The Maverick | Ranger Archetype

He was called the "Lone Ranger," after all.

Oath of Tomorrow | Paladin Sacred Oath

"God created man in his own image," the prophet said. "In god's image, you say?" an inventor replied.

Path of the Sinful | Barbarian Primal Path

Does this count as Easter homebrew?

Oath of the Directive | Paladin Sacred Oath

After the undead and cowboy paladins, you probably thought there could be nothing weirder. Well, the Oath of the Directive is here to prove you wrong!

Based on the fiction of Isaac Asimov and his Laws of Robotics, this oath allows one to play a robot master and machine hero. Some might choose to play a character species that aligns with the tropes, such as a Warforged. I think there's also room to play a typically-fleshy species such as human or elf as a highly advanced android (possibly even with biomechanical components). Whatever you choose to do, have fun with it!

Sign of the Crown | Astrologer Astral Sign, and on subclass spells

With the Sign of the Crown we introduce another homebrew-for-homebrew, this time for Nimademe's excellent astrologer class. Seriously, give this class a read! It's one of the most innovative, well-designed, and evocative homebrew classes I have ever seen.

So, what is the Sign of the Crown?

Ethereal Theory | Philosopher Personal Theory, and on crossover homebrew

Following relatively close on the heels of the homebrew-for-homebrew Covenant of the Conspiracy, I bring to you the Ethereal Theory, a homebrew for the excellent Philosopher class created by Nimademe! These homebrews are actually closely interrelated because while the Ethereal Theory is homebrew for the Philosopher, its themes draw upon the Keeper.

Allow me to give some background.

The Light Spirit | Warlock Otherworldly Patron and more Temples & Triforces

It's the return of Temples & Triforces! Twilight Princess was my first Legend of Zelda game, so the light spirits that appeared as central figures in the story have a special place in my gamer's heart. I don't actually have much to say by way of homebrew commentary today, but I do have some comments to make about light spirits in Hyrule as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.

Covenant of the Conspiracy | Keeper Spirit Covenant, and homebrew for homebrew

Today introduces another first in the homebrew I've posted to this blog: this is homebrew for homebrew! The Keeper is an excellent class homebrewed by NotTheSmoooze. I definitely suggest that you check out the class and her other work!

So, what is it like to make homebrew for homebrew?

Oath of Independence | Paladin Sacred Oath, and turning elements into ideals

"The cold never bothered me anyway."

Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit I loved Frozen (and Frozen II!) and still do! Not that that would be surprising, really. After all, in the post right before this I praised a Barbie film as a childhood favorite. Anyhow, here we have another sacred oath. This one is probably my most thematically stretched, but it was done to fulfill an interesting challenge: a friend invited me to create an ice-themed subclass, and I found myself wanting to make a paladin. But how do I turn ice into an ideal?

Oath of Strangers | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on firearms and cowboys in D&D

I think the Oath of Strangers is one of my most unique sacred oaths. The thematic idea is pretty offbeat—the classic Wild West cowboy as a paladin—and the mechanic is a very different take on how to incorporate firearms in Dungeons & Dragons.

Inkling | Roguish Archetype, and on thematic magic items

When I posted the Secretary rogue, I mentioned that I had made other roguish archetypes before that point. Well, here is one of them: the Inkling is the first roguish archetype I ever homebrewed! And to be honest, I think I like it better than the Secretary—not to say the Secretary isn't good. I just think the Inkling is better.

Oath of Power | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on auras

For the Honor of Grayskull!

I've only seen the first season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. I've thought about seeing the rest of the series, but I've heard kind of mixed things which is why I've put it off. But that's neither here nor there! I wrote the Oath of Power as a tribute to the show and as a Christmas gift to a friend who really enjoyed it when we still only had season one.

Oath of Enthusiasm | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on revising homebrew and Gravity Falls

"Nothing is stronger than the power of… Mabel!"

First of all, a big thank you to Charlotte, AKA Chikuto, who kindly granted permission to use this adorable Gravity Falls fanart in the homebrew! Charlotte has more art on Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter and also draws and writes a cool webcomic.

And now to introduce the Oath of Enthusiasm! This is another sacred oath inspired by one of my favorite characters. Last time, Sara Crewe from A Little Princess inspired the Oath of Benevolence. Today, Mabel Pines from Gravity Falls inspires the Oath of Enthusiasm. The two characters are pretty different tonally, I grant, but I think the values they embody are surprisingly compatible. Their characters both emphasize compassion, self-worth, and forgiveness.

Oath of Betrothal | Paladin Sacred Oath, and on flavor text and innovative inspiration

The Oath of Betrothal is another early paladin homebrew of mine. If memory serves, it's the fourth homebrew sacred oath I ever made. I created the Oaths of the Lyan, Fantra, and Paramander (now the Oaths of Society, Anarchy, and Detachment respectively), and I unexpectedly discovered that I wanted to make more sacred oaths, beyond the themes of Dragon magazine's "Plethora of Paladins." I'm not sure how I hit upon the idea, but I'm very happy I did. I think the Oath of Betrothal is among my most fun ideas.

Secretary | A Roguish Archetype, and on lyrics as feature names

"Why do you write like you're running out of time? Write day and night like you're running out of time?"

I've made homebrew referencing The Legend of Zelda, homebrew referencing Demon Slayer, homebrew referencing A Little Princess, and yes, now homebrew referencing Hamilton: An American Musical. What can I say? The songs and music were all stuck in my head! And so, Alexander Hamilton: A Roguish Archetype was born.

The Archmage | An Otherworldly Patron, and on overlap among patrons

The Archmage! Although I have previously posted the Chivalric Order, that was actually not the first otherworldly patron I ever created. That honor goes to the Archmage, which has had a surprisingly long history among my homebrews. If memory serves, I made my first draft of this homebrew two or three years ago by now! This was one of my first homebrews, created shortly after the three Oaths of the Fantra, Lyan, and Paramander that were the precursors to my present Oaths of Anarchy, Society, and Detachment.

Oath of Benevolence | A Paladin Sacred Oath, and on personal taste and my favorite book

A long time ago when I posted the Oath of Detachment, I mentioned that I thought of it as my best work on a technical level but wasn't my personal favorite. I didn't go further into that difference at the time, but now is the time, because here is the Sacred Oath that is my favorite piece among all the paladin homebrew I've created: the Oath of Benevolence.

What makes this one so special? Some of it has to do with the archetype's inspiration, and some of it has to do with my personal taste and style.

The Chivalric Order | An Otherworldly Patron, and on warlocks and trends in homebrew

Today I'm sharing the Chivalric Order. It's funny to me that this foray into warlock archetype design is basically a paladin, or really a group of paladins, as an Otherworldly Patron. I'm very pleased with this homebrew, in both its narrative and its mechanics. I think it's my best Patron that I've created so far, so I hope you enjoy it.

The Chivalric Order also serves as a good example of something that I'd like to write about: trends in homebrew.

Path of the Beast | Barbarian Primal Path, and on nonmagical characters in Dungeons & Dragons

My sister actually inspires a lot of my homebrew. Like the Way of the Water Lily, the Path of the Beast came about on account of wanting to make a present based on a show she enjoys. In this case, that show was Demon Slayer. The Path of the Beast provides what I hope is a fitting tribute to the character Inosuke, the inventor and sole practitioner of Beast Breathing, which I'll admit I still don't fully understand, but people tell me the homebrew captures the spirit of things even if I don't get it.

Temples & Triforces | Seven species and four archetype options inspired by the Legend of Zelda, and on shared creative space

After months of work and at least one all-nighter, I bring to you Temples & Triforces! This is definitely one of my proudest homebrew creations yet. Here is what you need to get started with a Dungeons & Dragons campaign set in the world of The Legend of Zelda. With seven species and four archetype options (and two spells, in the context of one of the archetypes), this is the largest homebrew project I've ever shared to this blog (though not in fact the largest project I've ever created; but that's for another day).