Designing a Character Sheet [Archive] - Wizards Community

Designing a Character Sheet [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sphyre
05-29-06, 04:13 PM Have you ever looked at the character sheet and wonder why everything's just all over the place? Have you looked through all of the custom character sheets and they just aren't intuatively designed? I have many new players and they often feel overwhelmed by a character sheet and they don't know what is for what. I've divided common things into several sections, to allow someone to more intuatively approach the character sheet.

This sheet is designed in a way to allow a person to look at a character sheet and pick up what that character wants to do easily, as opposed to saying "ok, where's my feats?" and to reduce the "oh, If I just remembered I had this spell-like ability, I could have saved him!" Character's capabilities are on the first page.

Well I'm designing a character sheet now, and I'd like a little input to help fill in what I haven't thought of yet.

The first page consists of the following sections:

Status - This area contains HP max, current hit points, temporary hit points, a spot for lethal damage and non-lethal damage. It also has a pretty good space for current status effects. (Ever have the cleric always cast prayer but you always forget to put the bonuses in? That's what this section is for. You can put buffs and debuffs there, if you like having it down on your character sheet.
Offenses - This section has your BAB, Initiative and movement. Those three are in this section because you always need to have an initiative, movement isn't always a defensive action (you use it to get to your target) and BAB helps to hit. It also has a list of attacks, but they are all in a line, as opposed to boxed like the normal character sheet.
Defenses. This has your AC (Normal, Touch, FF, and I guess it needs FF Touch), your DR, SR, PR, Resistances, and Saves. Whenever a character is being "attacked" this is the section you go to, to find the information you need. It also breaks up your AC so you can see where everything comes from.
Feats - Feats can be offensive or defensive. Either way, you want to know they are there. How are you going to remember to apply your dodge bonus every round when it's on your second sheet? Or what about forgetting whether you have quickdraw, or not? They are part of what the character can do and so they go here.
Special abilities & Class features - Have an ability to do something out of the norm? put it here! When you're rolling for a reflex save against that trap, it's on the first page that you have trap sense and you'll be less likely to forget it.
Skills - Not much different than the norm... it currently has 4 columns, Total = Abil + Rank + Misc... should I add another called Syn[ergy], or just group that with Misc?
Stats - Yes, they are there. They can be modified, but they aren't in the upper left, because that's not what you use most of the time. You use things that are modified by stats. While they are important, after you've applied them to saves, attacks, skills and such, they aren't much use unless things change.

Spells - I'm thinking about putting a spell area on the front page... The only issue I'm seeing with that is that multiclassed characters, and psionic characters are going to need different sheets, and I just don't know if it's worth trying to fit on the first page. Any comments or suggestions on this?

All comments on helping me make this a better, intuative sheet are welcomed.
Sulaco
05-29-06, 04:28 PM Two pieces of advice:

First, the front of the sheet should be reserved for the info that all players need to access immediately and frequently (HP, AC, BAB, etc). Anything extraneous should move to subsequent pages.

Second, don't design it based on what you think would be a more logical layout. Really think about the way the sheets are used by players and design to that. Even if it seems illogical or counterintuitive it will be more successful in the end.
Witch
05-29-06, 04:33 PM I personally make my own sheet designed only for a specific character using tables in word. It might not be the best for everyone, but I can copy the previous characters sheet, make slight adaptations and rearrange things, and then I have a sheet that works fine for that particular character.
Sphyre
05-29-06, 05:55 PM Two pieces of advice:

First, the front of the sheet should be reserved for the info that all players need to access immediately and frequently (HP, AC, BAB, etc). Anything extraneous should move to subsequent pages.

Second, don't design it based on what you think would be a more logical layout. Really think about the way the sheets are used by players and design to that. Even if it seems illogical or counterintuitive it will be more successful in the end.

Yeah, that's how it's designed, and how I described how I had the sheet layed out. What advice I was asking for was basically along the lines of "Here's what I have so far, what have I missed?"

I'm also looking for an opinion on the possibility of spells/powers on the first page... but if that's done how to combine it into one area, since they are so different...
arbanafal
05-30-06, 08:56 AM When designing my own character sheets I always put spells on a seperate page. This because it is a page that will see a lot of rapid changes and erasor-induced wear and tear. More than abilities, skills, feats and attack/damage sections do.

Also spells are a almost a seperate game. Whenever I'm looking up spells I never need to look up skills/abilities/saves. Therefore it never hinders me to change back and forth between pages. Put spells and number of spells per level on a second or, if need be, third page. That way you can have all important character info on page one (abilities/saves/attacks+damage/skills/feats/SA/SD) and less important character info and miscelleneous equipment on page two.

Disclaimer: This is what I do on my sheets. Not what I'm commanding others to do.
Azezel
05-30-06, 11:48 AM There should be a space in each equipment section (weapons, armour, magic items) to note the item's hardness, hp and save.
Sphyre
05-31-06, 02:14 AM There should be a space in each equipment section (weapons, armour, magic items) to note the item's hardness, hp and save.

Oooh, I hadn't thought about that. Thanks! That's exactly the kind of suggestion I'd been looking for!
burpmaster12
05-31-06, 10:06 AM You could make a Page completely about description, likes, dislikes, and with a big portrait. Maybe this would have all the connections, fame, npc friends, ect.

Maybe you could put little place were you could describe why your the alignment you are. Example: a Chaotic Good player might say, Chaotic: *name* is very impulsive and easy to aggravate, or annoy. Good: You wouldn't know *name* was a good person at first glance but when it counts he shows his true colors.

This would help new players role play, by having allot of descriptions on why your character is, as he is.

I role play ALLOT in my games, even during battles, so this would come in handy for me, not sure how good it would be for someone who rarely role plays and is allot about gaming.
Sphyre
05-31-06, 04:35 PM I role play ALLOT in my games, even during battles, so this would come in handy for me, not sure how good it would be for someone who rarely role plays and is allot about gaming.

While I role play a lot (the correct spelling of the word combination), I do not need those things to help me. I use the character sheet basically for all the nitty gritty rules, and the rest is in my head. Although I think I will expand my section for description on my page, to help those that are new.
Angelflesh
05-31-06, 05:19 PM You could make several pages that can be used with the sheet to compensate for different magic systems.

Spells
Powers
Soulmelds
Vestiges
Mysteries
Utterances
Auras
Fromost the Grimm
05-31-06, 06:05 PM How about a decent amount of room for experience?

I'm the type of gamer who likes to write all my experience down - date, creature faced, experience received, and experience total. I hate it when character sheets only give you only the one little box simply for xp total.

In terms of feat/special abilities, are you going to have room simply for the name of the feat/special ability, or are you going to have room for a short description/mechanic, plus a page reference? The same goes for spells, I guess . . . although such would leave a large amount of space redundant for a non-spellcasting character.

I personally prefer all of my 'personal' information on the front page - character history, portrait, height/weight stats, ability scores etc. Because I don't like other players snooping. On the second page come 'battle stats' - initiative, combat stats, AC, hit points, saves . . . it's the page I'm at when battle starts. Opposite that is spells and special effects, to be referred to when needed. And on the back page (think of all this as one A3 page folded in half to make a 4x A4-page 'booklet') comes experience, general notes, and/or animal companion/mount/psicrystal, etc.

Although, if you're wanting spells listed on the first page . . . could you have a more detailed spellbook on the back pages, listing all spells with descriptions and page references . . . but have a smaller section on the first page just with spells memorised? Might work with Wizards, but kinda redundant for all other spellcasters/Psions . . .

. . . anyhoo, just some Thursday morning thoughts.

:)
Sphyre
06-01-06, 03:55 AM How about a decent amount of room for experience?

I'm the type of gamer who likes to write all my experience down - date, creature faced, experience received, and experience total. I hate it when character sheets only give you only the one little box simply for xp total.

Unfortunately, I think you're alone there. ;) That you could make your own sheet for.

In terms of feat/special abilities, are you going to have room simply for the name of the feat/special ability, or are you going to have room for a short description/mechanic, plus a page reference? The same goes for spells, I guess . . . although such would leave a large amount of space redundant for a non-spellcasting character.

For feats, just the name. There's so few of them, that it should be fine. If you really want to put the granted abilities from the feat in your Special abilities area, you can, because there's room there. A lot of room.

The special abilities has a lot of room, with a long line. You can decide how you deal with it. For example it has room for a half-dragon's breath weapon you could write down "Breath weapon, 6d8 fire damage, reflex DC X halves" with no problem, and you could use two lines and indent if you want. You also could put the page number in parethesis too. It's designed to be a large area that you can fill in as you like.

I personally prefer all of my 'personal' information on the front page - character history, portrait, height/weight stats, ability scores etc. Because I don't like other players snooping. On the second page come 'battle stats' - initiative, combat stats, AC, hit points, saves . . . it's the page I'm at when battle starts. Opposite that is spells and special effects, to be referred to when needed. And on the back page (think of all this as one A3 page folded in half to make a 4x A4-page 'booklet') comes experience, general notes, and/or animal companion/mount/psicrystal, etc.

Again, you're kind of alone there in personal preferences. Stats are what you need off your character the most, the character description and personality should already be in your head. It's easier to remember what someone is like, than every single possible attack he can make and stuff.

Although, if you're wanting spells listed on the first page . . . could you have a more detailed spellbook on the back pages, listing all spells with descriptions and page references . . . but have a smaller section on the first page just with spells memorised? Might work with Wizards, but kinda redundant for all other spellcasters/Psions . . .

. . . anyhoo, just some Thursday morning thoughts.

:)

Thanks for your input. after time, i've decided that I won't put spells on the front page, and you'll have several different pages that you can use for spell casting and manifesting (I'm making 3 different ones, Prepared casting, Spontaneous casting, and manifesting). If you wish to use another person's spell list compilation, you can. I think I'm going to make my own system, that is designed for people who know the spells they are casting. I don't see the point in making spell lists for everyone, when others have already done it, and it would take me literally days to make mine. It took me 2 days to make my first page the way I wanted it, I figure that other's sheets can complement mine.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sphyre 05-29-06, 04:13 PM	Have you ever looked at the character sheet and wonder why everything's just all over the place? Have you looked through all of the custom character sheets and they just aren't intuatively designed? I have many new players and they often feel overwhelmed by a character sheet and they don't know what is for what. I've divided common things into several sections, to allow someone to more intuatively approach the character sheet. This sheet is designed in a way to allow a person to look at a character sheet and pick up what that character wants to do easily, as opposed to saying "ok, where's my feats?" and to reduce the "oh, If I just remembered I had this spell-like ability, I could have saved him!" Character's capabilities are on the first page. Well I'm designing a character sheet now, and I'd like a little input to help fill in what I haven't thought of yet. The first page consists of the following sections: Status - This area contains HP max, current hit points, temporary hit points, a spot for lethal damage and non-lethal damage. It also has a pretty good space for current status effects. (Ever have the cleric always cast prayer but you always forget to put the bonuses in? That's what this section is for. You can put buffs and debuffs there, if you like having it down on your character sheet. Offenses - This section has your BAB, Initiative and movement. Those three are in this section because you always need to have an initiative, movement isn't always a defensive action (you use it to get to your target) and BAB helps to hit. It also has a list of attacks, but they are all in a line, as opposed to boxed like the normal character sheet. Defenses. This has your AC (Normal, Touch, FF, and I guess it needs FF Touch), your DR, SR, PR, Resistances, and Saves. Whenever a character is being "attacked" this is the section you go to, to find the information you need. It also breaks up your AC so you can see where everything comes from. Feats - Feats can be offensive or defensive. Either way, you want to know they are there. How are you going to remember to apply your dodge bonus every round when it's on your second sheet? Or what about forgetting whether you have quickdraw, or not? They are part of what the character can do and so they go here. Special abilities & Class features - Have an ability to do something out of the norm? put it here! When you're rolling for a reflex save against that trap, it's on the first page that you have trap sense and you'll be less likely to forget it. Skills - Not much different than the norm... it currently has 4 columns, Total = Abil + Rank + Misc... should I add another called Syn[ergy], or just group that with Misc? Stats - Yes, they are there. They can be modified, but they aren't in the upper left, because that's not what you use most of the time. You use things that are modified by stats. While they are important, after you've applied them to saves, attacks, skills and such, they aren't much use unless things change. Spells - I'm thinking about putting a spell area on the front page... The only issue I'm seeing with that is that multiclassed characters, and psionic characters are going to need different sheets, and I just don't know if it's worth trying to fit on the first page. Any comments or suggestions on this? All comments on helping me make this a better, intuative sheet are welcomed.
Sulaco 05-29-06, 04:28 PM	Two pieces of advice: First, the front of the sheet should be reserved for the info that all players need to access immediately and frequently (HP, AC, BAB, etc). Anything extraneous should move to subsequent pages. Second, don't design it based on what you think would be a more logical layout. Really think about the way the sheets are used by players and design to that. Even if it seems illogical or counterintuitive it will be more successful in the end.
Witch 05-29-06, 04:33 PM	I personally make my own sheet designed only for a specific character using tables in word. It might not be the best for everyone, but I can copy the previous characters sheet, make slight adaptations and rearrange things, and then I have a sheet that works fine for that particular character.
Sphyre 05-29-06, 05:55 PM	Two pieces of advice: First, the front of the sheet should be reserved for the info that all players need to access immediately and frequently (HP, AC, BAB, etc). Anything extraneous should move to subsequent pages. Second, don't design it based on what you think would be a more logical layout. Really think about the way the sheets are used by players and design to that. Even if it seems illogical or counterintuitive it will be more successful in the end. Yeah, that's how it's designed, and how I described how I had the sheet layed out. What advice I was asking for was basically along the lines of "Here's what I have so far, what have I missed?" I'm also looking for an opinion on the possibility of spells/powers on the first page... but if that's done how to combine it into one area, since they are so different...
arbanafal 05-30-06, 08:56 AM	When designing my own character sheets I always put spells on a seperate page. This because it is a page that will see a lot of rapid changes and erasor-induced wear and tear. More than abilities, skills, feats and attack/damage sections do. Also spells are a almost a seperate game. Whenever I'm looking up spells I never need to look up skills/abilities/saves. Therefore it never hinders me to change back and forth between pages. Put spells and number of spells per level on a second or, if need be, third page. That way you can have all important character info on page one (abilities/saves/attacks+damage/skills/feats/SA/SD) and less important character info and miscelleneous equipment on page two. Disclaimer: This is what I do on my sheets. Not what I'm commanding others to do.
Azezel 05-30-06, 11:48 AM	There should be a space in each equipment section (weapons, armour, magic items) to note the item's hardness, hp and save.
Sphyre 05-31-06, 02:14 AM	There should be a space in each equipment section (weapons, armour, magic items) to note the item's hardness, hp and save. Oooh, I hadn't thought about that. Thanks! That's exactly the kind of suggestion I'd been looking for!
burpmaster12 05-31-06, 10:06 AM	You could make a Page completely about description, likes, dislikes, and with a big portrait. Maybe this would have all the connections, fame, npc friends, ect. Maybe you could put little place were you could describe why your the alignment you are. Example: a Chaotic Good player might say, Chaotic: name is very impulsive and easy to aggravate, or annoy. Good: You wouldn't know name was a good person at first glance but when it counts he shows his true colors. This would help new players role play, by having allot of descriptions on why your character is, as he is. I role play ALLOT in my games, even during battles, so this would come in handy for me, not sure how good it would be for someone who rarely role plays and is allot about gaming.
Sphyre 05-31-06, 04:35 PM	I role play ALLOT in my games, even during battles, so this would come in handy for me, not sure how good it would be for someone who rarely role plays and is allot about gaming. While I role play a lot (the correct spelling of the word combination), I do not need those things to help me. I use the character sheet basically for all the nitty gritty rules, and the rest is in my head. Although I think I will expand my section for description on my page, to help those that are new.
Angelflesh 05-31-06, 05:19 PM	You could make several pages that can be used with the sheet to compensate for different magic systems. Spells Powers Soulmelds Vestiges Mysteries Utterances Auras
Fromost the Grimm 05-31-06, 06:05 PM	How about a decent amount of room for experience? I'm the type of gamer who likes to write all my experience down - date, creature faced, experience received, and experience total. I hate it when character sheets only give you only the one little box simply for xp total. In terms of feat/special abilities, are you going to have room simply for the name of the feat/special ability, or are you going to have room for a short description/mechanic, plus a page reference? The same goes for spells, I guess . . . although such would leave a large amount of space redundant for a non-spellcasting character. I personally prefer all of my 'personal' information on the front page - character history, portrait, height/weight stats, ability scores etc. Because I don't like other players snooping. On the second page come 'battle stats' - initiative, combat stats, AC, hit points, saves . . . it's the page I'm at when battle starts. Opposite that is spells and special effects, to be referred to when needed. And on the back page (think of all this as one A3 page folded in half to make a 4x A4-page 'booklet') comes experience, general notes, and/or animal companion/mount/psicrystal, etc. Although, if you're wanting spells listed on the first page . . . could you have a more detailed spellbook on the back pages, listing all spells with descriptions and page references . . . but have a smaller section on the first page just with spells memorised? Might work with Wizards, but kinda redundant for all other spellcasters/Psions . . . . . . anyhoo, just some Thursday morning thoughts. :)
Sphyre 06-01-06, 03:55 AM	How about a decent amount of room for experience? I'm the type of gamer who likes to write all my experience down - date, creature faced, experience received, and experience total. I hate it when character sheets only give you only the one little box simply for xp total. Unfortunately, I think you're alone there. ;) That you could make your own sheet for. In terms of feat/special abilities, are you going to have room simply for the name of the feat/special ability, or are you going to have room for a short description/mechanic, plus a page reference? The same goes for spells, I guess . . . although such would leave a large amount of space redundant for a non-spellcasting character. For feats, just the name. There's so few of them, that it should be fine. If you really want to put the granted abilities from the feat in your Special abilities area, you can, because there's room there. A lot of room. The special abilities has a lot of room, with a long line. You can decide how you deal with it. For example it has room for a half-dragon's breath weapon you could write down "Breath weapon, 6d8 fire damage, reflex DC X halves" with no problem, and you could use two lines and indent if you want. You also could put the page number in parethesis too. It's designed to be a large area that you can fill in as you like. I personally prefer all of my 'personal' information on the front page - character history, portrait, height/weight stats, ability scores etc. Because I don't like other players snooping. On the second page come 'battle stats' - initiative, combat stats, AC, hit points, saves . . . it's the page I'm at when battle starts. Opposite that is spells and special effects, to be referred to when needed. And on the back page (think of all this as one A3 page folded in half to make a 4x A4-page 'booklet') comes experience, general notes, and/or animal companion/mount/psicrystal, etc. Again, you're kind of alone there in personal preferences. Stats are what you need off your character the most, the character description and personality should already be in your head. It's easier to remember what someone is like, than every single possible attack he can make and stuff. Although, if you're wanting spells listed on the first page . . . could you have a more detailed spellbook on the back pages, listing all spells with descriptions and page references . . . but have a smaller section on the first page just with spells memorised? Might work with Wizards, but kinda redundant for all other spellcasters/Psions . . . . . . anyhoo, just some Thursday morning thoughts. :) Thanks for your input. after time, i've decided that I won't put spells on the front page, and you'll have several different pages that you can use for spell casting and manifesting (I'm making 3 different ones, Prepared casting, Spontaneous casting, and manifesting). If you wish to use another person's spell list compilation, you can. I think I'm going to make my own system, that is designed for people who know the spells they are casting. I don't see the point in making spell lists for everyone, when others have already done it, and it would take me literally days to make mine. It took me 2 days to make my first page the way I wanted it, I figure that other's sheets can complement mine.