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YOURE ON THE TEAM NOW BANDIDO! Haha but for real, thank you! I’ve never heard it put like that... but that’s an amazing description of me, gonna quote that!
I never understood when DM's said their players are too strong. I am literal GOD in this game, I can kill them at any point I choose to. All I need to do is adjust the monsters they are fighting and they can still do the cool stuff they want to do and feel heroic and I can still give them a challenge and keep the feeling of "I might die" within them. My players are super powerful, yet they come to every game feeling like I am going to kill them (I really don't want to do that) It's a great dynamic.
I couldn't agree more. Whenever I hear "my players are too strong", maybe it's just me, but I take it as a guaranteed sign of a super lazy, uncreative, or perhaps (at best) a SUPER new DM. Players who invest into strong characters *care* about them! So, just up the difficulty of combat, or throw in some tough social situations where combat... Is really probably NOT the answer. Also, monsters like intellect devourers and rust monsters (etc. etc. etc.) can be INSANELY useful for flipping the script on players and "balance" encounters. Once again, I think any DM who complains about "overpowered" players is... extremely uninspired.
I've been DMing for some time, and use some similar options for my players. You touched on something I do often, which is buffing cantrips and lower level spells based on how often they are used. Besides giving features and abilities, I also like to reward my players with RP aspects of the game. They have to be earned, obviously, but certain paths lead to awesome rewards that can be used in and out of combat. One of my players is a level 8 Paladin who wanted to focus more on the RP aspect of things, so I built a path for him to pursue being a public figure that helped establish and rebuild the religion of the area. Soon, while he was a monster in combat, he was also a renowned figure as he wanted to be. Players appreciate the flexibility and the act of showing the impact their characters have on the world. Something else I do is implement characters from past campaigns into new ones. The look on my player's faces when they run into their previous characters as NPCs is priceless.
These are the kind of stories I absolutely love to hear! Player lead customization and DM‘s like you do let them do it. And I love that your players encounter their previous PCs. That is EPIC!!! My players as well customize spells in ways that they see fit, especially when a system like this is in place, and they know they have the creative freedom to do so Great comment!
I really really like how you add personalization options for your players! I'm currently trying to homebrew in a major perk for all my players that directly tie into the story. They're called Sparks, and these are powers that are inherent gifts that are awakened through rite of passage or trial that each of my players has to overcome; whether it be formal or during their journey. I was worrying a lot about how I give them each their own unique flavor while also not breaking the game/making things unbalanced for each player. This video has really helped towards me collaborating with my players and making sure that I give them something that they enjoy!
I have been a DM for a few years. Adding new homebrew rules to my games everytime. My biggest issue always is getting my players into roleplaying. These costumization ideas are awesome and I will try them on my next game since we recently started a new campaign. I love customizing characters with my player but I was kinda scared about going too much out of borders. But I just released this is the whole point. Sir you just earned a subscriber and a fan. Looking forward for more videos. Thanks for the awesome work
serkan kerimoğlu Dude thanks! I take that as a big compliment! I think we are both big homebrew DMs lol, and yea THIS tool has been great to “unlock” creativity from players! There’s another “ritual mechanic” I use that I could do a whole video on that is a similar creative theme! I’m putting that on the list!!
Answering the call of my own challenge in your Discord, Coach, this is my 3rd favorite you cover! Shaking things up and giving players a variety of ways of being rewarded can seriously turn a campaign around from mundane to insane on its enjoyment level.
taeurus glad to hear this video got at warm of a welcome as it did! Was definitely super exited to make it and share it! You’re challenge is also awesome and I appreciate it man, you have truly taken up a torch for this channel and have been a huge part of its growth! Thank you!
Alex Fikar awesome to hear we’re synced up on that! It’s literally my favorite thing to do for them!! And it was my players favorite thing too! A must have in every campaign imo!
Hi Coach: Here is an option. I allow the individual class mechanic, not the full class, to be purchased with XP at generally half the power. The XP cost is equal to the level plus one. So a level 3 benefit cost -2700 XP or the DM's custom requirement on a similar scale. Respectively, there is a total cap regarding the number of benefits per character. Cheers!
In DnD, which I have played since the 1980's this has been something *every one* of my tables has done. It works so much better to set the PC's apart. *THIS* is what I tie to milestones in the game's tiers of play, not just level advancement. It is also a *perfect* way to signify the effects of Planar Travel or something equally weird and alien the players are exposed to, even among the residents of your world. I really enjoy your encouraging style. This also makes more sense in a world where "Wild Magic" is clearly a thing. ALSO - this is a place where things like Alignment shines through. I use this as a deliberate focus of Alignment, Gods, Ability Scores above or Beyond the norm, Flaws, Bonds, and Ideals, and player decisions they wanted to matter, but the dice were not with them, shine through. This is also the theme of every single GREAT book in the DnD world settings. The (Were-)Panther Curse of Kelemvor who would be a Paladin were it not for his inability to help people without it being for pay, the Gwenwhyver Figurine of Power = Ranger animal companion of Drizzt, the Ability of Raistlin to sacrifice his own health to become a conduit for a dangerous amount of magic power that often left him *coughing up blood*. NONE of these were in any edition. *THIS* is the fertile ground between DM and Player Agency.
Charles Humphries 1980s!?!? That is SO COOL that you and I have been doing the exact same thing! Man this game is awesome! That’s some great examples too!!
Cool idea, i find that 3.5 character classes offers some great inspiration for stuff to give players as perks when leveling up or after doing some training
Vargj I agree! I love going back to other editions for mechanics/ features! This is something I want to do a whole video on too! Even pathfinder has some stuff, but you’d have to work harder to convert those!
at one point my party had an entire group of spell casters, be it 1/3 arcane trickster or full 9 level wizard, they all could cast spells. I gave the party a group reward of a signature spell. So like "melf's acid arrow" or "Tashe's hideous laughter" i gave them the ability to design a spell of the highest level spell they could cast. This spell would be a spin on an existing spell, like Soryu's Snowball Swarm, or Kenokai's Stabby hand (Mage hand that could use a weapon as if you were in the square the mage hand was in for all the benifits a melee attack could have form that square, the hand had 10 ac and 1 hit point)
I think the best part of this advice is talking to your players about their fantasy for what their character can do. This not only lets you reward them in a more satisfying way, but it can also help you design quests and adventures that can include unique aspects of their character's growth. Nothing like traveling to portal mountain on a quest, and letting the wizard learn from the sages there the mysteries of space, or saving the ringholds of the dwarven kings, and having the fighter rewarded with the dwarven secrets for fighting giants.
This works well with "The Dark Powers" in The Curse of Strahd. Love it. I have been trying to get players to tell me how they would like to grow as a character and this is how I reward that. I will be sharing this with some of the other DMs I know. Thanks for the vid.
David Couturier wow thank you for the shares and kind comment! I’ve never played CoS but that sounds sick! Growing powers of darkness customized to each player, so cool!
Very good video. Making characters feel unique, giving the players the opportunity to live out their fantasies better, and even inspiring them to think more on how they would want their character to develop! This feels like a great example of power-creep done right.
Your homebrew is so killer, Coach! It makes me wanna get on your level! I absolutely love the hype you bring to your videos, besides the awesome content itself.
New subscriber! Thanks for the tips. I'm currently writing my first dm campaign ever! I've only played Lost Mines before as a player - maybe 8 sessions ever played altogether. I'm trying to get my friends into it as well, so I'm writing a whole Homebrew one-shot with potential to continue into a larger story
Stephen A Dude that’s more than I had under my belt before I did my huge 2-3 year long campaign! I’m excited for you man! Hope my vids help and if you want any specific help fee free to ask!! I’m about to have a discord server this week for chats too!!
@@TheDungeonCoach Wow, I would absolutely love to be a part of a long campaign! I'm really crossing my fingers for my own homebrewed one. Of course I haven't done anything like this before, so I'm having some difficulty trying to figure out some things, story wise. If you're down to give any advice, I can write you out a basic outline of what I have so far!
I've introduced something similar for my players that I call "evolving feats". It is a custom and thematic feat that evolves with a respective PC as they achieve milestones.
what i do as a dm: you know that table for artifacts? the random minor effects? just give 1to regular loot items and it makes a fun little item that they are like "oh that's cool"
I actually use a system where all the players abilities have to be learned in the wild. I design the encounter then I check to see what possible class abilities you could have and then figure out what they could have learned from the encounter (sometimes only certain classes learn something new while others may not) or what kind of equipment that they can would receive. For exams the paladin has a hammer I'd smite, his smiting ability works as long as he uses that hammer, but there other hammers with different effects so the players always have to decide what equipment they want to take with them. Of course equipment can be destroyed so there is always this tension. Other abilities can be learned from mentors who give special quests. That way every ability has a story behind it, it isn't just picking something out of a book or buying it from a vendor.
I absolutely LOVE this and do the exact thing with all my current and future groups Always felt bad when a wizard just spontaneously knows how to cast fireball now haha. I have my players RP how they develop it over time and then when the “level up” comes it makes sense. Or the warlocks actually speak to their patron as a mentor like you said to learn it. You said it best... everything has a story behind it!
@@TheDungeonCoach it also gives you some control over powers that don't work well. So for example turn dead isn't in out COS campaign because that would ruin too many encounters
sabra 13 so true!! As the DM you know what would be broken or not in your own game. So these custom tweaks make everything feel better not only for your players or for your campaign as well!
Great videos, ive been playing about a year. Played 3 times then been dming a homebrew since i do this kind of thing in the campaign i run and the players like it and ive been saying that the games i play in need this too
Haha I knew it would be a bit “out there’ but glad to hear you like it. If you have any ideas or want to brainstorm for you or your players characters, let me know!!
Your Gust example gave me an idea that also other cantrips could scale, not only damaging one, but also like Gust pushes for more, Magic stone makes more enchanted stones, Mold earth can change 2 5ft squares instead of 1 and so on. May break balance though, dunno Great old one warlock took a wrong patron, she should just take undying imo. I like the idea about Paladin casting Cleric spells, I would probably gave him some sort of holy book to inscribe Cleric spells just like Wizard does, may feel like stepping on Wizard's toes, but also there should be some option to be able to use Cleric spell scrolls also other than just plainly cast them, always felt giving out nonwizard scrolls were silly mechanically. But yes, there are also some hidden abilities for certain classes which are actually in the rules, like how many people know that Clerics and Paladins can actually 'craft' holy water just following rules from the book.
I'm brand new and just want to say I love the idea. If I'm able to make a suggestion please get to the information sooner. I shouldn't be a minute in before you actually start explaining the concept. :) Thanks for the content!
i'm starting to love your videos more and more i almost always take notes (and that is because i am making my own TTRPG system wich is mostly made from various homebrew rules)
I love these videos! You've been showing me so many new things and even rethinking the way I've done some things in the past! Keep it up! I do have a question though, how would you go about taking a sub class from a previous edition, like Blade Singer from Forgotten Realms AD&D 2nd edition and updating it so it'll work with 5th edition? Thanks!
One of my Players was a Glamour Bard who ended up earning a favor from a Fey Queen. Which he immediately cashed in for "a power unlike anything the world has ever seen." So I had the Queen put him into a deep sleep and graft a special sapling into which had just bloomed in her garden, into his body. 😱 At first, this gave him access to the Primal Savagery Cantrip, adding his Charisma mod to the damage. He didn't really have a way of dealing good melee damage, so I thought being able to extend a claw-like, razor-sharp tree root filled with acidic sap from his hand would be pretty cool. I had plans for that sapling to Evolve, giving him new, more-powerful abilities, but unfortunately I moved away and the campaign ended before I could do it. 😩
personally, i give them "Acquirable Traits" depending on what they achieved or done that is beyond what they needed to do. or even if they keep getting downed. ie, made an encounter impossible to win and they were supposed to lose some of the hostages they need to rescue, but this paladin stood his ground blocking off the horde of undead, giving his party members time to rescue everyone so i gave him the trait, Judicious defender trait. whenever he is surrounded by 3 or more undead creatures, undead creatures attacking with have a disadvantage on attack rolls.
another example is the warlock keeps getting downed so he is now skittish, meaning once per turn when he is attacked he can make a dexterity saving throw if it is higher than the attack roll, the attack misses.
I love this video! I'm a new DM and already started doing this with my players, but I add these bonus perks when my players hit an ASI. My favorite so far is that my rogue had tried to curve a crossbow bolt in their first adventure, so for his first ASI I gave him the ability to curve bolts around corners for automatic sneak attacks (because who wouldn't be surprised by that). The catch is that this counts as cover and raises the AC of the victim (I started with +5 and lowered cover bonuses for him for half and 3/4 cover). I suggested that he take sharpshooter for his next ASI and am planning to just give a +2 bonus to AC for creatures hiding around corners. But I am having trouble with what to do next with him, I could just ask what he wants but he really liked the initial surprise of this ability. Thoughts?
Francisco Tapia YES DUDE! I love it! You are a great DM for giving this creative ability to your player! Ok so here’s what I’d do: watch how he uses it You already did great and made it +5 AC which is great! So I’d want to know his subclass because that’s different for each of those “flavors” BUT here are some upgrade path options 1. Give him sight through the arrow 2. Let him control/ steer the arrow around the battle field - there is a arcane archer feature that lets them re-roll a missed shot as a bonus action to fly the bolt back around to go for a different target within 30 ft of the original 3. Inspiration from guardians of the galaxy whistle arrow from Yondu... THAT would be sick... like damn... haha 4. The movie wanted: let him do this with ALL projectiles that he attacks with, or even throws! - the retrieve a breakable artifact of some kind and he could throw it around enemies bending the throw to his will with pin point accuracy for his allies to catch it!
@@TheDungeonCoach He is an assassin rogue and I think he was initially inspired by wanted! I really like the idea of seeing through a special bolt, thus developing a bond with an item that can be broken! Ah! Love it, thanks dude! He just joined a thieves guild that has an artificer, so I like the idea of throwable gadgets too! Thanks so much!
Francisco Tapia I also have a video on sentient items that you might like for his bolt. You said bond with it... which makes me think of a sentient CROSSBOW BOLT!!! It’s the video on sentient item creation (not the one on movies)
@@TheDungeonCoach I literally just sent out messages to all my players with ideas and asking for their ideas on what they might like or think their characters would do more of. I'm excited to see what they come up with and how we can fit it into the game. Thanks again!
I´d like my Barbarian/Rouge to have war paint (work as spellwrought tattoos ) he could administer to himself, start low and work on up as he progresses with limited spell choices etc etc.
I really love this idea, as well as having to justify character progression (from your non-combat homebrew rules video). Did you make the multiclassing video you mentioned? I can't work out which one it is if so.
@@TheDungeonCoach Ah thanks. I saw that one, but I thought it was a homebrew multiclass build called the Master of None, so thought it was the wrong one. On an unrelated note, congrats on the channel growth. I saw in one of your descriptions from a video in January that you were hoping for 1k subs by end of March, and you've already passed 3k, so congrats.
So I am DMing a group of three. We started at level zero and are doing a whole leveling up to level 1 experience. I will spare you the details of the whole 6 session process. During class training we will be doing skill challenges. I want to give them each something special if/when they pass the skill challenge by reaching a certain amount over the cumulative DC of the skill challenges. There are several challenges, so I am thinking that is they pass by an average of +3 over each of the DCs I want to reward them with a perk/boon/feat, whatever you want to call it to make them really feel like they accomplished something and to make them feel like their character is a little bit more special. It will only be the three of them so I want to make them a little bit more powerful than the average character as they will be doing the Alexandrian version of Waterdeep: DH. I could use your help figuring out what to reward them with or how to think about developing what to reward them with. We have not chosen classes as we are still working through ability score increases through actions in game. I appreciate any help you can throw my way. Thanks. Rich.
Luis Passament every level BUT the SCALE of what I give ethen depends on what they get. If they get something AWESOME then the perk I give them will be more flavor and small... BUT if what they get is lame then I will give em something cool and exciting! Hope this helps!
A little late to the video .... but still good! I just started running a new campaign after finishing a 2 year game where I handed out free feats and epic boons as story rewards, which seemed cool at first, but in the end was just a total shit show. I mean the players loved being Demi-gods and all ... but trying to balance combat for them was a nightmare and a half. I love this idea, it's mostly what I was aiming for in the first campaign and will probably use it in the new one. Little things to help make the character unique but not stupidly powerful.
Hey dude, this is a great idea, I like to give homebrew magic items that function this way but I like that you’re racking them on as natural and unique gifts. I am just a bit confused by your implementation of this because of the wide range of levels your example PCs are. Do you give your players a perk like this every level, give them one perk early and improve on it as they gain, or do you wait for the player to express interest in a certain style to come up with it be that 2nd or 15th level?
17joren thanks man! To clarify: I give them a reward EVERY level. I gave examples of the ranges to show that the bonus level up for a lvl 3 is different from lvl 17 BUT I also look at what those classes naturally get, if it’s lame then I give them a cool bonus perk, if it’s HUGE then I might just have it be more of a flavor thing 👍🏼
@@TheDungeonCoach Yeah well said. Reminds me of Matt Colville's idea of transferring powers from NPCs to characters. Specifically when The locust and crow monks had tattoos of their totem animal that transferred to the PC monk when he defeated them, granting him extra spells. I don't know if I'd try that on just any player character, but it's one cool way to bestow the boon.
Bonus Feats, Skill Points, Attribute Point(s), extra Spells/Slots, Special Attacks, Special Defenses, Spell Like Abilities Titles, Property and many more. The list is only limited by your imagination.
Le Gladiateur wow awesome! Thank you for that, funny enough, this video is my favorite video of mine lol, so that means even more to me! (That you liked it that much)
I really like the bonus perk. If I see a player constantly trying to grapple, why not say they have trained it sufficiently to gain at least part of the Feat? Your monk likes to try to push people over, getting creative in their narrative of how the attack? Give them a Battle Master maneuver to use here and there. Sure, Inspiration is nice, but having a consistent reward for trying to accomplish what they set out to do and make the game better is far more enriching.
This is something I am definitely going to employ. I often find myself either a) being bummed that my character can’t do little things I think they should be able to based on what they are into, or what they do in battle, etc. or b) find myself having problems choosing what class I want someone to be - for example, I’m making a three-session one shot, with a mercenary group exalted for their assassination/sneaky sneaky abilities. Need something of high value stolen? Need someone who was kidnapped returned? Need a job done no one else can seem to figure out how to do? Call on the Jal’Thiune, Dark Elf (surface dwellers on my world, as a lot of them left the Underdark, and are no longer necessarily evil.) Now, I roughly sketch out 5 or 6 members that the party will get to choose from to be for this mission, One may be an infiltrator, one may be a wizard focusing on Divination, another might be a highly skilled assassin. Now, I may want the assassin to have a few tweaks, but my main problem is - what class do I pick for the leader? I know he will have a high Charisma - not only must he be able to lead his team flawlessly, he also will be doing a lot of the persuading, deceiving, and intimidating. So, I have a few choices picked out..,do I make him a Sorcerer? A Gloomstalker? A Mastermind? All of these have some aspects I can work with, and all of them have a bunch of stuff that doesn’t fit...at all. I find myself often having to settle, rather unhappily, on one I am not very enthused about for the sake of “fair balance” and ease of using RAW. Now, I’m gonna spend some time envisioning this dude (or lady), and picking a class that suits, but then tweaking a little to make the,m fit my vision perfectly. I’m also gonna talk to my DM, and see if we can’t work with this style for my Monk’s next level up in our campaign I’m a player in. I’m excited about the possibilities. Thanks!!!
Lord Geno this entire post is EXACTLY what sent me down the road to create it! It feels SO GOOD I remember just telling my players, hey... I’m gonna give you upgrades based on how your playing your character so RP what goals you have and talk to me about your characters vision and we’ll see what you get! Been so cool!
yeah i usually just let them pick up other subclass features through quests and rp now does this get pretty broken...sure...but if you think my pcs are strong you should see my npcs just saying that dwarf fighter has lived for over 300 years do not expect him to just have the strength of a battlemaster fighter... it makes sense for longer campaigns and epic level campaigns i once had a paladin who had all the subclass auras was it broken...meh... honestly every body should be doing this especially with martials also gave a player permanent shillelagh
Rick Lawton The title says “NOT just loot” as in cool ways to reward your players by NOT Just giving them loot. You can “target” specific players with cool bonuses without having to give them an item. It’s felt weird to me sometimes when I have a cool mechanic I want to give my barbarian for example... but then the fighter steps in and takes the item I created that was intended for the Barbarian. This system also solves that problem
What Bonus Perks have you given YOUR players?!
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Great video. I have been both a player and DM for over 30 years and it is always great to see a DM who thinks outside the box.
I fucking love how this guy combines the hype of a sport coach with the nerdyness of a great storytelling DM. Props to you my man, it's so useful!
YOURE ON THE TEAM NOW BANDIDO! Haha but for real, thank you! I’ve never heard it put like that... but that’s an amazing description of me, gonna quote that!
@@TheDungeonCoach I've been learning a lot, keep it up. Big fan from Argentina
Reminds me of many of the managers I knew when I worked for GNC.
The best homebrew DM on UA-cam. Excellent work, very inspiring.
Ian Mabry wow man! ✊🏼
When I read your comment I did a fist pump in real life lol, thank you!!
Hard Agree.
I never understood when DM's said their players are too strong. I am literal GOD in this game, I can kill them at any point I choose to. All I need to do is adjust the monsters they are fighting and they can still do the cool stuff they want to do and feel heroic and I can still give them a challenge and keep the feeling of "I might die" within them. My players are super powerful, yet they come to every game feeling like I am going to kill them (I really don't want to do that) It's a great dynamic.
Timothy Hayes PREACH!!! YES!!! Wow that made my day, so true!!! I feel the same what but I love the way you put it!
I couldn't agree more. Whenever I hear "my players are too strong", maybe it's just me, but I take it as a guaranteed sign of a super lazy, uncreative, or perhaps (at best) a SUPER new DM.
Players who invest into strong characters *care* about them! So, just up the difficulty of combat, or throw in some tough social situations where combat... Is really probably NOT the answer.
Also, monsters like intellect devourers and rust monsters (etc. etc. etc.) can be INSANELY useful for flipping the script on players and "balance" encounters.
Once again, I think any DM who complains about "overpowered" players is... extremely uninspired.
I've been DMing for some time, and use some similar options for my players. You touched on something I do often, which is buffing cantrips and lower level spells based on how often they are used. Besides giving features and abilities, I also like to reward my players with RP aspects of the game. They have to be earned, obviously, but certain paths lead to awesome rewards that can be used in and out of combat. One of my players is a level 8 Paladin who wanted to focus more on the RP aspect of things, so I built a path for him to pursue being a public figure that helped establish and rebuild the religion of the area. Soon, while he was a monster in combat, he was also a renowned figure as he wanted to be. Players appreciate the flexibility and the act of showing the impact their characters have on the world. Something else I do is implement characters from past campaigns into new ones. The look on my player's faces when they run into their previous characters as NPCs is priceless.
These are the kind of stories I absolutely love to hear! Player lead customization and DM‘s like you do let them do it. And I love that your players encounter their previous PCs. That is EPIC!!!
My players as well customize spells in ways that they see fit, especially when a system like this is in place, and they know they have the creative freedom to do so
Great comment!
I really really like how you add personalization options for your players! I'm currently trying to homebrew in a major perk for all my players that directly tie into the story. They're called Sparks, and these are powers that are inherent gifts that are awakened through rite of passage or trial that each of my players has to overcome; whether it be formal or during their journey. I was worrying a lot about how I give them each their own unique flavor while also not breaking the game/making things unbalanced for each player. This video has really helped towards me collaborating with my players and making sure that I give them something that they enjoy!
Slerpasaur Sparks?? That’s so cool! That’s my kind of Homebrew right there! Glad I could help SPARK some ideas!! Eh??
I have been a DM for a few years. Adding new homebrew rules to my games everytime. My biggest issue always is getting my players into roleplaying. These costumization ideas are awesome and I will try them on my next game since we recently started a new campaign.
I love customizing characters with my player but I was kinda scared about going too much out of borders. But I just released this is the whole point. Sir you just earned a subscriber and a fan. Looking forward for more videos. Thanks for the awesome work
serkan kerimoğlu Dude thanks! I take that as a big compliment!
I think we are both big homebrew DMs lol, and yea THIS tool has been great to “unlock” creativity from players!
There’s another “ritual mechanic” I use that I could do a whole video on that is a similar creative theme! I’m putting that on the list!!
Answering the call of my own challenge in your Discord, Coach, this is my 3rd favorite you cover! Shaking things up and giving players a variety of ways of being rewarded can seriously turn a campaign around from mundane to insane on its enjoyment level.
taeurus glad to hear this video got at warm of a welcome as it did! Was definitely super exited to make it and share it!
You’re challenge is also awesome and I appreciate it man, you have truly taken up a torch for this channel and have been a huge part of its growth! Thank you!
@@TheDungeonCoach just giving back. Let's see who takes the run ;D
This is an amazing system. I just started as a DM and was already doing something similar to this, but this has given me so much more to think of
Alex Fikar awesome to hear we’re synced up on that! It’s literally my favorite thing to do for them!! And it was my players favorite thing too! A must have in every campaign imo!
Your videos are changing the way I think about everything in my game!!!
WOW! Thank you so much for that Ethan!!
Hi Coach: Here is an option. I allow the individual class mechanic, not the full class, to be purchased with XP at generally half the power. The XP cost is equal to the level plus one. So a level 3 benefit cost -2700 XP or the DM's custom requirement on a similar scale. Respectively, there is a total cap regarding the number of benefits per character. Cheers!
In DnD, which I have played since the 1980's this has been something *every one* of my tables has done. It works so much better to set the PC's apart. *THIS* is what I tie to milestones in the game's tiers of play, not just level advancement. It is also a *perfect* way to signify the effects of Planar Travel or something equally weird and alien the players are exposed to, even among the residents of your world. I really enjoy your encouraging style. This also makes more sense in a world where "Wild Magic" is clearly a thing. ALSO - this is a place where things like Alignment shines through. I use this as a deliberate focus of Alignment, Gods, Ability Scores above or Beyond the norm, Flaws, Bonds, and Ideals, and player decisions they wanted to matter, but the dice were not with them, shine through. This is also the theme of every single GREAT book in the DnD world settings. The (Were-)Panther Curse of Kelemvor who would be a Paladin were it not for his inability to help people without it being for pay, the Gwenwhyver Figurine of Power = Ranger animal companion of Drizzt, the Ability of Raistlin to sacrifice his own health to become a conduit for a dangerous amount of magic power that often left him *coughing up blood*. NONE of these were in any edition. *THIS* is the fertile ground between DM and Player Agency.
Charles Humphries 1980s!?!? That is SO COOL that you and I have been doing the exact same thing! Man this game is awesome!
That’s some great examples too!!
Cool idea, i find that 3.5 character classes offers some great inspiration for stuff to give players as perks when leveling up or after doing some training
Vargj I agree! I love going back to other editions for mechanics/ features! This is something I want to do a whole video on too! Even pathfinder has some stuff, but you’d have to work harder to convert those!
at one point my party had an entire group of spell casters, be it 1/3 arcane trickster or full 9 level wizard, they all could cast spells. I gave the party a group reward of a signature spell. So like "melf's acid arrow" or "Tashe's hideous laughter" i gave them the ability to design a spell of the highest level spell they could cast. This spell would be a spin on an existing spell, like Soryu's Snowball Swarm, or Kenokai's Stabby hand (Mage hand that could use a weapon as if you were in the square the mage hand was in for all the benifits a melee attack could have form that square, the hand had 10 ac and 1 hit point)
GunnarWahl I love creative freedom on Spell Homebrew with some DM balancing in there!
I think the best part of this advice is talking to your players about their fantasy for what their character can do. This not only lets you reward them in a more satisfying way, but it can also help you design quests and adventures that can include unique aspects of their character's growth. Nothing like traveling to portal mountain on a quest, and letting the wizard learn from the sages there the mysteries of space, or saving the ringholds of the dwarven kings, and having the fighter rewarded with the dwarven secrets for fighting giants.
This works well with "The Dark Powers" in The Curse of Strahd. Love it. I have been trying to get players to tell me how they would like to grow as a character and this is how I reward that. I will be sharing this with some of the other DMs I know. Thanks for the vid.
David Couturier wow thank you for the shares and kind comment! I’ve never played CoS but that sounds sick! Growing powers of darkness customized to each player, so cool!
Very good video. Making characters feel unique, giving the players the opportunity to live out their fantasies better, and even inspiring them to think more on how they would want their character to develop! This feels like a great example of power-creep done right.
This is my favorite homebrew of all time, and the ones my players love the most i think too
Your homebrew is so killer, Coach! It makes me wanna get on your level! I absolutely love the hype you bring to your videos, besides the awesome content itself.
Dude this is super awesome I’m a new DM and I thought I was going too far with my home brew this makes me feel way better I appreciate you
New subscriber!
Thanks for the tips. I'm currently writing my first dm campaign ever! I've only played Lost Mines before as a player - maybe 8 sessions ever played altogether.
I'm trying to get my friends into it as well, so I'm writing a whole Homebrew one-shot with potential to continue into a larger story
Stephen A Dude that’s more than I had under my belt before I did my huge 2-3 year long campaign!
I’m excited for you man! Hope my vids help and if you want any specific help fee free to ask!!
I’m about to have a discord server this week for chats too!!
@@TheDungeonCoach Wow, I would absolutely love to be a part of a long campaign! I'm really crossing my fingers for my own homebrewed one.
Of course I haven't done anything like this before, so I'm having some difficulty trying to figure out some things, story wise. If you're down to give any advice, I can write you out a basic outline of what I have so far!
Stephen A watch my video on DM How to Guide Part 1! And comment your outline for your campaign there! I got you!!
I've introduced something similar for my players that I call "evolving feats". It is a custom and thematic feat that evolves with a respective PC as they achieve milestones.
what i do as a dm: you know that table for artifacts? the random minor effects? just give 1to regular loot items and it makes a fun little item that they are like "oh that's cool"
I actually use a system where all the players abilities have to be learned in the wild. I design the encounter then I check to see what possible class abilities you could have and then figure out what they could have learned from the encounter (sometimes only certain classes learn something new while others may not) or what kind of equipment that they can would receive. For exams the paladin has a hammer I'd smite, his smiting ability works as long as he uses that hammer, but there other hammers with different effects so the players always have to decide what equipment they want to take with them. Of course equipment can be destroyed so there is always this tension. Other abilities can be learned from mentors who give special quests.
That way every ability has a story behind it, it isn't just picking something out of a book or buying it from a vendor.
I absolutely LOVE this and do the exact thing with all my current and future groups
Always felt bad when a wizard just spontaneously knows how to cast fireball now haha.
I have my players RP how they develop it over time and then when the “level up” comes it makes sense. Or the warlocks actually speak to their patron as a mentor like you said to learn it.
You said it best... everything has a story behind it!
@@TheDungeonCoach it also gives you some control over powers that don't work well. So for example turn dead isn't in out COS campaign because that would ruin too many encounters
sabra 13 so true!! As the DM you know what would be broken or not in your own game. So these custom tweaks make everything feel better not only for your players or for your campaign as well!
You told them their perks in private? ❤😜 Brilliant!
Ivan Vega YEEEESSS If you do that, now THEY get to reveal it to the group themselves!
Great videos, ive been playing about a year. Played 3 times then been dming a homebrew since i do this kind of thing in the campaign i run and the players like it and ive been saying that the games i play in need this too
Matthew Barker YES
Dude we’re twins! I played in three games then took the DM plunge too!’
this is actually a really cool video and concept!
subscribed :)
Haha I knew it would be a bit “out there’ but glad to hear you like it. If you have any ideas or want to brainstorm for you or your players characters, let me know!!
Your Gust example gave me an idea that also other cantrips could scale, not only damaging one, but also like Gust pushes for more, Magic stone makes more enchanted stones, Mold earth can change 2 5ft squares instead of 1 and so on. May break balance though, dunno
Great old one warlock took a wrong patron, she should just take undying imo.
I like the idea about Paladin casting Cleric spells, I would probably gave him some sort of holy book to inscribe Cleric spells just like Wizard does, may feel like stepping on Wizard's toes, but also there should be some option to be able to use Cleric spell scrolls also other than just plainly cast them, always felt giving out nonwizard scrolls were silly mechanically.
But yes, there are also some hidden abilities for certain classes which are actually in the rules, like how many people know that Clerics and Paladins can actually 'craft' holy water just following rules from the book.
Janshevik I like your cleric book idea! His literal bible lol! Glad I could inspire you! Some of your comments have done the same for me!!
You have the absolute BEST suggestions. Good work.
I'm brand new and just want to say I love the idea. If I'm able to make a suggestion please get to the information sooner. I shouldn't be a minute in before you actually start explaining the concept. :) Thanks for the content!
i'm starting to love your videos more and more
i almost always take notes
(and that is because i am making my own TTRPG system wich is mostly made from various homebrew rules)
I love these videos! You've been showing me so many new things and even rethinking the way I've done some things in the past! Keep it up! I do have a question though, how would you go about taking a sub class from a previous edition, like Blade Singer from Forgotten Realms AD&D 2nd edition and updating it so it'll work with 5th edition? Thanks!
One of my Players was a Glamour Bard who ended up earning a favor from a Fey Queen. Which he immediately cashed in for "a power unlike anything the world has ever seen."
So I had the Queen put him into a deep sleep and graft a special sapling into which had just bloomed in her garden, into his body. 😱
At first, this gave him access to the Primal Savagery Cantrip, adding his Charisma mod to the damage. He didn't really have a way of dealing good melee damage, so I thought being able to extend a claw-like, razor-sharp tree root filled with acidic sap from his hand would be pretty cool.
I had plans for that sapling to Evolve, giving him new, more-powerful abilities, but unfortunately I moved away and the campaign ended before I could do it. 😩
as always, you've got the greats advice! I'm working on something for them now.
Matthew Prince Awesome! I Bet they’re pumped!!
personally, i give them "Acquirable Traits" depending on what they achieved or done that is beyond what they needed to do. or even if they keep getting downed.
ie, made an encounter impossible to win and they were supposed to lose some of the hostages they need to rescue, but this paladin stood his ground blocking off the horde of undead, giving his party members time to rescue everyone
so i gave him the trait, Judicious defender trait. whenever he is surrounded by 3 or more undead creatures, undead creatures attacking with have a disadvantage on attack rolls.
another example is
the warlock keeps getting downed
so he is now skittish, meaning once per turn when he is attacked he can make a dexterity saving throw if it is higher than the attack roll, the attack misses.
I love this video! I'm a new DM and already started doing this with my players, but I add these bonus perks when my players hit an ASI. My favorite so far is that my rogue had tried to curve a crossbow bolt in their first adventure, so for his first ASI I gave him the ability to curve bolts around corners for automatic sneak attacks (because who wouldn't be surprised by that). The catch is that this counts as cover and raises the AC of the victim (I started with +5 and lowered cover bonuses for him for half and 3/4 cover). I suggested that he take sharpshooter for his next ASI and am planning to just give a +2 bonus to AC for creatures hiding around corners. But I am having trouble with what to do next with him, I could just ask what he wants but he really liked the initial surprise of this ability. Thoughts?
Francisco Tapia YES DUDE! I love it!
You are a great DM for giving this creative ability to your player!
Ok so here’s what I’d do: watch how he uses it
You already did great and made it +5 AC which is great!
So I’d want to know his subclass because that’s different for each of those “flavors”
BUT here are some upgrade path options
1. Give him sight through the arrow
2. Let him control/ steer the arrow around the battle field
- there is a arcane archer feature that lets them re-roll a missed shot as a bonus action to fly the bolt back around to go for a different target within 30 ft of the original
3. Inspiration from guardians of the galaxy whistle arrow from Yondu... THAT would be sick... like damn... haha
4. The movie wanted: let him do this with ALL projectiles that he attacks with, or even throws!
- the retrieve a breakable artifact of some kind and he could throw it around enemies bending the throw to his will with pin point accuracy for his allies to catch it!
@@TheDungeonCoach He is an assassin rogue and I think he was initially inspired by wanted! I really like the idea of seeing through a special bolt, thus developing a bond with an item that can be broken! Ah! Love it, thanks dude! He just joined a thieves guild that has an artificer, so I like the idea of throwable gadgets too! Thanks so much!
Francisco Tapia I also have a video on sentient items that you might like for his bolt. You said bond with it... which makes me think of a sentient CROSSBOW BOLT!!!
It’s the video on sentient item creation (not the one on movies)
Francisco Tapia glad to be of service!
Definitely gonna try this out!
Ben Denton awesome! And if you want to brainstorm some ideas I can help ya start out!
Just tell me the characters level/ class/ what their “goal” is
Ok, first, Great shirt! Secondly, this is fantastic! I'm putting this in my game immediately!! Thank you!
Josh Abel hahah that was before I had more D&D shirts lol, I do love that shirt too!!
This is my favorite mechanic so I’m glad you like it!!
@@TheDungeonCoach I literally just sent out messages to all my players with ideas and asking for their ideas on what they might like or think their characters would do more of. I'm excited to see what they come up with and how we can fit it into the game. Thanks again!
Josh Abel ahhhhhh! That’s so cool!!! I feel like I’m there with ya! That’s exciting haha
I´d like my Barbarian/Rouge to have war paint (work as spellwrought tattoos ) he could administer to himself, start low and work on up as he progresses with limited spell choices etc etc.
“Lower that DC” is right. This dude is relentless in his quest to make an easy game easier.
Spells chart easy way to remember, half the level rounded up :)
I really love this idea, as well as having to justify character progression (from your non-combat homebrew rules video).
Did you make the multiclassing video you mentioned? I can't work out which one it is if so.
Thanks man! Yea it really helps make them have to connect with their character!
Here’s my multi class fix!
ua-cam.com/video/OpKEVIeaoIw/v-deo.html
@@TheDungeonCoach Ah thanks. I saw that one, but I thought it was a homebrew multiclass build called the Master of None, so thought it was the wrong one.
On an unrelated note, congrats on the channel growth. I saw in one of your descriptions from a video in January that you were hoping for 1k subs by end of March, and you've already passed 3k, so congrats.
Jason Lee Yea it’s been going way better than expected! I’m super excited to see where this thing goes!
Love this idea
This is brilliant, we love this!
Super cool idea please expand on this idea
I did! In one of my more recent videos’ bonus level up perks with a cartoon version of me with a. Thumbs up as the thumbnail 😆
@@TheDungeonCoach thanks for the quick response. just found the channel working my way through the videos. Keep up the quality work
Thanks for the link, DC.
So I am DMing a group of three. We started at level zero and are doing a whole leveling up to level 1 experience. I will spare you the details of the whole 6 session process. During class training we will be doing skill challenges. I want to give them each something special if/when they pass the skill challenge by reaching a certain amount over the cumulative DC of the skill challenges. There are several challenges, so I am thinking that is they pass by an average of +3 over each of the DCs I want to reward them with a perk/boon/feat, whatever you want to call it to make them really feel like they accomplished something and to make them feel like their character is a little bit more special. It will only be the three of them so I want to make them a little bit more powerful than the average character as they will be doing the Alexandrian version of Waterdeep: DH. I could use your help figuring out what to reward them with or how to think about developing what to reward them with. We have not chosen classes as we are still working through ability score increases through actions in game. I appreciate any help you can throw my way. Thanks. Rich.
Definitely going to do this. But to clarify how often do you give bonus perks?
Luis Passament every level BUT the SCALE of what I give ethen depends on what they get. If they get something AWESOME then the perk I give them will be more flavor and small... BUT if what they get is lame then I will give em something cool and exciting! Hope this helps!
Hey, one of my player want to play a time wizzard, and than you said, you create one. is there any resource for your jomebrew time wizzard?
A Monk that likes to pair his/her natural reflexes with endurance
Unwithering is that the bonus abilities you want to give this monk? Endurance perks... hmmm
Fantastic content dude amazing
jack mati this is my personal favorite video so thank you for that!! I’ll keep em coming
A little late to the video .... but still good!
I just started running a new campaign after finishing a 2 year game where I handed out free feats and epic boons as story rewards, which seemed cool at first, but in the end was just a total shit show. I mean the players loved being Demi-gods and all ... but trying to balance combat for them was a nightmare and a half.
I love this idea, it's mostly what I was aiming for in the first campaign and will probably use it in the new one. Little things to help make the character unique but not stupidly powerful.
Hey dude, this is a great idea, I like to give homebrew magic items that function this way but I like that you’re racking them on as natural and unique gifts.
I am just a bit confused by your implementation of this because of the wide range of levels your example PCs are. Do you give your players a perk like this every level, give them one perk early and improve on it as they gain, or do you wait for the player to express interest in a certain style to come up with it be that 2nd or 15th level?
17joren thanks man! To clarify: I give them a reward EVERY level. I gave examples of the ranges to show that the bonus level up for a lvl 3 is different from lvl 17
BUT I also look at what those classes naturally get, if it’s lame then I give them a cool bonus perk, if it’s HUGE then I might just have it be more of a flavor thing 👍🏼
@@TheDungeonCoach Yeah well said. Reminds me of Matt Colville's idea of transferring powers from NPCs to characters. Specifically when The locust and crow monks had tattoos of their totem animal that transferred to the PC monk when he defeated them, granting him extra spells. I don't know if I'd try that on just any player character, but it's one cool way to bestow the boon.
17joren woah I’ve never heard of that one, I’ll have to look for that video of his!
The Dungeon Coach ua-cam.com/video/-BZAjzUBYmU/v-deo.html at 22:46, though the whole video is gold
17joren gonna check it out for sure!!
I Love this!
that barbarian perk is fucking genius
5e has always felt like the only way to customize without homebrew is with multiclassing. Which can make a character weaker or just overpowered.
Lycan Deadfall I agree! I’m just giving another option!
@@TheDungeonCoach True enough to that. You're doing amazing work.
Lycan Deadfall thank you! Really makes my day to hear comments like that!
Bonus Feats, Skill Points, Attribute Point(s), extra Spells/Slots, Special Attacks, Special Defenses, Spell Like Abilities Titles, Property and many more. The list is only limited by your imagination.
This is exactly what I'd do if I were to DM a group... characters are in great need of customization in 5e
MaMastoast it’s one of my favorite things to do as the DM too!’ I even give em one at level 1 too!
Awesome stuff :D
That was just awesome
I'm a new suscriber ... and I will stay *
Le Gladiateur wow awesome! Thank you for that, funny enough, this video is my favorite video of mine lol, so that means even more to me! (That you liked it that much)
@@TheDungeonCoach ... dam you answered :P
Le Gladiateur haha yea! I try and respond to all my comments! 💜
What im having trouble with is how often should i give these
How do you do this in a way that it's balanced? I'm very ocd with it being balanced
I have another video releasing in two days on this. That might help some.
I do talk about this issue of balance as well!! 👍🏼
@@TheDungeonCoach thanks!
This is what I want in a dnd game. Complete customisation. This is the whole point of TTRPG. If you just stick to RAW you lose a lot of the charm
Does anyone have a list of perks to share? Be great to get some ideas.
I am actually working on a master list right now AND in one month I’ll be doing another video on exactly this!
@@TheDungeonCoach sweet! I've subscribed. Someone on Reddit recommended you
Is your shirt referencing something?
Anthony Lyon game of thrones lol! This was before I got a bunch of dnd shirts 😆
That's funny cuz.. my daughter's name is Aria... and her dnd character is a hexblade warlock lol
I really like the bonus perk. If I see a player constantly trying to grapple, why not say they have trained it sufficiently to gain at least part of the Feat? Your monk likes to try to push people over, getting creative in their narrative of how the attack? Give them a Battle Master maneuver to use here and there. Sure, Inspiration is nice, but having a consistent reward for trying to accomplish what they set out to do and make the game better is far more enriching.
This is something I am definitely going to employ.
I often find myself either a) being bummed that my character can’t do little things I think they should be able to based on what they are into, or what they do in battle, etc. or b) find myself having problems choosing what class I want someone to be - for example, I’m making a three-session one shot, with a mercenary group exalted for their assassination/sneaky sneaky abilities. Need something of high value stolen? Need someone who was kidnapped returned? Need a job done no one else can seem to figure out how to do? Call on the Jal’Thiune, Dark Elf (surface dwellers on my world, as a lot of them left the Underdark, and are no longer necessarily evil.)
Now, I roughly sketch out 5 or 6 members that the party will get to choose from to be for this mission, One may be an infiltrator, one may be a wizard focusing on Divination, another might be a highly skilled assassin. Now, I may want the assassin to have a few tweaks, but my main problem is - what class do I pick for the leader? I know he will have a high Charisma - not only must he be able to lead his team flawlessly, he also will be doing a lot of the persuading, deceiving, and intimidating. So, I have a few choices picked out..,do I make him a Sorcerer? A Gloomstalker? A Mastermind? All of these have some aspects I can work with, and all of them have a bunch of stuff that doesn’t fit...at all. I find myself often having to settle, rather unhappily, on one I am not very enthused about for the sake of “fair balance” and ease of using RAW.
Now, I’m gonna spend some time envisioning this dude (or lady), and picking a class that suits, but then tweaking a little to make the,m fit my vision perfectly.
I’m also gonna talk to my DM, and see if we can’t work with this style for my Monk’s next level up in our campaign I’m a player in. I’m excited about the possibilities. Thanks!!!
Lord Geno this entire post is EXACTLY what sent me down the road to create it! It feels SO GOOD
I remember just telling my players, hey... I’m gonna give you upgrades based on how your playing your character so RP what goals you have and talk to me about your characters vision and we’ll see what you get!
Been so cool!
I find GP loot only, and XP for GP and Monster Kills only, makes a more exciting and engaging game.
It's almost like 5e is basic and after the company hears about all this "homebrewing" they might even make an advanced edition. Deja vu.
Tashas didnt see this coming lmao
yeah i usually just let them pick up other subclass features through quests and rp
now does this get pretty broken...sure...but if you think my pcs are strong you should see my npcs just saying that dwarf fighter has lived for over 300 years do not expect him to just have the strength of a battlemaster fighter...
it makes sense for longer campaigns and epic level campaigns
i once had a paladin who had all the subclass auras
was it broken...meh...
honestly every body should be doing this especially with martials
also gave a player permanent shillelagh
"I want to ride a red dragon!" Okay, you're a Githyanki knight in service of the Lich Queen. But that's one of the Big Bads. Let's try again 😁
The title was about loot.
Rick Lawton The title says “NOT just loot” as in cool ways to reward your players by NOT Just giving them loot.
You can “target” specific players with cool bonuses without having to give them an item. It’s felt weird to me sometimes when I have a cool mechanic I want to give my barbarian for example... but then the fighter steps in and takes the item I created that was intended for the Barbarian. This system also solves that problem
a lot of these things can be done with specific custom magic items, although they can be treated as boons how are described in the official rules
Janshevik yea exactly! Booms are a good way of describing it! Side note: I love to give my players temporary boons too, always fun!