Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product–  Homeward Bound- Simple rules for player-owned base

System-Dungeons and Dragons 5e

Producer–Jan Sielicki

Price– $3 here http://www.dmsguild.com/product/201016/Homeward-Bound–simple-rules-for-playerowned-base?affiliate_id=239993

TL; DR-Finally a use for money! 94%

Basics– You’ve killed the dragon, gotten it’s hoard, and now you just want to go back to the inn to drink?  Savages!  Time to get and build up your own house!  Homeward Bound is a supplement focusing on maintaining a home in the adventure.  Instead of just drinking in a bar, you can own land, quest to keep that piece of land safe, and drink in your own home!  This book has options for the players and ideas for the DM.

Mechanics or Crunch-This book isn’t built to be a player option book, and that’s very important going forward.  This book does have benefits to the player in the form of different things you can build which are nice and some of these even have levels of benefits depending on how much you build up.  Those are all good additions to the players’ options in game.  However, the major problems I had were the lack of player specific character options and the build your own manner option.  Players can build things that give them a better start to the adventure, but there are not feats, spells, or player options that deal with their own manor.  Also, players don’t have options to build their own manor out right.  The typical ways to get a manor are find one or be gifted one.  I’d like to forge my own.  These don’t break the book by any means, but I’d like a bit more as a player.  Something that might help is a character sheet for your house showing what you’ve added, the rooms that are there, and what bonuses you get from each.  As a DM, I have enough from this book to do well with it in my game.   4.25/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is a book of how to get and build a manor.  Overall it doesn’t tell a story per se, but it gives you the theme of owning and building a house in DnD.  The book does include a possible campaign for a DM to throw at the players, which is a nice touch.  However, all the things in here have a good theme and description to them.  It’s an entertaining  read.  5/5

Execution-This book has got pictures, color, columns, art, tables, backgrounds, and story.  Then why the 4.9?  Size.  This book has tiny font. On a tablet, it’s ok because I can zoom in.  As a print out, it’s hell on the eyes.  That said this is some of the best execution I’ve seen for a DnD 5e book yet.  It’s organized well and even hyperlinked!  Compared to some of the other stuff with just black text/white background/5 pages/5 bucks, this does raise the bar for the competition.  Just be prepared to squint a bit. 4.9/5

Summary– I like what’s here.  Here is the biggest part-this book picks up where the core DM’s Guild doesn’t go.  You get a house/castle/tent anywhere, what do you do with it?  This book gives you options.  And the best thing this book does is give you options for what to do with money.  Players are drowning in cash with not option for magic weapons as standard int he rules.  Here, players get an awesome way to spend cash while building up a place to call home.  Is this book perfect?  No-I want larger text as I’m going blind, and I want player options.  But here is the thing.  This is a solo book done by one guy that’s as long as a Paizo player product, with pictures, and a mini-campaign, that  costs less than the black and white standard adventures from the Adventure League.  This book is not perfect, but book is what most of the DMs Guild need to aspire to be. 94%