Allowed Sources

When building your character or leveling up, you may use these player options (with exceptions where indicated) without having to ask me first. If you are choosing UA or an unofficial source, please let me know what you're using so that I'm aware it's going to be in play (see also "Choosing and Using Unofficial Content"). If you want to use anything that's not on this list and not permitted by your game's specific rules, whether it's official or unofficial, please discuss it with me before getting your heart set on it.

Links are provided to legal free or purchaseable downloads where possible. I also have copies of all of these options available to players who are accepted into my games, but I figure it's always nice to support content creators by purchasing their work when you can, and in general you may want to be able to keep up with updates to the content without having to wait for me.

As with any unofficial content, I reserve the right to make changes to any options allowed here, as unlikely as that situation may be. Just because I've pre-approved it doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be perfect the first time out for a particular game!

official sources

You may use any player options you like from the following official Wizards of the Coast sources:

The following sources are generally allowed, but check with me first in case there are exceptions or setting/flavor adjustments need to be made:

You may also use backgrounds from official adventures (Curse of Strahd, Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Tomb of Annihilation, etc.).

For any other official or otherwise-WotC-produced sources (Plane Shift articles, Acquisitions Incorporated, Dungeon Master's Guide, etc.), please ask me first.

vgtm notes

If you want to use content from Volo's Guide to Monsters, be aware of the following:

eepc notes

If you want to use content from Elemental Evil Player's Companion, be aware of the following:

scag notes

If you want to use content from Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, be aware of the following:

flying races

Races with an innate flying speed (aarakocra, feral tieflings, miscellaneous homebrew, etc.) are handled on a game-by-game basis. Depending on the game, flying characters may be allowed as-is, allowed with homebrew changes (generally altering how flight works or at what point the character can use it), or disallowed entirely. My general inclination is to avoid 1st-level flight for PCs, but that doesn't mean that these races are automatically disallowed for higher-level starts, or for characters who join the game after a previous character dies/leaves the party, or that we can't come up with some other way for you to play such a race and maybe work something out.

At any rate, if the game information doesn't already specify, ask before submitting a character who is capable of flight, and we can discuss what options might be available to you.

what about the ranger?

Yes, this gets its own section. I figure it's likely to be on most people's minds after they hear their DM is open to UA and homebrew.

The official Player's Handbook ranger will always be an option if you really, really want to use it, but my general preference is a homebrew modification of the class called "The Ranger, Revised and Revisited". You can see this modified class here. This version was almost entirely designed by Reddit user /u/regularabsentee (see their original here); I made a few minor adjustments of my own after I learned about it and realized it was almost exactly what I wanted in a "standard" ranger. It's essentially a combination of the best bits of both official and UA. It maintains a lot of the UA ranger's helpful upgrades while dialing back a bit of the overtuning (by removing a few things but primarily by not frontloading everything cool into the first few levels), and it restores a few small things that the PHB ranger actually had decent ideas about. It also includes a small number of new tweaks that add more flexibility to the class's favored enemies. This version of the ranger is still compatible with the Xanathar's subclasses and probably most others.

This ranger class is still very much considered a work in progress, and is especially subject to change as I get more chances to see it in action and decide how well it achieves what I (and players) want it to do. It may be revised further in the future, or I may drop my recommendation of this option entirely if a superior choice comes to light.

The unmodified UA revised ranger is not permitted.

choosing and using unofficial sources

While I have read through these sources and believe that they would make enjoyable additions to a game, I do not by any means know their contents as well as I know those from official WotC sources. Please be sure to let me know ahead of time if you are selecting any options from any of these sources, and make a note of which source you're taking the option from (e.g., "My wizard is learning the spell meteor dash from The Elemental Spellbook") when you choose to take it; this way I know which options are in play and can more easily check the original source when clarification is needed.

Additionally, I will put together a running "cheat sheet" document specific to your campaign that contains either links to or copies/summaries of all unofficial options that are currently in use/I have given players access to. This puts all of the relevant information in one place so all of us (myself included) can access it without having to dig through multiple sources or options that no one is going to use.

For spells specifically, where the source does not already suggest which class spell lists its spells should be added to, I have come up with general "expanded spell lists" for each such source so that we have a baseline understanding of which classes are able to cast which spells. If you are interested in a source that grants spells, check with me to see whether the spell you want is available to the class you're planning to play. Note that in rare cases, depending on the setting, I may change the spell lists (e.g., if a certain kind of magic is only rarely seen in one setting, I may remove it from some spell lists for games in that setting).

unearthed arcana

Remember that UA content is still subject to revision or later official release, and that you will likely be asked to update your character when these revisions occur.

unofficial classes and subclasses

The following homebrew and third-party base classes are allowed:

The following homebrew and third-party subclasses are allowed:

alternate unofficial options

There are many different interpretations of certain common D&D content ideas, such as gunslingers, alchemists, arcane half-casters, various race ideas, and even alternative versions of official classes like the artificer and, of course, the ranger. On this page I list the sources that I like to use, but that doesn't mean that I'm 100% opposed to alternatives. For example, Mage Hand Press/Middle Finger of Vecna has a "Complete Alchemist" class that is quite solid as well. If you want to play an alchemist I would personally prefer that you use Cody Faulk's version linked above, but you're welcome to talk to me about it if you have your heart set on the Mage Hand Press version.

My only requirement is that only one "version" of a concept is in use in a given game at any given time. If two players in the same party want to be alchemists then they're going to use the same source for that class to avoid confusion—I don't want one player using Faulk's alchemist while the other uses MHP's. Both players will need to agree on the version they want to play. If for some reason one player wants to swap to the other version after playing for a while (and after talking to me about it first!), both must agree to make the switch.

This holds true for all content, including races/subraces, classes/subclasses, spell concepts, etc., unless I say otherwise.

unofficial races and subraces

The following homebrew and third-party base races are allowed:

other unofficial sources

These sources include things like spells, feats, equipment, etc..

The following homebrew and third-party player option sources are allowed:

need help deciding?

Even if you ignore all of the unofficial options I'm allowing, there are a lot of choices for classes, subclasses, races, backgrounds and more, and it can be overwhelming for new players (or anyone, really) trying to figure out what they might be interested in playing! You can always talk to me about what a given option is good at mechanically or how it fits into the world in terms of story and flavor. In addition, you may be interested in reading these quick summaries to learn what each option is like and whether you want to play one.

These resources unfortunately don't account for the unofficial options available in my campaigns, and may not always be updated to include the most recent official or UA options (5e Subclass Directory is pretty good about staying up to date, though), but hopefully they're a handy starting point while I put together a resource more specific to my games.