D&D 4E UPDATED 6/20/08! kiznit's 4e Fold-over Character Sheet w/ Cards

mattdm

First Post
kiznit said:
9. This does make sense, but I'll have to look up how many at-will powers PCs potentially get in total. I could see this taking up a significant amount of page real estate.

I think the worst case currently is the human wizard, with four cantrips, three regular at-wills, and then a ranged and melee basic attack — 9 total. (Which may be replaced by magic missle, but maybe not.) The paladin is the next-worst, with two at-will class features, so with the almost-guaranteed two basic attacks and then three at-wills for humans, that's 7. But if we ignore utility powers which happen to be at-will, and barring supplements which add cantrips (via a feat, I expect) or crazy classes with lots of at-wills, that's the max.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

FoxWander

Adventurer
I like the aesthetics of your sheet. It's open and feels simple yet it conveys all the information you need. I think the "primitive" looking logo adds to that effect and you should use it rather than something more "refined". I also like the 'graph paper' background your sample has in the second post. Not only does it give the sheet an interesting old-school look but it also works as lines to write on for the various open fields you have such as- racial ability mods, conditions, action pt effects, etc..

I have several thoughts and suggestions, of course. ;) My ideas involve moving some things around so I'll try not to get too confusing.

PAGE ONE
1- Move experience pts to the back near treasure, since it's a "reward" also- plus it frees up space on the front to...
2- Move reactions and senses up into the space left by XP and drop languages to the bottom where you have a block for notes, which allows you to...
3- Put immunities and resistances under passive senses, which will make it thematically linked with what's below it when you ...
4- Swap defenses and basic attacks. This puts attacks where most sheets have it so it's where people are used to looking. I'd also...
5- Scrunch down the size of the boxes and lines used for basic attacks so you can fit four basic attacks in. This will balance it with defenses now that the two are side by side and give you more room for attacks. Since this is D&D you'll probably need more room for those.
6- You should now have the bottom third of the sheet for skills, feats, class/racial abilities and languages (which may have to move to the back). I'd switch to a 3-column format with 1 column for skills (exactly as you have it now- though boxes for the other two columns of modifiers might be a good idea, or the graph paper background I mentioned), 1 column for feats and the last column split top and bottom for class and racial abilities. Putting the skills column in the middle will probably make the sheet look more balanced.

PAGE TWO (no real 'move stuff around' type ideas- just some suggestions)
1- Definitely keep the paper-doll for equipment. It sets the sheet apart and makes organizing things easy- especially if you add the daily use check boxes. Find a more fantasy-esque silhouette for the image though.
2- Keep the powers index. It will be useful to have a straight list of all your powers just so you can see them all. With a stack of 'power cards' some things might get lost in the stack and get overlooked.
3- I'm unsure about changing the layout of the powers index though. The frequency headings you have there now make it a nicely delineated list but at the same time it's too open. BUT adding lines to write on makes it a big box of lines which would look very blah.
4- Remove rituals from the powers index. Mainly because not everyone has rituals, so it's a very class specific heading- yes, you can ignore it, but it will just look out of place on a straight fighter. But also, for those that do get rituals, you're likely to collect several of them and they would fit better on a 'spell book' type sheet.
5- Add lines for coin denominations to the treasure box, as well as an open area for gems and what not.
6- Get rid of the campaign notes, comrades and allies sections. I've never used them, nor have I ever seen them used. AND if they were used they would quickly become a jumbled mess of random notes.
7- A section for description is always nice. The basics like height, weight, hair, etc. of course but maybe a section for personality and mannerisms to go with the descriptive adjectives and questions from that section of the Player's Handbook. A space to write down a character quote is good too if you manage to have the space to spare.

Anyway, that's all I have. Hopefully some of it's useful. But whether you use any of these or not, I like where you're going with this and especially the overall look of it. Can't wait to see the final product!
 


cferejohn

First Post
I just don't know why ability scores are still front and center. They are used in calculating your to hit/damage bonuses, defenses, skills, etc., but you don't really refer to them that often during play. I really liked the way the demo characters in Shadowfell had the powers front and center and the ability scores pushed to page 2. If you're looking to save space (and you do need more for the powers), that's where I'd do it.
 


kiznit

Explorer
cferejohn said:
I just don't know why ability scores are still front and center. They are used in calculating your to hit/damage bonuses, defenses, skills, etc., but you don't really refer to them that often during play. I really liked the way the demo characters in Shadowfell had the powers front and center and the ability scores pushed to page 2. If you're looking to save space (and you do need more for the powers), that's where I'd do it.
When I'm building a character, after I pick my race/class, the very next thing is to assign ability scores, and as everything else gets filled out I'm constantly pulling modifiers from them, so there's a very real convenience reason for having them right up there.

As mentioned in my Design Notes, I'm trying to find a middle ground between a character sheet that's easy to create a character with, and one that's easy to play off of.
 

Storminator

First Post
I'd prefer to see a "worksheet" page, with all those fiddly bits on it, then a "play" page where I transfer the final total for defenses, skill modifiers, basic attacks, etc.

That way every single number on the front page is vital for play. As it is, just under half of the numbers on the first page will actually be used on game day.

And the paper doll is awesome.

PS
 

Aust Diamondew

First Post
I'd say give more room for powers and feats, so make it a 3 page character sheet.

I've been in favor of 3-4 page character sheets for d&d and most rules heavier RPGs for years, but usually no one makes them.
They're not as compact and make things appear more complicated than a 2 page sheet but in actualy play they work out better.
Otherwise I just have to use a piece of extra loose leaf paper with 2 page character sheets.
 

cferejohn

First Post
kiznit said:
When I'm building a character, after I pick my race/class, the very next thing is to assign ability scores, and as everything else gets filled out I'm constantly pulling modifiers from them, so there's a very real convenience reason for having them right up there.

Right. Easier to design, but usually when I'm doing my character design, I'm working off scratch paper anyway. For me I'm looking for something useful as I'm actually playing.
 

mattdm

First Post
cferejohn said:
I just don't know why ability scores are still front and center.

They are the shorthand which describes your character. It wouldn't be proper D&D to me without them right up there.
 

Remove ads

Top