Folkscraft
Folkscraft helps you build D&D 2024 species, compare their features, and get a quick balance check before playtesting.
It is an independent homebrew tool, not an official D&D rules system.
Reading the Score
A good starting point is about 30 Species Points. The closer you are to that neighborhood, the more useful the score becomes as a comparison with Folkscraft’s benchmarks.
Treat it as a starting point for playtesting, not a promise that every combination will play the same way.
Below 26 SP: Probably too light.
26–27 SP: A little light, but still workable.
28–32 SP: The main target range.
33–35 SP: Strong; look closely at how the features work together.
36–39 SP: Probably too strong.
40+ SP: Worth trimming before playtesting.
Some features deserve extra attention.
Permanent flight, extra usable limbs, broad magic resistance, unusual permanent size, regeneration, extra reach,
and major action-economy changes can reshape encounters even when the total score looks reasonable.
Before You Playtest
1. Look at the whole package. Ask which classes or character builds get the most from these features. Several abilities pulling in the same direction can play stronger than the total suggests.
2. Think about the campaign. A swim speed can be fantastic in one game and barely matter in another. Terrain, stealth, social, and exploration features all depend on the kind of adventures you expect to run.
3. Read it like a player. Look for edge cases and unexpected combinations, especially around flight, teleportation, grappling, reach, extra limbs, invisibility, concentration, resting, size, and item use.
4. Compare the complete species. Find a couple of official 2024 species that do similar things and compare the whole package, not just one feature at a time.
Folkscraft also flags obvious overlaps. The Builder calls out things like competing size choices, overlapping Darkvision, duplicate movement upgrades, or resistance already covered by immunity. It doesn’t change the score for you; it shows you where the same benefit may be counted twice.
5. Then play it. Watch for moments when the species makes encounters much easier than expected, skips whole kinds of challenges, or pairs so well with one class that the choice starts to feel automatic.
Random build.
Random build makes a quick species from the feature library and aims for 28–32 SP. It skips drawbacks and rows that only modify another feature, and it won’t intentionally go above 35 SP.
Use the result as a design prompt, not as a finished balance verdict.
Where the Features Come From
Official reference. Based on a feature from an official 2024 species. The point value is Folkscraft’s estimate, not an official number.
Legacy adaptation. Adapted from older fifth-edition homebrew balancing ideas, including Detect Balance, and repriced for the 2024 species rules.
General mechanic. A familiar D&D mechanic turned into a reusable species feature rather than tied to one particular species.
Folkscraft original. Added to cover homebrew ideas that go beyond the usual official species design space.
Pricing modifier. An adjustment meant to change the price of another feature. It usually shouldn’t appear by itself in a finished species.
Credits & Lineage
Folkscraft is an independent D&D 2024 homebrew tool inspired in part by Detect Balance: a 5e Homebrew Race Guide. Detect Balance helped popularize point-based comparison of fifth-edition race features; Folkscraft carries that idea into the 2024 species rules with its own scale, feature library, warnings, and PHB benchmarks.
The basic idea. Use the score to get into the right neighborhood, then use comparison and playtesting to decide whether the species really belongs there. Folkscraft supports judgment; it doesn’t replace it.
Detect Balance (5e 2014)
This mode brings the original Detect Balance values into Folkscraft without translating them into 2024 Species Points. Detect Balance is an unofficial homebrew analysis tool, not a D&D rule.
Reading the Score
The Detect Balance guide says the average PHB/Elemental Evil race is about 25 points, recommends 24–27 for new homebrew races, and says races should generally not exceed 30 or fall below 20.
Below 20: Below the guide’s general floor.
20–23: Below the recommended homebrew range.
24–27: Recommended homebrew range.
28–30: Strong, but within the guide’s general ceiling.
31+: Above the guide’s general ceiling.
Interaction rule. Detect Balance says that when two features do not benefit the same character build, half the cheaper feature’s score is deducted. In Folkscraft, you choose the specific pair in Interaction Review so that deduction stays visible and updates with the traits involved.
Race Basics
Ability scores, size, walking speed, languages, and creature type live in the Race Basics panel. They still use the original Detect Balance values; keeping them together simply makes the race easier to build and prevents accidental double-counting.
Trait Options
When Detect Balance gives several versions of the same mechanic, Folkscraft puts them behind one set of dropdowns instead of filling the library with near-duplicates. That includes racial spellcasting, damage resistance, Darkvision, flight, advantage, unarmed and natural weapons, breathing, natural armor, and armor training. Spell pickers use 2014 SRD 5.1 names and include an Other / custom option for spells outside that list.
PHB Examples
PHB example loads a curated 2014 Player’s Handbook race or subrace using the same Race Basics, trait options, and Detect Balance values available to your own build. They are scoring examples, not reproductions of published rules text.
Random build. Random build makes a 2014-style race, including its Race Basics, and aims for the Detect Balance recommended range of 24–27 DB. It skips unpriced rows and does not invent interaction deductions just to hit the target.
Staying Faithful to the Source
If Detect Balance does not assign an integer value to a rule, Folkscraft does not make one up. You can still record Large size in Race Basics, for example, but the score is marked incomplete instead of pretending the guide priced it.