homebrew
/ˈhoʊmˌbruː/
CommonCustom rules, content, or modifications made by players or fans rather than official publishers.
Positive in tabletop and gaming communities. Sometimes signals caution about balance or quality. In the brewing/tech sense, it's entirely separate from the gaming usage.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | our DM wrote an entire homebrew world and it's honestly better than most published settings | The dungeon master created their own original campaign setting. | reddit, 2024 |
| 02 | playing with a homebrew rule that makes long rests actually cost something and it changes everything | A custom rule modification is noticeably changing how the game plays. | x, 2023 |
| 03 | found a homebrew subclass for ranger that actually makes it playable | A fan-created character option fixes a perceived weakness in the official rules. | reddit, 2024 |
| 04 | is this homebrew or official? asking because i've never seen this mechanic before | Asking whether something is fan-made or from an official source. | reddit, 2023 |
Use it when
- Using rules or content a dungeon master invented rather than pulled from official books.
- Describing fan-created content for any game, show, or fandom.
- Describing a custom or unofficial modification to a game or system.
Do not use it when
- The content comes from an official expansion or sourcebook.
- You mean pirated content.
Variations and related forms
Origin and context
Borrowed from homebrewing beer, applied to tabletop gaming communities to describe player-made content. The gaming sense of the term was well established in D&D communities by the 1990s and became widely used online as TTRPG culture expanded.
- First seen
- 1990s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/homebrewUpdated: 2026-08-28License: CC BY 4.0