D&D 5E What character sheet do you use?

[Nod_Hero]

To answer my own question, I use MPMB's fully automated sheet and actually paid for it. My main reason for selecting that specific sheet is that it's gorgeous. I like the automation, too, but it's the aesthetics that grabbed me.

Same.

I used The Clean Sheet and ForgedAnvil for a while but MPMB's inclusion of the UA materials won me over.

 

[cbwjm]

Do you have a formal layout or just kinda wing it? Basically, is the Word doc something you could publish, if you cared to?

I have a pretty formal layout that has been updated from edition to edition but not something worth publishing since it is pretty much just a simple write up of the information instead of a nice looking character sheet. Much of the same type of information is in a similar location in 5e as it was in 2e or 3e (for instance, location of stats, skills, hit points, AC, etc).

I've attached a PDF copy of my last PC if you'd like to have a look at it, it also shows how I list the details for spells on the second page. View attachment Moonlight - Eladrin Bladesinger.pdf

 

[The Old Crow]

I have been using my homebrewed 2e AD&D sheet I once threw together on Word, because me and my group like the of layout. It isn't quite right for 5e, though. I started an update for 5e but haven't really figured out yet on what I want t change and add to the layout. I should go look at more of other people's homebrewed sheets to get some more good ideas on what to do.

 

[Mercule]

I have a pretty formal layout that has been updated from edition to edition but not something worth publishing since it is pretty much just a simple write up of the information instead of a nice looking character sheet. Much of the same type of information is in a similar location in 5e as it was in 2e or 3e (for instance, location of stats, skills, hit points, AC, etc).

That looks a lot like what I did for 2E. Before that, I used to use a pretty formal hand-written layout on notebook paper. I didn't really care for 1E and 2E "standard" character sheets, either.

 

[cbwjm]

That looks a lot like what I did for 2E. Before that, I used to use a pretty formal hand-written layout on notebook paper. I didn't really care for 1E and 2E "standard" character sheets, either.

I've never really been a fan of character sheets in any edition, I think I always preferred to write up my own in a format that made it easier for me to see the information I needed. I do recall when I first started dnd playing with the RC that I had a small notebook where I put little boxes around information, like a shield around AC or a box for skills etc. I'm not sure if I kept this trend when I first moved to 2e but from memory my character sheets back then were just scribbled out on lined paper in a fashion similar to my current word doc. The layout is roughly the same, only the medium is different.

I should nite that I've looked at different sheets for 5e, some I thought looked quite cool but I never ended up using them.

 

[cbwjm]

I have been using my homebrewed 2e AD&D sheet I once threw together on Word, because me and my group like the of layout. It isn't quite right for 5e, though. I started an update for 5e but haven't really figured out yet on what I want t change and add to the layout. I should go look at more of other people's homebrewed sheets to get some more good ideas on what to do.

Any chance you could post an example of your 2e sheet?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I use whatever piece of paper happens to be nearest. I tend to prefer college-ruled but I'll use anything.

For some characters I'll transfer it to a .txt file on my OneDrive which I then edit with Notepad2.

No standardized format except that I have some habits, such as typically listing stats in order of S D C I W C HP AC, often with the original rolls in brackets, putting asterisks on anything special (proficient saves, skills with Expertise), and putting skills/feats/languages on different lines. I often neglect to choose an alignment.

A typical example would be this one, for an NPC warlock (villainous sidekick):

Hamanas, Scro Soldier Fighter 1/Fiend Warlock 6

Stocky, outwardly calm but inwardly despairing for the future of his race. Lost four blood brothers on the same ship early in the Second Inhuman War due to bad leadership. Respects Klingas' leadership, feels nothing but contempt for Errodos' short-sighted xenophobia. Will do anything to ensure the long-term survival of the Scro race.

[17 9 15 13 15 12]
Str* 17 Dex 12 Con* 15 Int 13 Wis 9 Cha 18 HP 52 AC 21 (Plate and shield)

Pact of the Blade, Agonizing Repelling Eldritch Spear
Mounted Combatant
Fireball, Fly, Hypnotic Pattern, Hex, Counterspell, Battle Double, Delay Death [the latter two are from the Book of Lost Spells]
+10 temp HP per kill
Defense Style
(+3) Athletics, Stealth, Investigation, Perception
EB: 2x +7 for d10+4
Rides a flying Nihilworm

 

[Mercule]

I've never really been a fan of character sheets in any edition, I think I always preferred to write up my own in a format that made it easier for me to see the information I needed.

I've rarely liked them for D&D. I still remember this horrific plum-colored sheet that one of my players used in the 1990s. I think it was the official character sheet you could buy in packs. Still makes me cringe. 1E AD&D was so straight-forward, I just never saw much point in paying money for a sheet, especially since I tended to play Fighters, Rangers, and Thieves. Even for my grey elf Druid/Magic-User (10/10 or so), I wrote everything out by hand. That was a good 15-20 pages of glorious spell components.

It was either Shadowrun or Vampire that got me using sheets. I think it was the dots system in WoD, but can't be sure. The sheet just looked nicer than what I could write out. Plus, Mage had the cute little circular Arete track, which I wasn't going to draw by hand.

The 3E sheet wasn't bad. With all the fidgety bits, we used an Excel sheet that someone had put together and it printed out something that looked almost exactly like the official sheet. It was clean and crisp. There were some flaws, but it wasn't bad.

The 5E PHB sheet reminds me of the AD&D sheets -- and not in a good way. I think it's the lines and the way the boxes are drawn, but even in black-and-white, it's almost as hard to look at as that old purple sheet. I just do not like it.

The MPMB sheet, on the other hand, is a work of art. I've heard some folks say it's too busy and I can totally see that point. It didn't bother me during the one 5E adventure in which I played, but I wouldn't be opposed to something a bit more muted. That's not the same thing as saying I'd rather have something more muted. I have very few quibbles with the MPMB sheet -- it's literally the first character sheet in 35 years and a dozen (or more) game systems that I've thought was worth spending money on.

Really, I'm hoping that DDB decides to create a more artistic sheet. It's ironic that one of my players was trying to get me to use Orcpub, this summer, and my ultimate response was "Nope. Uses the PHB sheet and has too many artifacts for AL that I can't get rid of. Wait and see what DDB will do."

 

[Mercule]

Wow. I did not expect so many folks to use some form of hand-written/ad hoc sheet.

 

[ccs]

I use the PHB one.
Not because I particularly like how it looks, certainly not because it's the standard or official, but because I'm lazy & it does the job.