some usable content buried in amongst the rest - just that it is not worth the effort trying to find it.
This is a shame, but I can understand this argument.


you don't necessarily know you're getting good stuff from sticking to official material either, so that's a bit of a wash. i mean, most of the official stuff is good, but some of it, not so good.
Also true.