D&D (2024) 2024 D&D character sheet, what do you think?

[Keldryn]

Designing a character sheet is tricky.

On the one hand, simpler is better.

On the other hand, for the design I write down all of the entries that a level 20 character needs, to make sure there is enough space to accommodate everything − and by the time it is done, it tends to look complex.

It would be helpful to have multiple character sheets designed for specific purposes, rather than a single one that needs to work for all characters.

Simple, streamlined sheets are best for newer players (or even experienced but more casual players). Anything that looks like a tax form is going the wrong direction (hello, 3e).

I've seen some nice class-specific character sheets for 5e that list all of the class abilities from levels 1 to 20. But given how many campaigns actually reach level 20, how useful is this? It's not written anywhere in stone that you need to use the same piece of paper for the entire campaign. How about character sheets that scale in complexity over time? You could have Basic character sheets for levels 1-4 that have more explanations of core concepts and a simpler layout with more white space. With each tier, the corresponding character sheet could drop the explanations of core concepts and give more space for recording abilities, equipment, etc. High level sheets could add pages as well.

Just a thought. Character sheets that include enough space to grow from level 1 through level 20 often do end up being complex, difficult to find what you're looking for, and not having enough space for any one category (special abilities, equipment, etc). And I suspect that most of the time, that capacity to include everything through level 20 ends up being unnecessary anyway because the campaign ran out of steam before 10th level.

Without any basic functionality of callouts for item & equipment weight or cur/max encumbrance a simple question like "You're carrying a lot bob, what is your current & max encumbrance" or "you sure all this fits in a backpack with 30 pounds capacity?" results in everyone needing to watch bob look up the weight of everything & calculate carrying capacity for the first time (or again) any time those questions get asked

In my experience, encumbrance gets calculated at character creation after you buy your equipment, and then never bothered with again unless the player is trying to get away with something egregious. And that's with having an Equipment section with columns for weight.

It's easy enough to write item weights at the end of each row and add them up if one is so inclined. I remember the old sheets that had columns for Item, Location Carried, and Weight... and much of the time, only the Item column was filled out. I was guilty of that myself at times, as it could get really tedious to fill it out for everything.

Encumbrance may just be one of those things that is much better handled by CRPGs and takes more time and effort that it's worth in tabletop play. For many of us, anyway.

Actually, a simple solution would just be to have a toggle for Item/Weight columns in the PDF. I've seen a number of character sheets that have similar toggles.

 

[Xeviat]

I agree with not liking skills under each ability. It makes it harder to house rule in new skills. It also ties the skills to the abilities, though they might have abandoned that.

 

[Yaarel]

How about character sheets that scale in complexity over time? You could have Basic character sheets for levels 1-4 that have more explanations of core concepts and a simpler layout with more white space. With each tier, the corresponding character sheet could drop the explanations of core concepts and give more space for recording abilities, equipment, etc. High level sheets could add pages as well.

This is a good idea. Instead of the sheets specializing for class, have them specialize for tier.

(Multiclassing, new subclasses and feats, reduce the usefulness of class specialization.)

I would like a simpler sheet for levels 1 thru 4.

5 thru 8, 9 thru 12, 13 thru 16, 17 thru 20, then one for Epic.

It is ok if the higher tiers sheets look increasingly complex. At least new players will have a sense of what they are looking at by the time they get there.

 

[Tonguez]

Does Size even do anything?

Need to decouple Attributes from Skills

 

[tetrasodium]

In my experience, encumbrance gets calculated at character creation after you buy your equipment, and then never bothered with again unless the player is trying to get away with something egregious. And that's with having an Equipment section with columns for weight.

It's easy enough to write item weights at the end of each row and add them up if one is so inclined. I remember the old sheets that had columns for Item, Location Carried, and Weight... and much of the time, only the Item column was filled out. I was guilty of that myself at times, as it could get really tedious to fill it out for everything.

Encumbrance may just be one of those things that is much better handled by CRPGs and takes more time and effort that it's worth in tabletop play. For many of us, anyway.

Actually, a simple solution would just be to have a toggle for Item/Weight columns in the PDF. I've seen a number of character sheets that have similar toggles.

IME with those old edition sheets it tended to start out pretty well calculated & slowly drift a bit with generally good faith (even if sometimes lacking) efforts until there was a significant overhaul due to large consumable burn or noteworthy item churn making a notable chunk of the old stuff no longer a thing to be carried. OTOH with 5e & this abomination it is immediately ignored at chargen and if the GM ever says "how much are you carrying" or "backpacks only have a 30 pound capacity, what are you carrying?" it is either blown off with a dismissive exasperated "TrUStMeI'mGoOd" or the table needs to sit there watching bob look up & calculate it from scratch no matter how often or recent it was last asked. Unless there is a log/tracking(?) sheet for inventory that was not mentioned with the others I expect that this new sheet will continue to hate-glares of bored players upset that the GM is not just tRuStInG bob's claim. Bottomless inventory is powerful enough that I've seen multiple Isekai anime and light novels where it's one of the gifts granted by truck-kun to the OP Protagonist yet 5e and seemingly onednd bends over backwards to give it to PCs under penalty of those bored hate-glares if challenged by the gm without calling it out or giving the gm any tools to handle the impact of unlimited inventory capacity.

 

[JEB]

unclear, but its not on the character sheet anymore - even on the other pages.

The previews for 2024 backgrounds also don't list them anymore, though it's possible they've separated them from the individual backgrounds, generalized them, and moved them elsewhere in the backgrounds section. (I suspect they're just gone, though.)

 

[Cadence]

I want a "DM's Party Sheet" that has things like each characters HP, AC, and Passive Perception.

Do players ever use passive perception themselves? (As a lower limit on what they roll?)

Oh, and I want their casting stat in case I'm rolling saves.

 

[Azzy]

It's alright—except for the skills being separated by ability score.

 

[Yaarel]

The previews for 2024 backgrounds also don't list them anymore, though it's possible they've separated them from the individual backgrounds, generalized them, and moved them elsewhere in the backgrounds section. (I suspect they're just gone, though.)

I like having Ideals, Flaws, and Quirks. But I probably prefer a more fluid approach. Maybe the "Personality" section in the Players Handbook will mention them, when helping a player decide on a personality.

For me, the Bonds tend to be many because they are people, places, and even a precious object such as an heirloom. Between family members, mentors, allies, contacts, and sometimes even rivals or recurring villains, I tend to need much room to list the people. I include languages, ethnicities, citizenships, and nationalities as a kind of Bond as well.

 

[Azzy]

I don't think I've ever really liked an "official" D&D character sheet. Even back in 2E days I used to use character sheets from the Armory.

With it being the 50th anniversary, they ought to have a sheet that has a soft leather shoe for movement and a space for the character's will.

Spoiler

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Nice. I think I still have a character on one of the Armory sheets.

Not ever being content with the official sheets (since the 90s), I've made my own character sheets since I got my first printer (8-pin dot matrix).