Favorite Playground Homebrew?

[Palanan]

There’s a tremendous amount of homebrew here in the Playground, much of it peached into game-ready options. So, what are some of your favorite homebrew classes, feats and spells?

For my part, one of my favorite classes is the Stormwatcher (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?203642-3-5-Stormwatcher-Debuffer-Healer-(PEACH)), a weather-themed nature caster who can cover healing, debuffing and general divine casting. And I’m also fond of the Green Knight (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?310214-The-Green-Knight-D-amp-D-3-P-Tier-3-Paladin-of-Nature), a paladin devoted to nature.

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[Palanan]

So, anyone?

Surely someone has some local homebrew they enjoy.

[Goaty14]

I really like this Sniper: (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?150215-The-Sniper-3-5-Base-Class-PEACH)
In love with Jormengand's Homebrew (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=17189310&postcount=245), currently looking at The Inventions Project (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?461501-Inventions!-Magitech-Classes-Base-Class-Contest-30-winner-PEACH)

[Morphic tide]

I'd go with something extremely, absurdly old. From ye olden days, when The Giant held homebrew contests. From back in 2004, for the Spell Theme contest, there's this lovely thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?10106)

[Morcleon]

My two favorite homebrews from here are Tome of Radiance (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?258654-Tome-of-Radiance-Mastering-the-Power-of-Love-and-Justice) and Gramarie (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?291019-By-the-Inferior-Science-of-our-Enemies-Gramarie-Mark-II).

The first is a magical girl system, and the second is a only-limited-by-time magitech system that allows the design of some truly wondrous creations.

[Inevitability]

I really like the Mythos system (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?517754-Mythos-Compendium-2-0). Tier 2 over-the-top martials with colorful fluff, anyone?

[jmax]

peached

What does that mean? I've seen "PEACH" in signatures here, also as a verb.


Regarding the actual question... it's not from GitP, but I do think it would be fun to take Thousand Petal Initiate (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=6782.msg111133#msg111133) for a spin.

[Jormengand]

What does that mean? I've seen "PEACH" in signatures here, also as a verb.

Please Evaluate and Critique Honestly; by extension the term "Peached" means "Evaluated and critiqued honestly."

[jmax]

Please Evaluate and Critique Honestly; by extension the term "Peached" means "Evaluated and critiqued honestly."

Got it. Thanks!

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Morcleon
My two favorite homebrews from here are Tome of Radiance and Gramarie.

I’m glad someone mentioned Tome of Radiance—it’s a wonderfully detailed and ambitious project. (And doesn’t it have a PrC called the Fashionista?)

Is the Tome of Radiance still being worked on? Or is it pretty much completed by now?


Originally Posted by jmax
What does that mean? I've seen "PEACH" in signatures here, also as a verb.

This stands for “please evaluate and critique honestly,” as a general request for a rigorous and fair-minded review.

...Yeah, ninja'd. That's what I get for trying to post while doing laundry.

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[Knaight]

A few of the settings that were developed here aren't bad (e.g. Hourglass of Zarathustra), then there's Classy d20 and STaRS. Starlight and Steam (from a short game design competition) was also pretty solid.

[martixy]

I've always wanted to use the epic martial progressions (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?95516-Epic-Martial-Adept-Progressions-and-Feats) and feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?95435-9-Martial-Discipline-Epic-Feats) in a game.

[Quarian Rex]

So... very... many...

Evolutionist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?240717-The-better-man-There-is-no-such-thing-base-class) - One of the best implemented build-you-own-class options that I have ever seen. Incredible options while still retaining its own flavor. Also has pretty good feat/prestige support.

Ozodrin (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?153536-Tooth-and-Tentacle-base-class-PEACH) - Shapechanging eldritch abomination as a PC? Hells yeah! Also has massive support (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?172358-I-built-a-house-that-it-could-live-in-me-3-5-PRC-PEACH).

The Xenoalchemist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?205119-Must-Affix-Everything-to-Everything!-(Grafts-That-Don-t-Make-Me-Cry-Myself-To-Sleep)) - Getting tired of being a puny humanoid in a world filled with deadly monsters? Now you can cut off bits of those monsters and stitch them onto yourself to even the odds! Another option with great feat/PrC support and even alternate (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?232699-The-Blue-Book-Preview-No-1-The-Connoisseur!) options (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?248579-The-Blue-Book-Preview-No-3-The-Devourer!) with a John Carpenter vibe.

Machine Mistress (https://web.archive.org/web/20140918041725/http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=8645.0) - Serving all of your robot/dungeonpunk minionmancy needs since 2013.

Power of Cybernetics: Sci-fi Incarnum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?285976-Power-of-Cybernetics-Sci-fi-Incarnum) - Does what it says on the tin. Three full classes, races, along with tons of feats and soulshapes/modules. This is comprehensive as all hell and even adds some of the most interesting options I have seen (ie. not overpowered yet not useless) for hi-tech weapons and power armor. Really good stuff.

World of Prime (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?539943-World-of-Prime) - I've probably mentioned this in a few posts recently, mostly because I'm developing a campaign around it. The basis is that all Xp is now a substance (remnant soulstuff) harvested from creatures brains (or closest analog) and all of the interesting changes that will have on a campaign. It also comes with a broad selection of tweaks to alignment, character creation, classes, etc. Not as daunting as it may sound. The game books are on DriveThruRPG for free and the author actually has a number of novels based in the world as well (which went a long way in convincing me that this can actually work, and work disturbingly well, without feeling 'gamey').

Super Robot Wars d20 (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?board=138.0) - This is the best way that I have seen to implement giant robots in d20. A crap-ton of classes and options with relatively simple mechanics allowing tiered combat (mecha fighting mecha is not the same as mecha fighting people) without breaking the game. Covers the gamut from Real Robots to Super Robots, from monster breeding alien 'queens' to supercarrier spaceship captains, and most conceivable combinations. Top notch stuff.

Nihilurge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458492-The-Nihilurge-quot-Searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places-quot) - I have a love/hate thing going on with this class. It is a far realms type of non-vancian caster focusing of area control, light buffing, and some limited Eidolon-type action with a bunch of selectable options to round things out. The problems come with everything being placed on a wizard chassis with nowhere near the power or utility to justify that hindrance, with an extremely limited power pool and high power costs that lead to hemorrhaging power to get anything done and then being useless for the rest of the day, with most interesting abilities artificially gated to higher levels because players aren't allowed to have nice things, and with the majority of the class' options being inexplicably focused solely on affecting divine casters. It is one of those classes that sparks my creativity (as both a player and a DM) but that I find to be virtually unplayable in it's current state. I've given some thought to rewriting the class to be more in line with the suggestions I made in the thread (IRL issues got in the way after posting and it fell off my radar till a year or so later) but have never gotten around to it. IMO it's a great example of a great idea but poor execution.

The Shadewright (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?443078-The-Shadewright-a-shadow-conjuring-gish-with-multifaceted-archetypes) - Another offering from the same author as the Nihilurge above but this is a perfect example of something executed beautifully. While the Shadewright itself is pretty good (being a magic-y shadow assassin) the glory of this work comes through in the 20 (that is right, a full 20) archetypes for the class. While there are some that I like more than others (obviously) they all completely alter the class in completely different and unique ways. From this one class you can get Cenobite Monks, Fear-eating Slayers, Shadow Knights, and Were-demons made of shadow stuff (and much more). While the class is in no way OP it does offer enough options and variations to always be interesting in the very best way.

Swarmlord (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?253053-The-Swarm-Arrives-3-5-Base-Class-Zerg-Tyranids) - One of those classes that I wrote off as completely overpowered when it first came out but has much better balance when you start to dig into the actual mechanics. Has a lot of interesting options but it is definitely something that you need to discuss with the DM ahead of time, not because it could break the game but because it could potentially have a heavy impact on the game world itself.

Mythos (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?335295-Mythos-Compendium) - The glorious joy that is the mythos system. Often cited as being 'too awesome to actually get used' I get the sentiment but strongly disagree. Essentially an attempt to make T2 martials (as has already been mentioned) that, for the most part, was extremely successful. Also home to one of my favorite classes, The Kreikiri (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?391670-3-5-Base-Class-quot-Make-us-Whole-Again-quot), an attempt to create a maker of monsters (permanently, and potentially available from first level) that actually comes off as being pretty balanced.

[Zancloufer]

I’m glad someone mentioned Tome of Radiance—it’s a wonderfully detailed and ambitious project. (And doesn’t it have a PrC called the Fashionista?)

Is the Tome of Radiance still being worked on? Or is it pretty much completed by now?


I think it's mostly done. It could use a few little tweaks with the Companion components and has 2-3 holes in the other Illuminations but overall it's essentially done.

Don't think anyone has made anything new for it for a year or two at least. Definitely will (third?) it being a very good Homebrew.

Also Fashonistas are pretty awesome if you want to be the "walking armoury" kind of character.

[Morcleon]

I’m glad someone mentioned Tome of Radiance—it’s a wonderfully detailed and ambitious project. (And doesn’t it have a PrC called the Fashionista?)

Is the Tome of Radiance still being worked on? Or is it pretty much completed by now?

It does!

It's pretty much completed at this point. The original creator hasn't been online in quite some time.

[Palanan]

I’ll add another of my favorites from the Playground—the additional exalted feats (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?164659-3-5-Exalted-Feats-for-Everyone!) which Mephibosheth worked up, as a response to the general lack of worthwhile exalted feat options in the BoED.

Mephibosheth’s exalted feats are much better, and in general more interesting and coherent, than the original bunch.

[Grod_The_Giant]

STaRS
:smallredface:

Another vote for the Xenoalchemist, which is probably my favorite bit of someone else's homebrew.

[Fizban]

Tome of the Holy Grail (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?362608) - Do you like the Fate franchise or otherwise want to be incredibly anime? Do you like summoning weapons and costume changes? Do you like things that can be described as "The Barbarian of Binders, except actually good?" Do you like incredibly detailed and meticulously balanced classes that draw from basically every source in the game while having their own completely unique central mechanics and ACFs for customizing to fit any character or role? Do you need me to keep going?


Power of Cybernetics: Sci-fi Incarnum (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?285976-Power-of-Cybernetics-Sci-fi-Incarnum) - Does what it says on the tin. Three full classes, races, along with tons of feats and soulshapes/modules. This is comprehensive as all hell and even adds some of the most interesting options I have seen (ie. not overpowered yet not useless) for hi-tech weapons and power armor. Really good stuff.
The main home of PoC was on minmaxboards, the new version of which is minmaxforum, or just follow this link to the Power of Cybernetics Index (http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=8693.0). I'm pretty sure there were a few updates after what was posted on GitP.


And here's a couple more on the wackier side:

Thought Artist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?70413-The-Thought-Artist-Base-Class-PEACH) - Create creatures out of nothing but thought at-will, building them out of a sort of point based system. Very strict limits in some ways but completely open ended in others (SLAs in particular should require some sort of limitations), I'd say it's not quite complete but enough for the DM to finish the job. If they're cool with this sort of thing.

Dimensional Conduit (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?255782-The-Dimensional-Conduit-3-5-Base-Class-PEACH-%93why-limit-yourself-quot) - Would you like to build a character who is actually six other characters (eventually)? This class seems completely bonkers at first until you properly internalize the extensive limitations it is placed under, after which it could be considered a really weird sort of "create your own" character that can draw certain types of abilities from any class. Teleporting at-will as a swift action is the most disruptive thing it's got.

[Eladrinblade]

The Gestalt Theurge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?427306-Prestige-Class-Gestalt-Theurge). It simply simplifies; makes it so easy to make characters I want to play.