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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 8049474" data-attributes="member: 32740"><p> <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It's not as simple a matter as some may think because character sheets typically need to record a LOT of information and graphically present it all in the most useful manner.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">character sheets for RPG's are like the documentation for software - it's a chore that few people enjoy so it just gets thrown together at the last minute by most RPG publishers.  It seldom is the game-playing tool it needs to be - one that is carefully DESIGNED after repeated bouts of playtesting to get it right.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Even if the character sheet itself undergoes its own playtesting (and I'd be floored if that has EVER been done as part of a games development) it isn't being tested by people who necessarily know what to look for in finding its flaws.  It's going to just be given to the regular playtesters as something additional to consider, so while they're ostensibly stress testing the game mechanics they're NOT going to be putting a lot of thought into what the FINAL version of the game is going to be like in relation to the version of the character sheet they've been handed.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each version or edition of a game is going to change what's important in its mechanics, often radically.  Character sheets, I believe, carry a great deal of their own momentum.  They're laid out a certain way because they always have been laid out that way and it's really difficult to turn that ship away from icebergs.  And players tend to react negatively when they look for information on a character sheet and don't find it because it's been moved from where they expect it to be.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Every class in a class-based game has different priorities of information that is most useful to the player.  These days, a fighter in D&D needs space and clarity for all their combat bonuses and weapons.  A spellcaster needs space to list all their spells.  Trying to fit both on the same page tends to mean neither is handled well.  But it wasn't always that way...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Different games can fairly well explode with the amount of data to be listed.  A middling level 3rd Edition D&D fighter has GOBS of feats and rather fewer skills, but most 3E character sheets take up a huge amount of space listing all the skills whether they'll be used by the PC or not, when the fighter really needs that space to list and briefly describe FEATS.  It's more useful, however, for rogues who tend to have more skills and RELY more upon their skills in play rather than their feats.  All while casters really need space to list spells right up front because that's what THEY use most often in play but that space is relegated to later pages if given space at all.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Individual players also have different priorities and different styles of play and approaches to the game.  You can certainly play a fighter who tries to devote a lot more effort to diplomacy and communication than to combat.  Some players are simply not as organized as others and if it ISN'T given space on a character sheet will forget about it, or will forget about it if the space for it is relegated to back pages of a multi-page character sheet - a choice which inevitably (whether deliberate or not) implies REDUCED importance because it is less prominent.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Again, character sheets are HUGE information dumps and a character sheet needs to PRIORITIZE that information but those priorities change with every game edition, every player, every character, every style of campaign.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">At the same time a character sheet is going to get looked at CONSTANTLY as it sits directly in front of you.  It helps if it LOOKS NICE - it needs good graphic design as well as ability to communicate information and if you CAN squeeze some art onto it, all the better.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The mention upthread of having a space for a will should not be overlooked.  Not that a will is necessarily that important but what seeing it on a character sheet does to your thinking IS important.  A throwaway tidbit like that can easily say something about the game world your character is living in, what the specific campaign is prioritizing as opposed to what the rules in general imply.  This can be linked to graphic design as well.  A character sheet in black and red and covered with skulls says VASTLY different things about a game and a character than rainbows and unicorns (I hope).  Graphic design of a character sheet MATTERS a great deal, sometimes even moreso than the information layout.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The mention of the viability of simple notebook paper is also not to be overlooked.  It may be graphically dull but each player can at least write down that information THEY PERSONALLY find most important to have at first glance.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>

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