Forums » RP Discussion » Using D&D-esque character sheets?

As the title suggests, I am interested in learning how to set up D&D style character sheets, with concrete stats and which classes and races offer which benefits. I have always been interested in doing such things, but I am too poor to D&D IRL, so I was hoping to do it online, perhaps on here. (Friendly community and all.)

Is it the cost of gas or something else that prevents you from doing D&D IRL? I can't think of another way that doing it online would be cheaper than doing it in person. Both would require the same number of reference materials, for example.

Are you totally new to dice & stat based RP, or is D&D just one more system from many that you've tried previously? That might help people to calibrate their answers. Also, D&D comes in a few different flavors, so keep in mind that you should probably clarify with people that are helping you which version they are talking about, so you don't get confused by seemingly conflicting info!

I have found concrete stats like the ones offered by D&D are really an extremely useful concept to master, but I am by no means a D&D expert. I still need some assistance when putting together my own sheets, but once they are made I can play!

I played a game of D&D "Next" (5th edition) and found it really great and simple. It's still in production so the playtest materials are--I think--still available for download. You might have to enroll in the WotC playtest but that would be a free way to get some of the documents. They might not be the final versions though.

Kim: Oh okay. I know that certain stats apply to different actions, like defy danger is dexterity and hacking and slashing is strength. I know that the higher your stats are, the more it adds or lessens the roll of that. I know that there are like d20s and d10s and d4s etc but I don't know what they normally go to. That's about it. Also the reason I can't do D&D IRL is because of the cost of the figurines and such.

Heimdall: Ok, thanks! I'll go check that out. Neat username, by the way.

Hey, Zeronight!

If you really like DnD but your friends live too far away to do it IRL or you can't afford figurines or whatever, I'd recommend roll20.net!

It's a simple website dedicated to playing DnD, Pathfinder and other tabletop imagination games like that online. It's also got its own map system, figurines, and skype-like interface. It's also free! I'm actually about to put together my own group for a tabletop game myself in a week or so. This seems more like what you're looking for.

They haven't introduced character sheets yet, but I've found that this is a good resource for creating your own DnD character! Then you can save all the stats to your fully customizable and aesthetically superior RPR Charrie page, and get going!

Hope this helps!

Oaky: Wow, thanks for the help! Roll20.net looks very promising... And also I don't live near anybody interested In D&D stuff.. So yeah. Also, I'm on my iPod currently, and the link requires flash, so... I'll check it out once I get my computer privileges back.

http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm

You are in luck! It's certainly fun and exciting to have figurines that look like your characters, but figurines are entirely unnecessary to play D&D. They're an added convenience that can be duplicated by drawing a grid on a piece of paper and writing initials on bottlecaps to indicate different characters. Or use pennies. Or rocks. Or don't use figures at all -- they help to keep track of where things are, but a little sketch will do much the same.

Rolld20 is great, I'm playing in a game using it as I type this. It does not, however, assist with any rules or game advice. In that regard I offer the following thoughts, and I would be happy to engage in either a private or public discussion/tutorial on the topic of DND either in the generic or specific sense, or a random assortment of both. I am well versed on all things DND from 1st edition through 5th edition.

DND version 3.5 is my preferred version of DND. 3 was great but needed bug fixing, thus 3.5. 4th edition is a miniatures battle game(which I also like) but is not a RPG in the true sense of the word. 5th edition is still in play test and thus difficult to recommend as the rules are still in flux.

That being said, unless you must stick with a specific version of DND for some reason, Pathfinder is actually far superior. Pathfinder is affectionately referred to as DND 3.8, as it is mostly the same but has almost all the bugs ironed out. Toward that end, I recommend the following website, so long as you avoid things listed in the 3rd party publishers sections, you will be using pathfinder rules with all the errata and FAQs presented alongside the items they refer to, in an easy searchable site. I have switched from the books to this site almost entirely simply because its easier to find things.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/

As for making a character sheet that already knows all the races, classes, feats etc, there are a few character builders out there that do this, but it cannot be done with a simple sheet. There is just too much stuff to manage. Personally I just use a fillable pdf and do all the character building in my head.

As I said before, I offer my knowledge on the subject freely. I would be happy to discuss DND with any who are interested, perhaps a new thread could be created which is devoted to this purpose?

The Ross: Huh. Useful link.

Kim: ... I can't believe I never really thought of that. *Facepalm*

Nero: Well, the only books I, er, my brother, have, are 4e ones. What about it is not good for storytelling? I'll also check out the website some more, which is the same one The Ross posted. And I will take you up on your offer if I need any advice or help with it. Also, making a thread like that is a good idea, but I don't think I'd be good at managing it or anything. Thus a bad idea for me.

I'd recommend using the site Nero posted. I didn't know about it, and only glanced at it briefly, but it does seem more up to date than the d20srd.