A lot of people take exception when folks describe something that was professionally developed as “homebrew.” I get that. Probably the industry would be better if we treated pros like pros and not hobbyists.
But when it comes to D&D…I think it’s all homebrew. 1/ I think what Gary did in 1974 is like…the definition of homebrew and everything everyone's added to the game since then is just their homebrew nonsense.
Just, some of 'em got paid for it, is all. 2/2
— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 15, 2021
Apparently this is a Hot Take. I’ve been told I just said “You should ignore the rules” and “all work should be seen as equal in effort” and it hasn’t even been 20 minutes yet. Should be an interesting next few hours….. When I see people use Homebrew out in the wild in regards to 5E, they seem to be mostly using it to mean Unofficial. There's the Official stuff, then the Homebrew stuff.
This is why it doesn't get my feathers ruffled. It doesn't seem like people attach a value judgement to it.
— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 15, 2021
And so far, it doesn’t SEEM like folks have a hard time determining the value of MCDM stuff on the merits. People care if it’s official or not, people care if it’s well-designed or not. That seems to be it. My attitude has been affected by my time in video games, where there are the Developers and the Publishers. Unlike most video game devs, the WotC team are…basically free to do whatever they want. HASBRO doesn't care if Armor absorbs damage or makes you harder to hit.
— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 15, 2021
I think that freedom is what I associate with Homebrew. Those folks are free to make the game they think best. So are we.
— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 15, 2021
I agree all the rules have roots in homebrew, but there is still a distinction between “official rules” (published by the copyright owner) and everything else. Of course, those official rules include that the DM can do their own thing. Unless I'm playing in a competitive tournament, the distinction between "official" and "unofficial" is just one of flavor. It doesn't hold a lot of meaning to me.
The DM runs the game, not the copyright holders.
— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 15, 2021