Specifically, the DM also able to assign items from the item database to that character sheet (and an option to add magic items that are UN-identified). Also to assign XP, gold, cursed items (muahahaha!) etc.
...
Allow a DM to set rules for what will be allowed with the character sheets that are added by PCs. For example, a strict "Adventurer's League" rules for creations such as only allowing using the ability score matrix and then a "homebrew" rules which would allow rolling for ability scores. There was something like this in the D&D 4e DDI character creator.
Thanks!An
(numbers changed) I would suggest some modifications to these three suggestions.
For the first two, the DM (or anyone, really), proposes changes, that the player then accepts (or declines), one at a time. Otherwise it's easy to miss a change.
For the last one, instead of outright not allowing the rule-infringing details, I'd visibly highlight them. The players and DM can then determine what to do with the offending bits.
I would like something that was intuitive to use, and allowed for custom selecting of spells for the character, like a secondary spells sheet, and something that accommodated feats and fighting style selections. Here is a sheet I've been using that visualizes what I am referring to:
I'm looking at this document, I like how organized the rolls are, I'm assuming the Prof bonus/Skill bonuses and other auto fill based off the stat bonuses (which would be auto filled from their total value) and character level? I can't really see the equations well in the google doc version vs Excel version
This is a good example though, well organized and things are auto-filling, BUT I would say that there should be over-ridability. Some times characters will be written with their own things. Leaves room for DM's to make classes up to facilitate players. For example, my current game has a Druid that didn't want to beast shape, so I granted them Beast Mastery (from the Ranger) and they get no Druid Circle bonuses (functionally like being Circle of the Moon, kinda... it's working, players are happy)
Totally applicable to character feats! I often forget about taking a feat over a normal stat increase because they're not right in front of me when I'm leveling a character.
Maybe popup note with a list of things to check when we have leveled. The main focus would be on the class chart that lists number of spells we can have and use, special abilities, etc that come at each level. An added thing that would help is if the level changes anything in domain, background skill, etc. Then a way to click on one of the list items to find out about it.
Maybe the skills of the class/domain/whatever can be automatically listed in the appropriate part of the sheet as a link to the full info. In some cases this would be spells if they are part of the list of what your domain, school or whatever lists as what you get beyond the number of new ones you can self pick.
Feats, spells and anything that gives you a choice should only be part of the reminder of what to do when you level up and not auto populate.
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PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
ACTION ECONOMY TAB: The biggest issue I run into while playing with my group is the newer players (& myself at times) are confused, inexperienced, or just forgetful about what their options are, especially in combat.
So, I made a 'cheat sheet' (aka quick reference guide) listing what each character can do based on Action, Bonus Action, Move Action, FreeAction. So, for instance, my Ranger/Rogue has listed under Bonus Action: cast/move Hunters Mark, cast Hail of Thorns, cast Ensnaring Strike, Cunning Action dash/disengage/hide, off-hand melee attack. Under Actions: Dash, Disengage, Hide, Dodge, Help, Attack (I don't have any action-based spells, but they'd be listed here).
It seems a bit unwieldy in the above format, but when listed in a drop-menu style format, it has been a real help for everyone to quickly see what their options are during an encounter. (Actually deciding what to choose still seems to take varying amounts of time still :p)
I thought this might be a format option for the 'combat page' idea several people have put forward earlier.
auto inputs, like if I have a 15 in dex then select elf as my race, that 15 changes to a 17 also skill mods also auto calculating would be great. Also when I choose rogue, sneak attack is automatically listed and such
be configured not only for phb races, classes, and spells but also dmg and UA and sword coast
My thoughts run very similar; a character sheet should be above all easy to use. While it is good to have all the information about our characters in the sheet - and it should have it all - and have the interdependent parts be populated automatically when possible, the most important is how that information is displayed. Nazim put it very well, I just want to expand on the combat part.
I found that while playing the following information is most frequently necessary:
The generic/stats section first:
The core stats (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA) and their corresponding bonuses and saving throws. Also initiative and speed.
The defensive stats: AC and HP, plus any permanent resistances/immunities/magic bonuses to defense. One could argue that STs are also defensive info, but they are directly related to the cores stats so I feel they should be together.
The offensive stats: to hit and damage bonuses due to STR (which apply to melee and thrown weapons), DEX (which apply to ranged weapons), and the to hit and DC numbers for the spellcasting ability (when relevant). Finesse weapons will use whatever is best from STR or DEX so I don't really see a need for that to be displayed on its own.
The specific "what can I do" section next:
Combat-related actions. If it's a caster, start with the list of spells that can be cast; if they need a hit roll, the hit bonus, if they require a ST, the DC; in both cases, the damage done and brief description of effects. If it's a melee character, start with the list of weapons carried, with their respective permanent to hit and damage bonuses (including magic bonuses). If limited use, the number should be specified.
Special abilities next - racial and class features, etc. Stuff the character can do, and how often (1/short rest, 2/long rest, etc., already calculated if dependent on level and/or abilities).
Skills, with the bonuses already calculated.
Complete list of equipment, money, spells known but not available, all that can be further down or on another tab.
I don't think HPs, spell slot use, ability use and other resources should be tracked in the character sheet, necessarily. In my opinion that belongs in a dedicated combat/encounter tracker, not the character sheet.
A combat tracker should keep tabs on how many spells slots remain, temporary bonuses and penalties, who is concentrating, which spell effects are active and how many rounds left, HPs of all the characters, that kind of stuff. But that is for another discussion, I think.
I would love a character sheet that auto populates for ease of creation and leveling. I want it to be printable and that is about it. All the extra stuff people are asking for is nice, but we try to have very few devices at the table so that we are interacting with each other and not the screen. But hey! We are old and like to keep things simple.
I'm assuming the sheet will take up multiple pages, tabs, or screens. If I'm right, can we separate the stuff thusly:
Combat page: AC, HP, saves, initiative bonus, weapon and armor details, combat abilities listed, prepared combat spells listed. Since we're working on a digital platform, it should be possible to digitally manage space so that all of these fit.
Social/Exploration page: name, appearance, equipment (without listing damage and other combat details), skills, non combat traits, features, abilities and other prepared spells.
Companion page: animal companion, mounts, donkeys, dogs, possible summoning conjurations, and even wildshapes, since they fit the format. So, maybe call it the companion form page.
Spell preparation page: list all possible spells to select those to prepare each day.
Character building page: list all the choices made for the build, from ability score selection or rolling, to race and subrace choices, to every choice made when you level up.
Possessions page: list all equipment, currency, and magic items, but also stuff not carried (this would work well towards the campaign management phase, but also determines the load on the mount). What items are worn where (sometimes we have to pick which magic item to put in a certain slot). Maybe even options for different loadouts.
Notes page.
A lot of people seem to be asking for many of these details that I also requested, so I'm quoting my own post, in the hopes of getting feedback on the "tabs" I'm proposing. Apologies if this comes across as rude or stupid.
No, it helps others and I like what you have put in here. Tabs that keep you on same window of the app, online or offline, a lot like Roll20 makes it easy to organize and not have a LONG scroll on a smaller mobile device. You may still scroll on the smaller device, but only through the stuff for that tab.
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PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Including all the unearthed arcana would be incredibly helpful. Also, the ability to have sheet versions. i like to keep the old sheets for progression and tracking reasons.
Please allow the DM to add custom skills to the character sheet. In my campaign I am using the magic user's concentration check as a Constitution skill. That way I can show it along with the other skills and I can allow certain classes, like the Mystic, to have proficiency in Concentration. I have been looking for character sheets to give to my players and the ones that do allow customization allow for everything except for the addition of new skills.
For example, my current game has a Druid that didn't want to beast shape, so I granted them Beast Mastery (from the Ranger) and they get no Druid Circle bonuses (functionally like being Circle of the Moon, kinda... it's working, players are happy)
I think that would probably something that's better served by the homebrew section than the character sheet alone. It should hopefully be fairly easy to create a homebrew class that just copies the druid with that one change. Provided the homebrew capabilities are done right, that should then let the character sheet work as expected.
I agree with that. I have played a few druids and I share your point. Also a place that lists your abilities and traits that carry over to your animal form.
I'm certain this has been said, but I'm going to reiterate it, because I just gave another character creator, an auto-updating PDF sheet that shall remain nameless, a try, and it was a convoluted mess trying to figure everything out. I hate to bring them up again, because I know they are, sort of, competition, but if D&D Beyond's character software isn't as easy to use, with as friendly and intuitive an interface, as Hero Lab, I'll have a lot of trouble paying anything for it. Overcoming a huge learning curve is not my cup of tea. :)
I'm not sure if this has been suggested yet, I thought about it and came up with an idea of dynamically changing character sheets. Something like... If I use a spell to increase my AC or other abilities, perhaps a check box next to that spell in my spells page saying it's active, and then all bonuses of the spell are automatically added to my stats. Then when the spell is over I can uncheck the box and my stats return to normal.
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My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
I would like something that was intuitive to use, and allowed for custom selecting of spells for the character, like a secondary spells sheet, and something that accommodated feats and fighting style selections. Here is a sheet I've been using that visualizes what I am referring to:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B2RSzLV4pvBfBJdmAEJdXlj9_5_bNCYk2dXat1WIx7Y/edit
I'm looking at this document, I like how organized the rolls are, I'm assuming the Prof bonus/Skill bonuses and other auto fill based off the stat bonuses (which would be auto filled from their total value) and character level? I can't really see the equations well in the google doc version vs Excel version
This is a good example though, well organized and things are auto-filling, BUT I would say that there should be over-ridability. Some times characters will be written with their own things. Leaves room for DM's to make classes up to facilitate players. For example, my current game has a Druid that didn't want to beast shape, so I granted them Beast Mastery (from the Ranger) and they get no Druid Circle bonuses (functionally like being Circle of the Moon, kinda... it's working, players are happy)
Totally applicable to character feats! I often forget about taking a feat over a normal stat increase because they're not right in front of me when I'm leveling a character.
Maybe popup note with a list of things to check when we have leveled. The main focus would be on the class chart that lists number of spells we can have and use, special abilities, etc that come at each level. An added thing that would help is if the level changes anything in domain, background skill, etc. Then a way to click on one of the list items to find out about it.
Maybe the skills of the class/domain/whatever can be automatically listed in the appropriate part of the sheet as a link to the full info. In some cases this would be spells if they are part of the list of what your domain, school or whatever lists as what you get beyond the number of new ones you can self pick.
Feats, spells and anything that gives you a choice should only be part of the reminder of what to do when you level up and not auto populate.
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
ACTION ECONOMY TAB: The biggest issue I run into while playing with my group is the newer players (& myself at times) are confused, inexperienced, or just forgetful about what their options are, especially in combat.
So, I made a 'cheat sheet' (aka quick reference guide) listing what each character can do based on Action, Bonus Action, Move Action, FreeAction. So, for instance, my Ranger/Rogue has listed under Bonus Action: cast/move Hunters Mark, cast Hail of Thorns, cast Ensnaring Strike, Cunning Action dash/disengage/hide, off-hand melee attack. Under Actions: Dash, Disengage, Hide, Dodge, Help, Attack (I don't have any action-based spells, but they'd be listed here).
It seems a bit unwieldy in the above format, but when listed in a drop-menu style format, it has been a real help for everyone to quickly see what their options are during an encounter. (Actually deciding what to choose still seems to take varying amounts of time still :p)
I thought this might be a format option for the 'combat page' idea several people have put forward earlier.
Things that I'd like to see
auto inputs, like if I have a 15 in dex then select elf as my race, that 15 changes to a 17 also skill mods also auto calculating would be great. Also when I choose rogue, sneak attack is automatically listed and such
be configured not only for phb races, classes, and spells but also dmg and UA and sword coast
My thoughts run very similar; a character sheet should be above all easy to use. While it is good to have all the information about our characters in the sheet - and it should have it all - and have the interdependent parts be populated automatically when possible, the most important is how that information is displayed. Nazim put it very well, I just want to expand on the combat part.
I found that while playing the following information is most frequently necessary:
The generic/stats section first:
Complete list of equipment, money, spells known but not available, all that can be further down or on another tab.
I don't think HPs, spell slot use, ability use and other resources should be tracked in the character sheet, necessarily. In my opinion that belongs in a dedicated combat/encounter tracker, not the character sheet.
A combat tracker should keep tabs on how many spells slots remain, temporary bonuses and penalties, who is concentrating, which spell effects are active and how many rounds left, HPs of all the characters, that kind of stuff. But that is for another discussion, I think.
I would love a character sheet that auto populates for ease of creation and leveling. I want it to be printable and that is about it. All the extra stuff people are asking for is nice, but we try to have very few devices at the table so that we are interacting with each other and not the screen. But hey! We are old and like to keep things simple.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
My 5e Houserule Considerations. Please comment freely.
No, it helps others and I like what you have put in here. Tabs that keep you on same window of the app, online or offline, a lot like Roll20 makes it easy to organize and not have a LONG scroll on a smaller mobile device. You may still scroll on the smaller device, but only through the stuff for that tab.
PbP - Beregost Blues - Portia Starflower, Half Elf, Cleric, Life Domain
PbP - Tome of Annhilation - Vistani Mocanu, Human, Bard
Something for the ranger companion would also be nice in this regard
Including all the unearthed arcana would be incredibly helpful. Also, the ability to have sheet versions. i like to keep the old sheets for progression and tracking reasons.
Please allow the DM to add custom skills to the character sheet. In my campaign I am using the magic user's concentration check as a Constitution skill. That way I can show it along with the other skills and I can allow certain classes, like the Mystic, to have proficiency in Concentration. I have been looking for character sheets to give to my players and the ones that do allow customization allow for everything except for the addition of new skills.
I agree with that. I have played a few druids and I share your point. Also a place that lists your abilities and traits that carry over to your animal form.
I'm certain this has been said, but I'm going to reiterate it, because I just gave another character creator, an auto-updating PDF sheet that shall remain nameless, a try, and it was a convoluted mess trying to figure everything out. I hate to bring them up again, because I know they are, sort of, competition, but if D&D Beyond's character software isn't as easy to use, with as friendly and intuitive an interface, as Hero Lab, I'll have a lot of trouble paying anything for it. Overcoming a huge learning curve is not my cup of tea. :)
Feats lol
This would be amazing and i totally agree that this needs to happen
I'm not sure if this has been suggested yet, I thought about it and came up with an idea of dynamically changing character sheets. Something like... If I use a spell to increase my AC or other abilities, perhaps a check box next to that spell in my spells page saying it's active, and then all bonuses of the spell are automatically added to my stats. Then when the spell is over I can uncheck the box and my stats return to normal.