Ever just redo a players character sheet?

[Davelozzi]

Perhaps I'm just an anal control-freak, but I'm always the one to fill-out, maintain and keep all of my players' character sheets between sessions. No one at my table seems to mind since they seem to like my clean and clear penmanship.

Ditto, except that I have them all saved to disc (I use the Mad Irishman's sheets) so it's not my own penmanship (which isn't that great) so much as a fresh printed copy every couple of sessions.

 

[Slife]

Seriously... Crothian, what are you on, and where can I get some?

Split (Ex)

 

[Michael Silverbane]

A buddy of mine one time gave me his character to play, when he was going to be absent the next session. It was horrible. Random notes and bits of text spread over dozens of pages, along with doodles, speculations, bits of other characters (I can only assume), and other... things... stuffed into a folder.

So... I pretty much HAD to redo his character, so that I could figure out what the heck he was capable of.

Later
silver

 

[JVisgaitis]

I fill out my player's sheets for them. I can't stand messy handwritten sheets and most of my players have terrible handwriting. When they pass me notes I feel like I'm trying to read a drug prescription.

 

[sjmiller]

No need to overrect. No one is suggesting that we seize someones character sheet and erase it in front of them, or that we sneak their sheets away from them to make sure they add up. Crothian said he'd copy it onto another sheet and correct the errors, make it easier to read, and then point out any problems to the player. If someone gave me their character sheet to play while they weren't there and the thing was a horrible mess, you're damn right I'm going to make a more legible copy. And then let the player know if he was missing feats or skill points. I've done it myself. Some people don't have a clue and their character sheets are a complete mess. And judging by the responses on this thread, those people aren't that uncommon.

I am sorry you felt I was overreacting. I was just stating my opinion on the subject. My problem with people "correcting" someone elses sheet is that the person doing the "correcting" may not know what they are doing. They could very well insert more errors then they are correcting. Also, everyone has so far presented it as a fait accompli instead of talking to the person first. Shouldn't communication be part of this process?

And as far as the DM doing it goes, if the DM wants a copy of your character then he should be able to get one without question. Ideally he should already have one. And occasionally going over it to make sure everything adds up I would say is well within the realm of his job.

I agree that the DM should have a copy of the character if he wants one. The DM should ask the players for copies of their characters, and periodically ask for updated copies. As I said, my objection to this whole process is making "corrections" without consulting the player. It would be like making changes to a book without telling the author. To me, such actions are unconscionably rude.

 

[mara]

I've gone over a player's sheet for arithmetic errors on occasion during a period where they were leaving the sheets with me (the DM) for safe-keeping. The player in question didn't mind. Currently they're holding on to their own sheets, so I just remind everyone to check their figures when they level. I'm going to collect the sheets fairly soon to update my notes and I'll do a check then, and will probably write any corrections on a sticky note attached to the sheet when I had them back. Usually errors appear to creep in during the decision phase of character building, such as changing one's mind on equipment or point-buy and forgetting to adjust all applicable areas of the character sheet.

 

[DragonLancer]

One of the players was absent from game this week, so he gave me the character sheet to run. It's a mess. I don't know how he finds anything on it. So, before next session when I give it back to him I am going to redo it. I'm keeping his like it is just in case he wants that, but I am also going to write a complewtely new one. One of the advantages is I'll catch some of the errors he's made. I already know he's one feat short and I think he messed up on his skills.

So, anyone else ever redo a players character sheet?

I have done in the past, yes. It's a personal bugbear of mine when players cannot keep a sheet nice and tidy. I've only ever had to rewrite one once, otherwise I just ask the player in question to redo it nice and tidy.

 

[delericho]

As a DM I would not think of redoing a players character sheet without first asking them if it was okay to make a copy... It's rude, that's the nicest thing I can say.

Agreed. Simply presenting the player with a redone character sheet with no prior indication that this was going to be done is rude. Saying "there are a bunch of mistakes on the sheet, would you like me to redo it?" is acceptable. The DM insisting that the sheet be redone and corrected (either by the player or someone else) is also acceptable - it is his role to ensure adherence to the rules. However, that still requires a dialogue - the DM should not simply redo the sheet without seeking input from the player.

I can neither imagine doing anything like this, nor can I imagine anyone doing this to me and my character. I would have to seriously reconsider being in any game where this was allowed and accepted.

The table rules at my game are such that all character sheets are maintained by me, that I keep the game-copies between sessions, and that we use a common format for character sheets.

My reasoning is as follows:

1) Sometimes, players can't make it to sessions. This sucks, but it happens. As such, as DM, I require the use of the most up-to-date version of the character sheet - and that means the one that the player uses during the game session. (A lesser reason is that before we instituted this rule, players would forget or destroy their sheets with distressing regularity. Since I keep all my gaming materials together, I have forgotten the sheets exactly as often as I've forgotten to bring my rulebooks/adventures/dice to the game, which is precisely never.)

2) A common format for character sheets is a massive speed increase, especially at higher levels. This means that if a player can't find the information he needs for whatever action is at hand, I can tell him precisely where on the sheet it is located. And, on those rare occasions when I don't know, there are four other players at the table. Chances are one of them knows. (And before you ask why it matters that Bob knows where your spells are listed on your sheet, I'll answer: when you're not there, someone is probably going to run your character, either Bob, or me as an NPC. Either way, finding things on your sheet is an additional hassle we don't need.)

3) The sheets are done with pdf forms for two key reasons. The first is so that they can be placed online, which is occasionally useful (and would have been exceedingly useful this week, when a drink was spilled and destroyed two sheets). The other reason is that three of my five players have attrocious handwriting, and two of those can't spell worth a damn (not their fault, but the effect on the game would be significant were the sheets not re-done).

4) Until Monday, only one of my players owned so much as a Player's Handbook. Therefore, it is unusual for characters to be created and levelled without some sort of a mistake creeping in. Having me redo all the sheets periodically means that most of these mistakes get caught, and the player gets to fix them. This, however, is a very minor reason - the mistakes are generally trivial, and if a player wants to deny himself a feat or stat increase, then that's his prerogative.

The truth is, this has never been an issue for my group. The players like having nice clean sheets at every level, they like having access to their sheets online, they like not having to remember to bring anything other than themselves to the game, and they like being able to level up by just making the choices, safe in the knowledge that the mechanical bits and peices (BAB, saves, hit points, total modifiers, etc) will all be taken care of.

If a new player were to absolutely insist, then of course they could maintain the sheet themselves. They would still be required to use the common sheet format, and to make sure I had a copy that was bang up to date, though.

 

[Odhanan]

One of the players was absent from game this week, so he gave me the character sheet to run. It's a mess. I don't know how he finds anything on it. So, before next session when I give it back to him I am going to redo it. I'm keeping his like it is just in case he wants that, but I am also going to write a complewtely new one. One of the advantages is I'll catch some of the errors he's made. I already know he's one feat short and I think he messed up on his skills.

So, anyone else ever redo a players character sheet?

Yes, I do too. I guess that's important for the players to "own" their character sheet though, and not complain as a DM as soon as there's a mark of customization, numbers or graffitti on the thing. Sometimes people just like their own stuff to be a mess. Go figure.