Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

One of my skype buddies introduced our group to RPG's. I have always wanted to play one, and just as I suspected; I LOVE them! Anyways, we are each taking turns DMing, and I'm getting ready for mine; I want to DM a game or so from my literary universe I am creating for the books I write. I'm creating new classes and all new races based on the core ones to fit my setting, and I need to get some advice on the topic: Has anyone else homebrewed a world for 5e complete with Races/classes and monsters? What is helpful to the process and what should I avoid?

EDIT: While we are on the topic, are their any good free campaigns vague enough I can adapt to my setting?

I've never run 5e and only played like one game in it, but my advice would be to either leave the classes alone or slightly adapt existing ones - making classes that are distinct enough but still balanced with existing ones can be very tough, and a new campaign isn't the best time to be play testing them.

I've done a fair bit of world building for other systems and everything else you've brought up - races and monsters should be pretty simple. Just keep a keen eye on balance and make sure everyone is still having fun; sometimes things don't translate well from literature to rules either, so that may require some DM fiat.

As general advice, if this is a world you are writing and keen to show off to the players, make sure you don't fall into the trap of trying to railroad them into doing the things you want them to do, if they are the PCs, it's their story - no matter how cool the things are that you want them to see/do, don't try to force it.

Yeah, I would leave classes alone until you get a firm understanding of the mechanics. Likewise for the races, you may want to reskin them to match your world, but be very careful changing the mechanics without a specific understanding of how that will affect play and balance. Homebrews tend to commonly make the mistake of making classes/races that are simply better (or worse), which upsets balance and leaves players with fewer options.

Since you mentioned books you write, be very careful how you approach this. Players tend to resent being railroaded and will often act unpredictably. They want to have an impact on the world that may not be consistent with your vision or events in your stories. This can cause some serious tension. I would recommend viewing the game as an alternate reality or set it in a different time period and let them do what they want