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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Host of Angels" data-source="post: 1756744" data-attributes="member: 13934">OK - I've come to this thread quite late on, but this is something I have been thinking on for some time. The problem I have is that the folk I game with on a very irregular basis (4 times a year and we are doing well) rely on me almost entirely for the rules. They are interested in role playing and let me worry over the rules. They do not own any books and thus do not know about the range of options open to them. However, by far and away the biggest problem is the character sheet - it is totally bewildering to the uninitiated. So, I have created a sheet that kills both birds with the single stone. The sheet only contains:- roleplaying info like name, race, mannerisms etc- special abilities written out in full, including racial stuff and feats- a long list of modifiers to a d20 throw - skills, BAB, saving throws, ability modifiersEverything else is left out. In choosing what to include I went through the classic sheet item by item and asked "do you need to know this regularly during game play " If the answer was no then I scrapped it from the sheet.So for example: ability scores - during play how often do you need to know you have a 17 strength? In my games virtually never - so ability scores are off. Similarly all the little sums that give you the final skill bonus or the BAB are gone. What about when you level up? At that pooint the player sits down with me and my laptop and we go through the process that way. I tell them what new choices they have (a new feat or skill points) and ask how they see their character developing - I then suggest a couple of alternatives and we go with it.This way I effectively hide all the mechanics and leave the players with just a list of notes on cool stuff they can do, roleplaying guidelines and a list of d20 mods. Anything more complex like battlemaps, combat options I either introduce when needed or wing it. For combat I am going to try using the Unearthed Arcana "players roll all the dice" option which turns AC into a d20 mod effectively - further simplifying. The key is to encourage descriptive and imaginative combat.At the core of what I'm doing is the belief that d20 is a really simple and elegant system - but it is hidden under layers of options even in the core game.</blockquote>

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