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Rather than rolling for your stats, using the standard array, or using the point buy system to determine your character's ability scores, you can instead distribute 72 points among your abilities. I got this number from adding together the standard array points. The point buy total also comes out to approximately 72.

For example: You put 18 points in Strength, leaving you with 54 points left in your pool (72 - 18 = 54). You put 14 points in Dexterity, leaving you now with 40 points in your pool. Putting 13 points in Constitution leaves you now with 27 points, 6 points in Intelligence leaves 21 points, and 10 points in Wisdom leaves 11 points, which is all that's left for the final Charisma score, for a result of: STR: 18 — DEX: 14 — CON: 13 — INT: 6 — WIS: 10 — CHA: 11

By default there's no limitations, but as an optional rule the DM can set a minimum and maximum score, similar to the point buy system's minimum 8 and maximum 15. It's recommended to not have any ability scores below 4.

If you're playing in a game with additional abilities, like Honor or Sanity, you can add 11 more points to the pool for each additional ability (DMG p264).

This is my version of custom backgrounds based on what's in the Player's Handbook (PHB p126), what's in the current One D&D playtest, and what I've seen others similarly do.

As an optional rule, you can choose any 2 languages instead of 1 tool proficiency.

You can use this as a template for existing backgrounds, where everything listed above would essentially replace what's in the original background. The feat from the custom background would replace the feature from the original background (e.g. Skulker replacing Criminal Contact for the Criminal background), though you could choose to also keep the original feature as some narrative flair if it makes sense for your character.

Here's two examples:

This is essentially just the ability scores for custom lineages that's used in more recent books. You ignore the given race ability scores and substitute them with your own.

The DM can decide on a different ability score distribution; such as only +2/+1 being allowed, or also allowing a +3 to one ability. You could also tie the ability score increases to the background rather than the race, like how it's done in the One D&D playtest, if that makes more sense (e.g. an Acolyte getting +2 WIS/+1 INT, or a Soldier getting +1 STR/+1 DEX/+1 CON).

This is a more precise variation of the additional higher level starting gold found in the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG p38). You would give the character the listed gp based on their level, as well as the gp and equipment they get from their background and class at 1^st level.

The "To Next Level" column shows how much gold is added from one level to the next, to better show how the numbers are distributed.

As an option, you could also add another 1d10 × 25 gp for levels 1-10, and 1d10 × 250 gp for levels 11-20, like what's listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Alternatively, you can use the simple formula of (y × 10)², with the y being the character's level.
For example: A 6^th level character's additional gold would be (6 × 10)², or [(6 × 10) × (6 × 10)] = (60 × 60) = 3,600. While easier to remember, this method will give approximately three times as much gold as the default homebrew method up until end game higher levels. You could also always change the numeric value (10) to adjust the amount as you see fit.

This is for custom Elemental Disciplines, to give more options to choose from. Most disciplines just cast spells, like Fist of Four Thunders casting the Thunderwave spell, so my homebrew for this subclass is to allow for custom spell disciplines. Spells are taken from the sorcerer spell list, as the sorcerer has more elemental themed spells than the other classes.

Allowing custom Elemental Disciplines turns the Four Elements monk into a kind of inverted warlock, where the warlock has many spells and few spell slots and the Four Elements monk has few spells (disciplines) and many spell slots (ki points).

By default, the ruling is that an Elemental Discipline isn't technically casting a spell, to allow synergy with multiclassing other classes like the barbarian. The Shadow monk's Shadow Arts also function similarly to Elemental Disciplines, but are written as duplicating a spell effect rather than actually casting a spell, so the Four Elements monk should work the same way. The DM can instead decided to abide by the original ruling of the disciplines counting as spellcasting (PHB p80).

You can only target yourself with beneficial spells to keep it balanced and consistent with the other Elemental Disciplines.

This is a comprehensive template for custom magic items. This doesn't replace all the other magic items, it just adds more options within a simple template for easier magic item creation.

There are four separate categories of magic items: weapons, armor, shields, and other. "Other" encompasses anything that can be held or worn and isn't considered a weapon, armor, or a shield (e.g. a ring, a cloak, a wand, smith's tools, playing cards, etc).

All types of magic items can cast spells contained within them and can contain one magical enhancement. Weapons, armor, and shields can have plus modifiers, and only weapons and armor can have one special material. The rulings for all these item effects work with one another, so their descriptions are with that assumption. You can choose to change those rulings, using the official D&D rules or your own.

Any character of any class can use a magic item. There are no restrictions.

To compensate for how magic items work with these rules, an artificer feature and a Thief rogue feature should change. Changes in italics.

The magic items in this homebrew essentially primarily cast spells, similar to magic items like the Boots of Levitation, rather than having their own unique effects.

By default, there is no hard limit on the number of spells in a magic item. The balance behind this is that the resource cost and the default ruling for charges creates a soft limit. As an optional rule, the DM could decide to place a hard limit on the number of spells in magic items.

The default 9 charge limit is to weigh the magic item in favor of lower level spells, with only one 9^th level spell able to be cast with max charges, but as an optional rule the DM can choose to change the charge limit number. The DM can also decide to change how frequently a magic item recharges, like 1 charge per dawn instead of 1 charge per long rest.

The exclusion of ability modifiers in spell attacks and spell saves is to allow non-casters to cast spells, and for magic items to be weaker and not overshadow spellcasters.

Cantrips aren't included since I couldn't find an elegant way to balance them, as they're infinite-use spells that scale with a character's level.

Enhancements are extra effects the magic item can do. All of the enhancements I've listed are pulled from items in official D&D books that share a similar effect. This isn't an exhaustive list and is open to as many additional custom enhancements you want to add.

Elemental weapons are effectively a broader version of weapons like Flametongue or Frostbrand. Slayer weapons are like a broader and more consistent version of weapons like the Giant Slayer or Dragon Slayer Longsword. Returning weapons are essentially the artificer infusion of the same name (ERLW p63) without the +1 bonus.

The DM can choose to restrict certain elemental types or creature types, or add humanoid creature types—like goblins or dwarves—which are excluded by default.

Elemental armor is just the Armor of Resistance (DMG p162). Cast-off armor is directly from Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGE p136). Glamoured armor is a broader version of Glamoured Studded Leather (DMG p172). Mariner's armor is directly from the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG p181).

Shields of protection are essentially the Ring of Protection (DMG p191) without the +1 AC bonus.

Lucky items are a weaker item version of the Lucky feat. I personally dislike the Lucky feat, as it encourages metagaming and mary sue characters, so lucky items are my compromise replacement to the Lucky feat. A character can still get the full Lucky feat—with 3 Luck points—by attuning to 3 lucky items, thus using up all 3 of their attunement slots.

If you're playing in a game that doesn't prohibit the Lucky feat, you can combine the Luck points from your lucky items with the Luck points from the Lucky feat, for a maximum of 6 Luck points, the same as the Lucky feat from the One D&D playtest.

This is essentially just the standard rule for plus modifiers from the Dungeon Master's Guide. I removed plus modifiers turning items magical because that never really made sense to me. I view the plus modifiers as the item instead having better craftsmanship, and use silver weapons as the replacement for overcoming resistances. Making plus modified weapons non-magical also allows for spells like Magic Weapon to be used on it.

Special materials are rare materials that the item is made out of or coated in that confer special properties. These materials include silver, mithral, and adamantine.

Silver weapons, mithral armor, and both adamantine weapons and armor are directly from the Dungeon Master's Guide. I added silver armor and mithral weapons to give players more options for item upgrades. The silver armor is like the Ring of Protection's +1 AC benefit, but only for magical effects, to keep in the theme of silver being strong against magic. The mithral weapons are so small races can wield Heavy weapons, with the weight reduction so the special material can benefit everyone. There's no mithral ammunition because ammunition weight is already in fractional ounces, and there's no adamantine Light armor to keep consistency with official source books not listing any.

This is a kind of "speed crafting" variation of the crafting rules found in the Player's Handbook (PHB p187) or Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGE p128), which I came up with to be simpler and to have crafting more accessible to players. This particular section is intended only for mundane items.

With these rules, it would take a single player one hour to make a shortsword worth 10 gp, which would take one work day using the Player's Handbook rules; and it would take 50 hours (about 6 work days) for a 500 gp item with these rules, or 100 work days with the Player's Handbook rules. I feel it's unnecessary to be that restrictive, since players likely already won't want to spend 6 days crafting a single item rather than adventuring, and 100 days is effectively telling the players that crafting is never allowed.

You can adjust the time/cost amount as you see fit, such as 1 hour per 1 gp, or 2 hours per 5 gp, or have a minimum time cost, like a minimum of 1 hour regardless of cost. This could also apply to crafting anything, like magic items.

This is more or less the same template as mundane item crafting, but for magic items that use the custom magic item homebrew.

I made a "magical forge" a requirement over tools and tool proficiencies to create a special object the players don't inherently have access to and need to interact with to create a magic item. A magical forge can be an actual magical forge, like the Forge of Spells, but it could also be something else entirely, like a celestial spaceship or a benevolent genie. Pick the object that best fits your campaign.

The cost of adding a spell to a magic item is the same cost as crafting a spell scroll.

By default, the plus modifiers only go up to +3, but I listed the cost of +4 and +5 modifiers if you wanted to play with the optional rule of higher plus modifiers.

I made the cost of crafting magic items cheaper than mundane items since the cost is significantly higher, and to incentivize players to craft their own unique magic items.

This is a variation of the spell scroll crafting rules from Xanathar's Guide to Everything (XGE p133).

There's no Arcana proficiency requirement for these rules, but the DM may choose to require it.

The cost on this list is higher at lower levels and lower at higher levels compared to Xanathar's Guide to Everything, with the numbers doubling at each level. As an option, you can change the value of the 1^st level spell scroll cost and double each subsequent number to get the value of the rest of the spell scrolls, and divide the 1^st level spell scroll cost by 5 for the cantrip cost, to keep with formula I used. Alternatively, you can use the costs from Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and choose whether that also applies to magic item spells.

These spells aren't listed under any base class spell list, so I added them to the most appropriate base class spell lists.