Revision as of 00:06, 8 May 2014

This page is a WIP and not yet complete

Intro

The DnD Next character sheet was created by John Myles (@Actoba) and is a reworked concept of the original sheet developed by David L. Hawkins (@The Story Teller) & Aaron C. Meadows.

The sheet is designed to be a functional and useful tool for DnD Next players on Roll20 regardless of their subscription level. This wiki page should highlight each of the sections of the sheet and demonstrate how to get the best out of each of them. All of the screenshots on this page have been taken from a character sheet filled out with all the details (with one exception) from the level 1 Human Cleric pregen that came with the final October 2014 playtest packet so you should be able to review that whilst looking through this page.

Core Stats and Skills Section

Screenshot of Core Stats section

When you first open the character sheet you should see the entire core stats and skills section without having to scroll. It contains all the stats you will ever need to look up at a glance.

Header

The top header section provides some simple text boxes for you to enter things like your character name, race, class and so on. It is important to set your overall level in this section as this is used by the sheet to calculate your proficiency bonus a little lower down. So for example if you were a Mage 5 / Fighter 2 you would set your level here as 7.

HP and other stats

The next section shows your current and maximum HP as well as allowing you to enter your current AC and speed. The sheet automatically calculates your proficiency bonus from your overall level in the header section and used this at various points throughout the sheet.

Here, you are also able to add any initiative bonuses you may be getting (such as the +5 if you have taken the Alert feat). There is no need to add your DEX modifier in here, only any other bonuses you may have. Also note that in order for the initiative button to function properly you must have your character token selected. This is the only button on the sheet that has this requirement.

Core Stats

Next up is your 6 core stats. Simply enter your stat score in the left column and check the boxes next to the stats you have saving throw proficiency for (normally from your class). The two macro buttons provide saving throws and basic (unskilled) ability checks for the 6 core stats. in all cases, your modifiers are auto calculated.

Hit Dice and Class Resources

For this section click on the add button to add details about what hit dice you have. If you are not multiclassing you will only ever need 1 row added here. If you are multiclassing however you should add a row for each class you have levels in and track each of those classes hit die seperately. The macro button allows you to use 1 of the hit dice during a rest and will automatically add your constitution modifier.

The Class resources section simply allows you to track any kind of class specific resource pool. For the cleric in this example he has added a single row to track his channel divinity uses for the day (even though he doesnt get any till level 2). You could equally use this to track a monks Ki points, a paladins Lay on Hands healing pool, a fighters superiority dice, etc.... Just add a row for each resource you want to track

Skill section

Finally, the skills section lists each skill in the game beneath the stat it is associated with. The checkboxes next to each skill should be checked when your character has proficiency and/or has expertise (mostly just rogues). This will apply the correct bonuses to the "Check" macro buttons to the right of each skill. Again, these Check buttons add the relevant stat mod, and optionally the proficiency bonus and expertise bonus if you have these boxes checked.

Action Section

Screenshot of Action section

The actions section is where players can setup their most used attacks, spells and even consumables or utility actions so that they can be used quickly and easily during play. Note that the action section is not an inventory or a spellbook and it does not replicate or use any data from those other sections. Instead it simply aims to be the section on the sheet where you can setup most frequently used abilities/actions. Of course, there are complex actions (such as spells or manoeuvres) that cannot be easily replicated in the sheet. Note that it is assumed that all of these actions are done with tools, weapons and equipment with which you have proficiency and as such your proficiency bonus is automatically added in where appropriate. The thinking behind this is that your most commonly used actions would be using items you have proficiency with and so that's what the sheet supports.

Attack roll actions

The first subsection in the Actions section is for actions that require a simple attack roll against a target or targets. Most commonly this will be things like weapon attacks, some spells and even some more complex actions. The screenshot shows that the pregen cleric has a Mace and a Javelin as his melee and ranged weapons. The addition of Ray of Frost was the only thing the pregen cleric from the playtest packet did not have but it illustrates that spells that require attack rolls can be added here too.

When adding a new entry here simply add the name, then pick the stat used to give a bonus to the 1d20 roll when attacking. For most melee this will be strength, for most ranged it will be Dexterity, for a mages ray of frost it would be Intelligence, and so on. Next enter the base damage this attack does (without any modifiers), then pick the stat (if any) that gives a bonus to the damage. So for example, the mace (in the main hand) gets the characters strength mod as bonus damage on a hit, but a level 1 mage casting ray of frost does not get any bonus. Similarly an off hand melee wepon does not get the damage bonus from a stat either. So be careful to select the correct entries here. FInally fill in the damage type and range as you want and then the magic bonus which will provide a bonus to both the attack roll and the damage done (ie. a +1 long sword gives a +1 bonus to both attack and damage). Finally use the macro buttons to perform the attack and damage rolls as required.

Saving throw actions

Some actions require the target to make a saving throw instead of having the character make an attack roll. These go into the 2nd subsection of the Actions section. The screenshot shows Sacred Flame as one such attack. Again simply add rows as required and fill out a name, the stat the target has to save on, pick a DC from the list or set a custom one if you need to. Note that the class based DC's are auto calculated. Finally enter what happens if the target fails or succeeds on the saving throw. Note that you can and probably should use inline rolls here like the example shown in the screenshot. The Use macro button will then output all that information into chat for all the players and GM to see.

Other simple actions

The final subsection here is for any other simple action. This would typically be used for things like healing spells, consumable items that require a roll, utility spells and so on. Anything you can think of really. Again the use button will output all the information into chat in a useful format. The screenshot shows several examples of how the description field can and should be used in these cases.

Racial, Class, and Roleplaying Section

Screenshot of Racial/Class/RP section

This is the most simple section of the sheet as it just has several text areas for you to enter any details you wish. if you find that there isnt quite enough room for you then perhaps, as the note on the sheet suggests, it might be better to use the Bio and Info section of the Roll20 character entry for this info instead.

Spell Section

Screenshot of Spell section

The spell section first contains a section for you to add a row for each spellcasting class your character has. Again if you are not multiclassing you should only need to add one row here. For each row select the spell casting class, the number of levels you have in that class and then manually set the number of spells that class allows you to prepare each day. The spell save DC for each of your spellcasting classes is automaticall calculated and as usual it assumes you have an appropriate spell casting focus for your class (ie. holy symbol for cleric) and applies that bonus as appropriate.

To the right of this there is a section that allows you to track your spell slot usage.

The main part of the spell section is the spellbook. Usage of this will vary depending on the mechanics of your spellcasting class. mages will use this to add a row for every spell they have added to their spellbook and then indicate which of those they have prepared each day. Classes that get to choose to prepare from their full class list of spells every day (like Cleric) should simply make sure the ones they have prepared for a given day are listed. They can optionally though just list spells as not prepared rather than deleting them which is useful if they find themselves swapping between a small subset of their available spells on a daily basis. Finally, classes that do not prepare spells (such as Bard) can simply list all the spells they know and mark them as "always" prepared.

For characters that have multiclassed, the "Gained From" selection allows players to easily see which class they may have gained a spell from. This is also useful for when a player gains access to a spell they would not normally get via things like a cleric domain, mage school or even from a racial bonus (drow) for example.

Note that the spell section does not contain any macros. It is simply a reference section only. Players should use the Actions section should they wish to have easy and quick access to their most commonly used spells.

Inventory Section

Screenshot of Inventory section

Finally they inventory section provides another reference section for the player. The sheet will auto calculate some fields (marked with a green background) for you to indicate your maximum capacity and give you a total value (in GP) of all the coins you are carrying. it cannot calculate your currently carried weight so if this is an important part of your game you will have to track this manually on the sheet in the space provided.

The armour section section allows you to list any worn pices of armour and optionally clothing. It will take in entries for the base AC of a piece, a manually entered bonus that piece gets to AC from dexterity (varies depending on the armour) and of course a magic bonus a piece gets to AC. it will then list the calculated total AC of a piece. You can then, for reference only, indicate whether that piece has any Stealth or speed penalty.

The carried inventory fields allow you to add a row for each piece of equipment carried. Again this is for reference only. There are no calculations or macros in this section. The screenshot linked above shows an example use of these sections.

Finally, there is an Any Other Notes box just below the inventory should the player need it.