Amazing content for the price! I hope to see a sequel and more work from you!

I have to say that I LOVE this document! It's a very fun read. I continue to reread everything and find new ways to implement it all into my games. I highly reccomend to everyone!

Wow, what an achievement. This book feels exactly like it belongs up there with Xanathar's Guide To Everything, Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes, etc. and yet it still is so unique that it deserves to be in a catagory on its own. The new rules and options generally work wonders, and the only thing I hope for is a sequel.

Why did it take someone using a cantrip from this book in a subclass on reddit for me to find out it exits?! This book is great. The options are simply amazing. Subclasses, new full classes, backgrounds. Things I didn't even know I wanted. 5 stars. Love it.

I liked how for once the Ranger Class did not seem to get the short-end of the stick (a bugbear of mine). I would just suggest the following tweaks to the Sylvan Knight's Pact Leader ability: 1) that the feature kicks in when the Ranger is in their favoured terrain OR tracking thier favorite enemy. Needing to be tracking your favoured enemy in your favoured terrain makes the ability seem too niche and strikes me as a level up-grade where the Ranger effectively gets nothing. 2) It should grant advanatge on Stealth and no Survival checks, but not to Nature. Stealth is DEX-basded, Survival WIS-basd; two arrears in which Rangers traditionally excel, but Nature is INT-based (an area which is easily overlooked by most Rangers).

I'll try to keep my thoughts concise and explain how I feel about each chapter of content:

Chapter 1: I dislike everything about the half races presented here. It's a personal opinion, but a half elf-half dragonborn unleashes a huge number of questions imo.

Chapter 2: New races are always an interesting point. I've created a large number in my "Backgrounds Of" series, so I have a good feeling for how a race is balanced. What you'll find here is a variety of 3rd edition and older content, updated to 5e. Almost too literally for my taste, but they DO seem balanced.

Chapter 3: A huge number of archetypes. I'll comment on all the archetypes based on class. I'm going to comment on these below, so if you're interested scroll down to check those out.

Chapter 4: Ah yes, "full classes". I hate full classes in 99% of cases, as most of the time they're a great concept that works better as an archetype. The archetype design is limited, and that let's us focus on being good. Having to "fill out" a class is a chore and (in my opinion) rarely leads to a good product. Here we have an Artificer (which, to me, should be a wizard archetype), the Death Knight (which to me works as a fighter or paladin archetype), Magus (collective caster, perhaps wizard or sorcerer would enjoy this as an archetype) and finally the Oracle (wizard or warlock).

Chapter 5: Backgrounds are GREAT. And most of what we have here works really well. I disagree with granting weapon proficiencies in a background as a rule, but I don't think this is going to break anything. There's a lot of wording in here that doesn't match up to how WOTC words things, and I think that this chapter would seriously benefit from that sort of verbal clarity.

Chapter 6: Feats! That optional system of customization WOTC seems to forget exists, the feats presented here range in balance and that's bad. Arcane Armor basically grants a wizard a huge AC for the cost of an ability score increase (it sets your AC to 10 + dex + spellcasting ability modifier). That's a bad feat. Conserve Momentum is badly designed, but would be a lot of fun (if you miss and you're using a 'heavy' weapon, you can keep the attack up and try to hit someone else within reach). Looking over these feats, I'd say there's far more bad than good, and I'd probably never recommend these to my players.

Chapter 7: Gear and equipment. All of it seems ok, damage is where you would expect and nothing seems to be too over powered in terms of utility. However armor adds "robes" as a type of armor, and there are some heavier armors (AC 22 "Stronghold" plate). I have to say if this was an all or nothing situation, my players wouldn't be allowed to use any of it. But if they were interested in a single weapon or armor, I'd read over it and go on a case by case basis.

Chapter 8: Traps. A large selection of traps you can mostly drop into any dungeon. This is great.

Chapter 9: Optional rules. Some new conditions, a wide derth of new rules (most of them things that seem fine, like "Critical hits just deal maximum damage", a rule I loved in 4e). Critical on initative is particularly great (advantage on rolls for the first turn, or disadvantage if you roll a 1). Some rules I wouldn't use at all (the old 2e rule of coins grant experience, not combat).

Chapter 10: How to become a lich. It's great, although my table hasn't ever wanted this, the rules here work really really well.

Chapter 11 and 12: New magic items and new spells, I haven't investigated each and every one, but I love the randomized tables for items. Adds new depth to cursed items.

Overall the product is a net positive. There is a huge amount of stuff (and at 129 pages, it should be) but as a DM be wary that not everything here is balanced. As a player, the archetypes range from super exciting to mediocre, but there's nothing that's outright BAD. The feats section could be torn out, but that is a reaction to it analytically. If the feats are fun and don't ruin the fun of others, then they might work at your table.

My only two comments to the author: hire an editor. There were numerous spelling and grammar errors, as well as errors in layout. Also, source some better art. The geometric shapes get boring after a while.

Archetype Review

Barbarian: Path of the Seige weapon, mechanically is fine. The archetype doesn't really make you into a siege weapon except for the 10th level power. Everything else just makes you more of a fighter. The path of the survivor was a much better thought out archetype.

Bard: Path of Destiny is excellent, a fortune telling divining bard. Path of Origami is far more interesting from a story telling perspective, although it's difficult to say if the balance here would be great. My mind is arguing back and forth on if it's too good or too weak.

Cleric: The ooze domain is gross, and is mechanically awkward. Especially the "you can split into two copies of yourself" part, which is also probably the coolest part of the class. Protection is a little more by the book, but it is certainly something that looks like WOTC themselves could have drafted it up.

Druid: Circle of the Scorched Earth is great both narratively and mechanically. Circle of the Sun seems fun, but it really is more about being a plant-person than it is being solar powered. Bad name, great archetype.

Fighter: The guardian archetype is fine. It's like, the defender without needing shields. Feels like too minimal a change for me to really like it, but there's nothing wrong with it. The Warlord is trying to be a battlefield tactician, and for the most part succeeds. I would've liked to see it grant temporary hp earlier, but that's a personal design thought and the mechanics here seem quite balanced.

Monk: Way of the Fundementals is underwhealming. Feels like they glued things to the monk to say it was different, but there's nothing about this narratively that I like. The Third Eye archetype is much more dynamic, mystic type of monk.

Paladin: Oath of the Arcane is something I see designed a lot (Mystra and her Paladins, right?) It's not the best interpretation I've seen, but this is a pretty balanced one. Oath of Engagements is much more of a "Tank" than the traditional Paladin and there's nothing wrong with that.

Ranger: Diabolist is something that immediately drew my attention. An odd name, but it's essentially an undead hunter, with defences specifically tailored to fight those evil foes. Sylvan Knight on the other hand is... muddled. There's little cohesive about it, it's mostly a mess. A balanced mess, but a mess the same.

Rogue: Bounty hunter is great, and does what it says on the tin. While cardthrower will let you live out your fantasies of being Gambit from X-Men, it seems to be of limited use for the most part.

Sorcerer: So I've seen many blood mages stated out as 20 level classes and I've always hated that. The blood mage presented here is PRECISELY what I want in a blood mage, and possibly the best take on the concept I've seen to date. Time magic is always a difficult one to balance, which is why the author here decided to make the archetype just increase how quickly the sorcerer does everything. That works perfectly for me, as I don't want to deal with causality loops at my table.

Warlock: Fathom patron is pretty solid, although as a DM I question why a Kraken or other aquatic horror would create warlocks in the first place. Jotunmagisk doesn't make any sense to me, why or how a giant would be a patron, but the mechanics of the class work well. The invocations here are all excellent (without being so good they're must haves), and there are more than a few for patrons not in this book (a plus, in my opinion).

Wizard: Chaos magic makes me wonder why one wouldn't just make a wild mage, but options are nice. It's more... available... than the wild mage which isn't a bad thing.

Probably one of the best homebrewed books out there, especially for the massive amount of content here. I usually am very restrictive about homebrew with my players but I'll be allowing anything from Balasar's.

Of all the D&D 5th edition products I have seen (including those published by WoTC), this is by far my favorite. It is presented in a similar style as Xanather's Guide, and excels in every aspect. It is professionally written and aesthetically pleasing. It includes truly unique subclasses, an excellent version of the Artificer class, interesting backgrounds, additional spells, and other tools useful for DMs. Whenever I am looking for something to add my campaign, for character options for my players, or for inspiration, I start by delving into Balasar's Guide to Exploration.

(EDITED after further reading)

This book is amazing! Lots of flavorful additions, interesting rules, and I love traps and curses!... but there're two things that bother me. It has it's fair share of grammar and poor wording, especially in the subclasses, and it has a strange a lack of flavor for a book of it's kind, with the descriptive text and the presentation of the titular Balasar (though the classes boast a variety of interesting lore and are very well thought out narratively). For the former, I've created a little perusal of the first couple of subclasses and my callouts for grammar/spelling/poor-wording.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rjYS2pf7r8C3uXZwMPpBGeovjSmEaFREH15VMYGC-VU/edit?usp=sharing here's the thing for that.

As for the secondary issue, I think it's just a lack of art (which I know is hard to get/make, and this is a free supplement so I understand) but also the fact that Balasar isn't well established as a character. He seems to be a blander version of Volo in my opinion, I will not tell you how to write your character, but I think Balasar should be given more dialogue, more flavor to what he says, and depth and meaning to his quips. I would happily buy this as a full supplement, for an actual full price, if it had;

1. Further editing, particularly in spelling, grammar, and wording.
2. A bit more flavor, maybe some art if you can get it (public domain has a lot of good stuff, so does DMsguild for free use!) and more stuff about Balasar!
3. It's own look, it just feels like a bland homebrewery PDF, it should have a bit of flavor with it's page color, maybe even it's font! Just an idea.

I won't pretend that I can critique your classes, I ain't THAT smart about DnD, but they look really cool though! The half races definitely look interesting, if a bit abusable. And the subclasses generally look well-made, well balanced, and very fun to play.

Hopefully a version 2 of this comes out eventually, with fixed wording issues, art, it's own product dressing, a bit more flavor from the narrator, and perhaps at a premium (5 - 10 bucks) price, so I can support it further. Once I get the money, I'll definitely be dropping a few bucks on this, since it's such a steal at it's current name-your-price. I know I've been critical, but overall, I really like this and it's a BOATLOAD of great content. Great job!

Dang, there is so much content in this that I actually feel overwhelmed haha. Ill edit this review later once I fulled read over it, but skimming through there are so many options that its hard to know where to start. Im excited for the Chaos Wizard though!

Amazing job dude! Thank you for the hard work!

Let me start that this book is big. Like, massively huge, especially for free. The writers or team of writers must have been extremely busy the entire time. To have a dedicated source of people that could release it for little to nothing is surprising and gives me hope for the community.

23 archetypes is a large number. Some seem slightly off balance, such as the Path of the Survivor for the barbarian. Others have an insane amount of thematic feel that it excites me to play it, such as the Ooze Domain cleric, Fathom Patron warlock or the Diabolist ranger.

The four classes are really 3 new classes and an attempt at reworking the artificer class from Wizard's of the Coast. The attempt at a new revival of the artificer is an impressive and courageous attempt, and I will give the writers props for it. The other classes have a very strong feel whenever you read them, like the Death Knight being a fallen paladin, or the Oracle being somewhat cursed with a deformity.

The new backgrounds just simply expand on new choices the characters can make, and that is never a bad thing. As for feats, a few are copied from one another, such as the different combat ability scores. Overall, not bad. Invocations further enhance the feel of a new warlock patron, but it is not limited there. There are a handful of new invocations that build onto the other patrons.

Does this have spells and magic items? You bet. With many new spells, a total I lost track counting, it is suitable for spellcasters that can cast around 4th-5th level spells. Not many seem overpowered, which is amazing and the entire spell list for the different classes are listed at the beginning with their associated level and school of magic, something I wish that the Player's Handbook had, nice attention to detail.

There are many new magical items, a few of which have this new keyword called collaborate where if the person is attuned to a matching pair of items, theres an enhanced ability that the items do. Its a nice touch and makes the world seem to come together more.

Lastly, there is some new variant rules or optional rules in the book. Not all of them are really important, such as an alternate initiative, but the "language barriers" and "resurrection risks" have already been used in my campaign and definitely added to the game in a positive way.

Overall, if you are a dungeon master that has seen it all, this book adds a fresh new take on Dungeons and Dragons. If you are a new or old player, this can mix things up and bring back a new feeling of excitement, as it has done for me. This book is great for everyone and especially helps pass the time between new releases by Wizards of the Coast.