Homebrew A5E Character Sheet 1.1

[Pedantic]

Pedantic submitted a new resource:

A5E Character Sheet - Decision-Focused Character Sheet

After a few games, I wanted to reorganize the character sheet to better reflect where my eyes are going when I'm trying to resolve whatever comes up. I've tried to move things around to better follow a general scan from the top of the sheet and then left to right as you try to come up with the number you're rolling.

The 1st page is designed to hold reactive information. It's not called out, but I'm planning on inverting the ability scores, with the score in the small box and modifier in the...

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[lycanthropejeff]

I'm looking forward to taking this on a test drive... Thanks!

 

[Pedantic]

Let me know how that goes! I'm hoping to get some feedback on the setup, particularly for skill rolls/low-mid level combat.

 

[Kinematics]

First, the layout is really nice. I like how you've arranged things.

Comments:

• Maybe increase the size of the inset box for the attributes a bit.
• Are the proficiency and expertise boxes supposed to be toggles (like expertise from O5E)? Or is Expertise supposed to hold the expertise die value (as used in A5E)? Radio buttons might work better for toggles. If they're supposed to hold expertise die values, perhaps improve the size a little.
• It's interesting that the saves are in a separate area than the attributes themselves, yet at the same time I can see it being more useful. There's less confusion about what you're looking for, which has certainly been an issue I've seen in my games.
• On page 2, the actions/bonus actions/reactions lists are nice, though I'm confused about the placement and reading of "Attack" and "DC" (plus, is it redundant with the attack bonuses box?). I'm also not sure about the Cost/Freq column, as anything I can think of that would need that information would need a lot more space than that little line.
• Also on page 2, the top row of stuff (speeds, spell slots, etc) is good, and the limited use abilities is good to have (I added that to my own character sheet variant), but I've found that limited use abilities need a lot more space than the little box would allow for.
• Given the overflow for actions/bonus actions/reactions on page 3, it may be better to treat them as just belonging on page 3, and reconsider what you want to have on page 2. The section for weapon attacks and cantrips, in particular, seems sparse and poorly defined.

 

[Pedantic]

First, the layout is really nice. I like how you've arranged things.

Comments:

• Maybe increase the size of the inset box for the attributes a bit.
• Are the proficiency and expertise boxes supposed to be toggles (like expertise from O5E)? Or is Expertise supposed to hold the expertise die value (as used in A5E)? Radio buttons might work better for toggles. If they're supposed to hold expertise die values, perhaps improve the size a little.

I was planning to put the proficiency bonus and expertise die value directly there, so you don't have to reference any other part of the sheet. Could definitely mess with the box sizes.

• It's interesting that the saves are in a separate area than the attributes themselves, yet at the same time I can see it being more useful. There's less confusion about what you're looking for, which has certainly been an issue I've seen in my games.

Yeah, I've noticed new players routinely end up looking at the save number when trying to get their attribute information. I opted to remove them entirely from the skill check loop and move them closer to the "defenses" area, to make it clear you're checking them in reaction to something happening to you.

• On page 2, the actions/bonus actions/reactions lists are nice, though I'm confused about the placement and reading of "Attack" and "DC" (plus, is it redundant with the attack bonuses box?). I'm also not sure about the Cost/Freq column, as anything I can think of that would need that information would need a lot more space than that little line.

Generally you only need either a to-hit number or a DC number, I figured you'd put that value in the box, and cross off the irrelevant indicator. The short blank is to indicate the save type with an abbreviation, like Str, Con, Cha, etc.

I wanted to avoid sending you to another line on the sheet when you're making a decision, so I put the attack bonuses/DC box in as a reference for filling the sheet out, or making an unlikely improvised attack or whatever. The intent was that you'd copy the relevant attack bonus or DC next to the relevant ability, so you don't need to look outside of that line when deciding your action.

For Cost/Frequency, I figured most entries are going to be either exertion or spell point costs, probably 1e or 2s, or a recharge value like 1/SR for short rest, 1/LR for long rest or level reference for a spell slot, like 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

• Also on page 2, the top row of stuff (speeds, spell slots, etc) is good, and the limited use abilities is good to have (I added that to my own character sheet variant), but I've found that limited use abilities need a lot more space than the little box would allow for.

What sort of space do you think is valuable there? I was thinking things like Bardic Inspiration, Rages, and so on would fit there. Do you need more rows for additional abilities, or more space to record the titles? I've found a lot of abilities are once per short rest or once per long rest abilities, and those can just be entered as actions or bonus actions unto themselves.

• Given the overflow for actions/bonus actions/reactions on page 3, it may be better to treat them as just belonging on page 3, and reconsider what you want to have on page 2. The section for weapon attacks and cantrips, in particular, seems sparse and poorly defined.

Generally I've found cantrips/weapon attacks are just references for use with other abilities. Probably "Attack" should be entered as an action, recording extra attacks as they come up. I figured page 2 was probably enough up to about level 5ish, and after that you may end up with more actions than you can handle.

 

[Pedantic]

Pedantic updated A5E Character Sheet with a new update entry:

Fatigue/Strife

I forgot Fatigue/Strife tracking, updated to add those and adjusted the size/weight of some boxes for extra writing space/readability.

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[Xethreau]

Clean and straightforward, I like it!

If I can make two suggestions:

• Form fillable
• Spread the origins across 2 lines, so there is room to actually write

Otherwise, I think this is a really clever build! Looking forward to hearing more about this sheet!

 

[Pedantic]

Just to populate it to both threads, here's a form-fillable version:

Form Fillable Version

 

[arms]

Love your character sheet design, the one I'm making feels both to cluttered and to long in comparison