What makes a good character sheet for you?

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

I really like having the basic feats/feat trees on the Modern sheets... I would really like a customizable sheet with a spell section specific to the type of spell-caster I am.

 

[Xath]

I really like having the basic feats/feat trees on the Modern sheets... I would really like a customizable sheet with a spell section specific to the type of spell-caster I am.

That's almost an exact description of Ema's character sheets. I really like her work.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I prefer to type my characters out using word. It allows me to customize the "sheet" to each specific character. Obviously, I do all my calculations independently.

This is what I do, or I just hand write stuff in a notebook (just like I did when I first started). I really don't like the "official" sheets from WotC, or many others that I've seen. All those little black boxes and spacers really distract me and make it hard for me to find stuff quickly. If I type all my stuff up, things are where I think "they should be", and I can immediately find what I want.

 

[Xath]

Where do you think the things "should be"?

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I like to have complete breakdowns off all the bonuses and variables for AC and weapons. There are plenty of nice character shhets out there that I will not use because I can't see what all the variables are. Just a single slot for the total to-hit bonus doesn't work for me. Same for AC. I need to see what the AC is fully armored, flat footed, no shield, etc. Without these breakdowns, I'm not going to use it.

 

[nakia]

http://www.moleskine.com/eng/default.htm <-- Really classy, and admittedly somewhat expensive notebooks; I have a bunch of old cheap ones I'm going through, then I'll probably start using these almost exclusively. I recommend them for D&D players because it really helps keep the gaming table uncluttered, and it serves as a convenient place to put campaign notes, character notes, drawings of dungeons, whatever. The nicest thing is, some of them are small enough to fit in some dice bags.

-S

These are super nice notebooks and worth the money, IMHO. If it's good enough for Hemmingway. . .

I want a character sheet that, at first glance, tells me the stuff I need to know most often (Various AC's, hit bonuses, saves). It does not give me clutter I don't need (spell sheets if I'm a fighter). It gives me a place to put random notes and such where I can access them, yet they are out of the way of the primary "need to know all the time" items. I don't need to see all the calculations that give me those "need to know" items up front, but I do need to have them accessible (so I can know how, exactly, my touch AC is 15 and what I can do about that, for example).

Demanding, aren't I?

 

[diaglo]

Since you asked what makes it good FOR ME, here it is:

STR
INT
WIS
CON
DEX
CHA

In THAT order

Anything else I can live with

corrected it for me. 3d6 roll in order to generate.

 

[Xath]

What is it about the standard...

Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha

....that you don't like?

 

[The_Universe]

What is it about the standard...

Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha

....that you don't like?

It's not OD&D.

Anyway, I like the WotC standard, although I genuinely miss having a place for base ranged and base melee attack scores. Although it's nice having a place for grapple, too!

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

What is it about the standard...

Str
Dex
Con
Int
Wis
Cha

....that you don't like?

It's not OD&D.

Not only is it not OD&D, it's also not Basic D&D, 1e AD&D, and 2e AD&D. I often find myself writting Str, Int, Wis, Dex, Con, Cha if I use plane paper to roll up a character. Old habits die hard...