I hate character sheets

[kitsune9]

That's a lovely looking sheet. For electronic use it would be great, but I wouldn't want to print it!

The big problem with the post-3e editions is that they need to "show their working". It's not enough to simply list the Rogue's Disable Device as +13 - we need to know how much of that is an equipment bonus, how much is a synergy bonus, how much comes from his Dex modifier, and so on... as any and all of these things can be changed and will necessitate a recalculation.

I think...and I say with a big think...that one can link Excel to Publisher. The actual mechanics and math can be put on a char sheet in Excel, ensure the calculations are correct, but Publisher / Word can link the data and update every time the file is reopened. I'll have to go back and see if I can do this function. If so, I can upload a PF Excel char sheet that will directly feed into the Publisher file.

As for printing, that's what I want to do! However, I showed it to my players and the only one who had an opinion of them expressed morale outrage about it (destroying the environment if you print it, your skills are just bragging, blah, blah, blah). Not exactly associative of feedback that I was looking for; w.g. it's too bold, the colors don't match, the fonts are off, or I don't like it, etc.

 

[delericho]

I think...and I say with a big think...that one can link Excel to Publisher. The actual mechanics and math can be put on a char sheet in Excel, ensure the calculations are correct, but Publisher / Word can link the data and update every time the file is reopened. I'll have to go back and see if I can do this function. If so, I can upload a PF Excel char sheet that will directly feed into the Publisher file.

That sounds like something that should be possible, and would be very cool. It still leaves the problems of those numbers changing during play, though.

(4e has an advantage here, I think, and I hope 5e copies it - as far as I can tell, in 4e there are "character build mods" which can easily be noted on the sheet as they don't change in play, and then "short term in-play" mods which always just add on the top. The benefits, at least as regards a cleaner sheet, should be obvious.)

As for printing, that's what I want to do! However, I showed it to my players and the only one who had an opinion of them expressed morale outrage about it (destroying the environment if you print it, your skills are just bragging, blah, blah, blah).

Well, I liked it. The only big issue I had with it is that the colours would make it very costly to print (and print often). But I'm sure you could work on that - especially if you could do a "printer friendly" greyscale version, or something like that.

 

[Loonook]

I like the layout for virtual gaming... Though I would adjust a couple of things stylistically for paper greyscale use.... But I am finally tired, so I will pass out and update in the morn.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[MortalPlague]

I've got a bit of a different beef. I play 4th Edition, and the character builder is wonderful. It puts all the stuff together, does all the math for you. And then it prints out a _six_ page sheet.

At level one.

And every other time you level.

And inevitably, when you switch sheets every level or two, you lose things in the process. You forget to copy down that note with the NPC's name, or forget to transfer an item of treasure... it's frustrating! So I set out to build a custom sheet for my 4E Rogue.

I typed it all up in word, and left spaces for the modifiers (which I change as Wick levels up). In theory, this sheet should do me just fine till I hit L7 and gain another encounter power. And by then, I'll need a new one anyway, due to all the erasing and such.

Oh, and for those wondering about the apples, the character has a fondness for apples. I've put them in to color-code his powers (green for at-will, red for encounter, and pie for daily).

 

[kitsune9]

I like the layout for virtual gaming... Though I would adjust a couple of things stylistically for paper greyscale use

I'll have to play with it to adjust it for greyscale.

 

[kitsune9]

Oh, and for those wondering about the apples, the character has a fondness for apples. I've put them in to color-code his powers (green for at-will, red for encounter, and pie for daily).

That's a really cool char sheet!

 

[jedavis]

Tahaaa... even the equipment for most of my groups above level 8 wouldn't fit in on a 2-page well enough to be read.

Unless the bag of holding gets its own character sheet.

Heh... our bag of holding is the only one in the party with a spreadsheet. I tend to use text files, though if I'm going for paper, I tend to prefer notebook paper over actual formal character sheets. It's nice to be able to hack in all the little situational modifiers, and as long as I can find what I'm looking for, nobody else has to.

 

[Janx]

i use a spreadsheet on my iPad. Works great. No paper. Fully customizable to my needs.

 

[kitsune9]

i use a spreadsheet on my iPad. Works great. No paper. Fully customizable to my needs.

Cool!

Going electronic is something I did over a year now. All my books and tools I run off my laptop when I game, but every once in a while (like now) I wanted to create something, print it out on glossy paper, and just show it off.

I thought about going to a tablet because it's smaller than my huge 17" laptop but I really enjoy the screen space.

 

[Janx]

Cool!

Going electronic is something I did over a year now. All my books and tools I run off my laptop when I game, but every once in a while (like now) I wanted to create something, print it out on glossy paper, and just show it off.

I thought about going to a tablet because it's smaller than my huge 17" laptop but I really enjoy the screen space.

It's been an evolution. Our first char sheets were on the Mac version of MS Works. Then I made a hefty (and cheaper to print on dot matrix) version on Appleworks.

Then I converted that multi-page system to Word Perfect. Then we used an online tool for a while. Then finally moved into spreadsheets on laptops.

The iPad was the final tweak. It's light, has good battery life, and was easy enough to find stuff on.