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D&D Homebrews: Custom Content with MPMB Integration

· 4 min read
Max Clayton Clowes
Max Clayton Clowes
mcclowes
metamagic-games/dnd-homebrews
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Creating homebrew content for D&D 5e is one of the best parts of being a game master. Custom classes, unique races, and house rules make your campaign world feel alive and distinctive. But there's a problem: distributing that content to players in a usable format is surprisingly difficult.

This repository solves that by providing homebrew D&D 5e content with full MorePurpleMoreBetter (MPMB) character sheet integration, making custom content as easy to use as official material.

The problem with homebrew content​

Traditional homebrew distribution has several pain points:

  1. Reference material overload: Players need to keep PDFs or web pages open while creating characters
  2. Manual transcription: Players copy stats and abilities by hand, introducing errors
  3. No automation: Custom features don't calculate modifiers or track resources automatically
  4. Discovery: Players forget about homebrew options during character creation
  5. Version control: Updates to homebrew content require redistributing PDFs and manual updates to character sheets

The solution​

This repository provides two key pieces:

  1. Professionally formatted handbooks built with Handbooker, giving players beautiful reference material
  2. MPMB integration code that imports custom content directly into the character sheet, making homebrew options appear alongside official content

What's included​

Additional Rules:

  • Serious Injuries system
  • Expanded Madness mechanics

Full Classes:

  • Warden: A unique class focused on manipulating the boundaries between life and death

Subclasses:

  • Combat Medic (Fighter): Specialized in preventing injuries and accelerating recovery
  • Way of the Selfless (Monk): High-risk techniques that push the body beyond normal limits
  • Tribune (Ranger): Unique approach to magic storage and manipulation
  • Gambler (Warlock): Patron-based mechanics revolving around chance and luck

Races:

  • Brood: Insectoid humanoids with hive-mind traits
  • Vakkyr: Corrupted dwarves with dark origins
  • Pearl: Incorporeal beings that serve as knowledge keepers
  • Umbaran: Human variants with distinct cultural subraces

Additional Resources:

  • Custom spells
  • Unique magic items
  • New consumables and drugs

Technical implementation​

The repository uses Node.js tooling to generate both handbooks and MPMB code:

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build everything
npm run build

# Build specific content (e.g., Combat Medic)
npm run build medic

This generates:

  • PDF handbooks styled like official D&D publications
  • JavaScript files for MPMB character sheet import

MPMB integration: The game changer​

The real power comes from MPMB integration. Players can import these files directly into the MorePurpleMoreBetter Character Sheet, and suddenly:

  • Homebrew classes appear in the class selection dropdown
  • Custom races show up alongside official options
  • Spells are added to the spell lists automatically
  • Abilities calculate modifiers correctly
  • Resources track uses per restREST An architectural style for designing networked applications. REST uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to perform operations on resources identified by URLs.
  • Everything works exactly like official content

No more referencing external documents during character creation. No more manual calculations. Just seamless integration.

Building on Handbooker​

This project uses Handbooker for PDF generation, which means:

  • Version control: All content lives in Markdown files tracked by Git
  • Collaborative editing: Multiple contributors can work via pull requests
  • Automated builds: Handbooks regenerate automatically when content changes
  • Consistent styling: Everything looks like official D&D material

Try it out​

Clone the repository and build the handbooks:

git clone https://github.com/metamagic-games/dnd-homebrews.git
cd dnd-homebrews
npm install
npm run build

For MPMB integration:

  1. Download the generated .js files from the build output
  2. Import them into your MPMB character sheet using the "Import" function
  3. Create characters with homebrew content as if it were official material

Contributing​

This is an ongoing project with content in various stages of completion. The repository welcomes contributions—whether that's balancing feedback, new content, or MPMB integration improvements.

Links: