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Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition,the most recent incarnation of the genre-defining tabletop RPG, was first released back in 2014. Over the last five years, a steady stream of new books and updates have added depth to its character options. Despite this though, the game is yet to reach the scale of its direct predecessor, Fourth Edition, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as a more focused game is easier for new players to pick up. However, some players moving ontoDungeons and Dragons’Fifth Edition from older systems may find the lack of options a little stifling.
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Fortunately, just like its predecessors, Fifth Edition boasts an active and enthusiastic homebrew community. While the great majority of these player-designed classes are often poorly balanced or attempt to do too much, there are some gems hidden among them.A good homebrewclass must fill a gap that exists in the system, allowing players to follow an archetype that was either previously unavailable or disappointingly narrow.
Digging through the mountain of fan-inserts and poorly-balanced jacks-of-all-trades to find the well-crafted homebrews out there can be a real challenge. Many DMs may already have had a bad experience with an over-powered homebrew class, perhaps souring them to the concept altogether. To help out, and to make it clear that these well-done homebrew classes really do exist, here’s our list of the best and most popular.
Updated August 04, 2025 by John Higgs:Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition has grown steadily over the past few years, with a stream of new adventures, rulebooks, and class options for players to dive into. Despite the huge number of subclasses and feats that have been added to the game since launch, the Artificer remains the only new class that has been released. Fortunately, the homebrew community has been hard at work, adapting new rules found in books like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to bring players a huge range of interesting and well-designed homebrew classes.
Matt Mercer’s Blood Hunter
Created byMatt Mercer, DM of the popular Critical Role Dungeons and Dragons podcast, the Blood Hunter is actually a semi-official class. While it appears in a special category on the official DnD website, it is still classified by most as homebrew content.
The Blood Hunter is a damage-dealing melee class inspired byThe Witcherseries. Filling aniche between the Rangerand Warlock, the Blood Hunter combines dark magic, alchemical concoctions, and martial prowess to become the ultimate monster-hunter.
The three core Features of the Blood Hunter are the Hunter’s Bane, the Crimson Rite, and the Blood Maledict. The first comes at level one, giving the Blood Hunter Advantage while tracking Fey, Fiend, and Undead creatures. It also prevents the Hunter from being surprised by creatures of those types.
The Crimson Rite, also gained at 1st level, allows the Blood Hunter to sacrifice Hit-Points to imbue their weaponry with extra damage of a chosen type. Finally, the Blood Maledict gives a 2nd level Hunter access to a variety of Curses. These can initially be cast only once per short-rest, but help to widen the Hunter’s tactical options.
There are currently four subclasses available for the Blood Hunter, each focusing on a different aspect of the class:
Kibbles' Occultist
Created by well-known Reddit homebrewer u/KibblesTasty, the Occultist brings together several nicheclasses from previous editions ofD&Dinto a single class. The Occultist is a different flavor of spell-caster, one that uses a spiritual combination of arcane and divine power to perform their magic.
LikeSorcerers and Warlocks, Occultists choose their subclass right from level 1, making it a much more impactful and meaningful decision. Almost all the Occultist’s features are tied to these subclasses, and the only thing they really share is their spell list and mastery of ritual magic.
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Each of the Occultist’s subclasses also gives it access to a range of Rites, permanent effects similar to aWarlock’s Eldritch Invocations. These Rites offer a massive amount of customization options, allowing players to build their Occultist in hundreds of different ways.
Kibbles' Warlord
The second of Reddit user /u/KibblesTasty’s Homebrews to make this list, the Warlord is a martial support class focused on bolstering their allies in combat. A recreation ofDungeons and Dragons' Fourth Edition’s class of the same name, the Warlord fills a unique position.
Although there have been some attempts to recreate 4E’s Warlord in Fifth Edition, none have really hit the mark. The Banneret Fighter subclass falls a little flat, while the Battlemaster subclass allows only a token number of support options. Kibbles' Warlord gives players the opportunity to truly fill the role of a martial leader, buffing allies and hindering foes with cunning leadership and tactical insight.
The Warlord comes with five distinct subclasses, each focusing on a different style of leadership:
Matt Colville’s Illrigger
For players looking for a darker take on a Paladin, look no further than Matthew Colville’s Illrigger. The Illrigger is a character that has made a vow to the Nine Hells, making them a medium-armored combination of Paladin, Warlock, anda hint of Bard.The Illrigger offers some powerful options both in and out of combat, with a focus on deception, treachery, and hellfire.
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Four unique fighting styles and three subclasses give players plenty of opportunities to customize their Illrigger, and the class can just as easily work with light armor and finesse weapons as it can with the more traditional medium armor. Just like the Paladin, the Illrigger also comes with an alternative way to use their spell slots. In this case, the Illrigger can use them to place magical seals on enemy targets that are triggered when they’re hit by another attack.
The three subclasses of the Illrigger allow players three very different approaches to the class:
Benjamin Hoffman’s Pugilist
Inspired byDungeons & DragonsMonk class, Ben Hoffman’s Pugilist is a Strength-based unarmed fighter with a strong focus on survivability, adaptability, and improvisation. The Pugilist’s unusual ability to add their Constitution modifier to their AC makes them one of the toughest classes in 5E, and their six subclasses allow players a wide range of options when it comes to secondary stats.
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