The current UI works well enough for basic organization, but when push comes to shove and dice hit the tabletop I need my spells! The current layout emphasizes a balanced display of content. However, in combat that balance is disrupted and most of the time I just need two things: A big list of my actions and a big list of my spells. Everything else is a distant secondary. I'm not worried about proficiencies and languages, I am rarely rolling ability checks or looking for skills, and my passive senses are unlikely to come into play. That bottom right panel is my best friend, and combat would be easier if it was front and center.
Let's look at a basic combat scenario for spellcasters. As a sorcerer, right now if I cast a quickened spell on my turn I'm doing the following:
Go to my spell list to look at which spell I want to cast, deduct the spell slot and cast the spell
Go to Actions (or Features & Traits) to find my Metamagic and Font of Magic to deduct my sorcery points and quicken the spell
Go back to my spell list to cast the next spell and deduct the spell slot (and if I use Metamagic for this spell I have to toggle back again!)
And this isn't only sorcerers. All spellcasters have to toggle between spells and non-spells. Rangers have their Hunter's Mark. Paladins have their Smite Slots. Any class using spells or perusing features has to switch between multiple tabs or scroll within the jam-packed Actions tab, sometimes multiple times a turn! Sure you can mark spells as an attack but while that might be useful for a few spells you can't add them all. And this shortcoming becomes especially noticeable at higher levels when your casting options increase.
There's many ways this could be improved. As is visible in the quick and dirty mockup, my suggestion would be something like this:
Upon clicking a button the UI would shift into the " Combat Mode" UI you see in the image above (or here: https://i.imgur.com/TSW4UYN.png)
This would be entirely optional, driven by the user, and could be switched back at any time.
Saving Throws expands horizontally to sit beneath STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA, showing each saving throw below its respective stat.
Skills, Senses, and Proficiencies & Languages are no longer visible by default and will be visible in a tab
Everything in the top right stays where it is, as do ability scores.
The bottom right panel splits into two panels across the page of equal width
Left panel has the following tabs:
Actions
Skills
Senses
Proficiencies & Languages
Right panel has the following tabs:
Spells
Inventory
Features & Traits
Description
Notes
Extras
Now you can keep your actions up and look through your spells or go through your features. Some of these are already in Actions but specific Features may not be present, this way you can check them all or sift through your inventory without losing the ever-useful Actions tab. The right panel has very little disruption to minimize the amount of change that users would see when switching into the new UI. What's different is what's condensed and what's visible is what's important.
Anyhow, hope this seems interesting to others as well, thanks for reading!
this is near exactly what I was wishing for for my players. something that makes it simpler for newer players to know exactly what they can do on their turn, and what they can do once they have taken that action, say clicking attack with sword as a fighter it reminds you, hey you can swing again, don't forget! ver Baldurs gate 3 esq. its quite good at reminding you that you have more you can do.
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TL;DR - A "Combat Mode" UI that moves the bottom right panel front and center would greatly improve combat UX.
Let's start with what it could look like!
Combat UI (separate imgur link)
So why do this?
The current UI works well enough for basic organization, but when push comes to shove and dice hit the tabletop I need my spells! The current layout emphasizes a balanced display of content. However, in combat that balance is disrupted and most of the time I just need two things: A big list of my actions and a big list of my spells. Everything else is a distant secondary. I'm not worried about proficiencies and languages, I am rarely rolling ability checks or looking for skills, and my passive senses are unlikely to come into play. That bottom right panel is my best friend, and combat would be easier if it was front and center.
Let's look at a basic combat scenario for spellcasters. As a sorcerer, right now if I cast a quickened spell on my turn I'm doing the following:
Go to my spell list to look at which spell I want to cast, deduct the spell slot and cast the spell
Go to Actions (or Features & Traits) to find my Metamagic and Font of Magic to deduct my sorcery points and quicken the spell
Go back to my spell list to cast the next spell and deduct the spell slot (and if I use Metamagic for this spell I have to toggle back again!)
And this isn't only sorcerers. All spellcasters have to toggle between spells and non-spells. Rangers have their Hunter's Mark. Paladins have their Smite Slots. Any class using spells or perusing features has to switch between multiple tabs or scroll within the jam-packed Actions tab, sometimes multiple times a turn! Sure you can mark spells as an attack but while that might be useful for a few spells you can't add them all. And this shortcoming becomes especially noticeable at higher levels when your casting options increase.
There's many ways this could be improved. As is visible in the quick and dirty mockup, my suggestion would be something like this:
Now you can keep your actions up and look through your spells or go through your features. Some of these are already in Actions but specific Features may not be present, this way you can check them all or sift through your inventory without losing the ever-useful Actions tab. The right panel has very little disruption to minimize the amount of change that users would see when switching into the new UI. What's different is what's condensed and what's visible is what's important.
Anyhow, hope this seems interesting to others as well, thanks for reading!
this is near exactly what I was wishing for for my players. something that makes it simpler for newer players to know exactly what they can do on their turn, and what they can do once they have taken that action, say clicking attack with sword as a fighter it reminds you, hey you can swing again, don't forget! ver Baldurs gate 3 esq. its quite good at reminding you that you have more you can do.