New Player’s Guide: How to Homebrew on D&D Beyond (2024)

For in-depth looks on how to use the D&D Beyond homebrew system, check out the Design Workshop series by master designer James Introcaso. There are six parts in this series, with each part explaining a different type of homebrew creation in detail.

• Backgrounds
• Feats
• Magic Items
• Monsters
• Races
• Spells

In addition to the topics covered by Design Workshop, D&D Beyond has also added the ability for you to create your own homebrew subclasses. If that’s what you’re here for, keep reading! Here’s how to make your own brand-new subclass on D&D Beyond, or modify an existing one for your own use.

The Important Questions

When setting out to design any new feature for your D&D game, stop and ask yourself the three questions that James Introcaso laid out at the beginning of his Design Workshop series:

• What do I want to make?
• Does my creation already exist as official D&D content?
• Can I reskin or tweak another creation to suit my needs?

Designing a Subclass

If you’re completely new to designing subclasses for fifth edition D&D, don’t fret. The Dungeon Master’s Guide already has some guidance on how to create subclasses in chapter 9: Dungeon Master’s Workshop—and you’re going to get even more advice throughout this article. The first and most important design decision is: what’s this subclass’s theme?

The best subclasses in D&D can be summed up in a single sentence. The Battle Master is “a fighter who uses maneuvers to gain a tactical advantage.” The Swashbuckler is “a stylish rogue that fights with theatrical, acrobatic grace.” Start by creating a sentence that encapsulates the story of the subclass you want to design, and look back to it whenever you create a new subclass feature.

In this article, I’m going to be creating a fighter called the Juggernaut. My one-sentence theme is, “a fighter who uses two spiked shields to crush enemies and defend allies.” This is a wild and silly concept, and I wouldn’t publish it in an official context unless I had a very good reason—but this is for my campaign, and it just so happens wild and silly is totally okay in that context! Let’s roll with it!

Step 1. Choose a Class

Every class’s subclass options are different, so the class you choose to design for is the most important step to start with. For example, a fighter’s Martial Archetypes give a total of five features, at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 15th, and 18th level. However, a rogue’s Roguish Archetypes give a total of four features at 3rd, 9th, 13th, and 17th level.

At this point, it’s a good idea to look at some of the other subclasses available to the class you’re creating a new subclass for. If you want to build a rogue subclass, you should know that most rogue subclasses have a powerful feature at 3rd level, and then a much less powerful feature at 9th level. These aren’t strict rules, but rather guidelines that you can use to create subclasses that feel balanced with the rest of the characters in your party. As usual, the most important thing about designing homebrew character options is that they work well for the game you’re playing right now—not that they’re objectively balanced.

My Juggernaut fighter is going to be a wholly unique subclass, so I’m going to choose from the first menu. However, if you just want to modify an existing subclass—because you think it’s underpowered, or you just want to swap out one feature—then it makes more sense to use the second menu.

This first page is your starting point. Put down your subclass’s name (or a placeholder name, if you aren’t sure yet), and put your one-sentence theme in the “short description” box. It’s totally okay to leave the “description” box blank for now. We’re focused on getting ideas on paper, not making them look pretty.

If your subclass grants a class that normally can’t cast spells the ability to cast spells (e.g., the Eldritch Knight subclass gives the usually non-spellcasting fighter class the ability to cast spells), then select Yes the “Can Cast Spells” box, and choose their spellcasting ability. Usually, this spellcasting ability is the same as the class’s core ability (e.g., Wisdom for monks), but you can choose any ability that you think makes the most sense for your subclass’s flavor.

Then hit “Create Subclass” to lay the foundation. You can build more features on top of this base as you go!

Step 2. Creating Feature Concepts

Now you’re on the “landing page” for your subclass. If you ever need to edit the information you just entered, click the + icon on the Basic Information tab. Now, it’s time to add this subclass’s features. Click the Add a Class Feature button under the Class Features header.

Since fighter subclasses have five different features, we should give our subclass five different features too. Every single one of the subclass features you design should support the one-sentence theme you created earlier.

It’s easier for me to take down notes and then expand them into full ideas later, so I’m just going to jot down some ideas.

• 3rd level (CORE FEATURE) -> wield two shields for offense and defense; protect self, protect allies, use shield as weapon
• 7th level (IMPROVE CORE FEATURE A) -> choice between improving self-protection, or improving ally protection
• 10th level (STANDALONE CONCEPT) -> mobility option
• 10th level (IMPROVED ATTACK) -> minor attack bonus [both 10th level options are minor improvements at best, so having two small options seems reasonable]
• 15th level (STANDALONE CONCEPT) -> gain more reactions
• 18th level (IMPROVE CORE FEATURE B) -> gain the other option you didn’t choose at 7th level

Great! These small concepts are enough of a seed for me to get started designing options. Now I can start writing things out in the Subclass Features menus. When creating these features, be sure to note the level this feature can be gained at. Mixing up your 3rd and 15th-level features would be a silly mistake to make, but it’s easy to overlook.

The Dungeon Master’s Guide suggests: As you design each class feature, ask the following questions:

• How does the class feature reinforce the story or theme of the class option?

• Is there an existing feature that can be used as a model?

• How does the new class feature compare to other features of the same level?

Step 3. Implementing Features

If your class feature grants new actions, like attacks, be sure to note those new actions in the “Actions” drop-down below, as well. This will allow the action to appear in the actions tab of your character sheet.

Here are the features I've chosen to create for this Juggernaut fighter subclass!

Also, do you see how my 7th-level and 18th-level features are really just one feature with two choices? They can be expressed easily as just a single feature by clicking the “Has Options” checkbox, and then writing “7,18” in the “Class Levels Where Options Known” form.

Step 4. Refining Features

Many class features have bits of metadata that make them easier for the character sheet to use, like the “Actions” drop down mentioned in step 3. If one of your features improves at higher levels (like the damage to the attack granted by the Shield Warrior feature), grants access to spells, grants special modifiers like resistance or immunity, grants actions (like the shield attack from the Shield Warrior feature), or references a creature’s stat block, use these menus to make your life easier while using the D&D Beyond digital character sheet.

Step 5. Share your Homebrew!

Now that you’ve created your masterpiece subclass, it’s time to make it public. Go back to your Homebrew Creations page, click on your subclass, and click SHARE WITH COMMUNITY. A message will appears asking if you’ve read the Public Homebrew Content Rules & Guidelines and explaining the moderation process for public content. Be sure you understand all this information before you publish; it’s worth not running afoul of the moderators or having your submission rejected for a silly, easily preventable reason.

And don’t forget—publishing your homebrew publicly is only required if you want to share it the greater D&D Beyond community! If this subclass is just for your home game, all you need to do is create your homebrew; any player creating a character in a campaign of yours will be able to use your homebrew as long as content sharing is activated.

Check out the Juggernaut fighter subclass I created! Maybe you’ll have fun using this shield-wielding warrior!

Have you ever created homebrew content on D&D Beyond? What’s your favorite homebrew that you’ve found on the site? Let us know in the comments below!

James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author ofWaterdeep: Dragon Heist,Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus,and theCritical RoleExplorer's Guide to Wildemount,a member of the Guild Adepts,and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and other RPG companies. Helives in Seattle, Washington with his fiancée Hannah and their animal companions Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wastingtime on Twitter at@jamesjhaeck.