Calculating Character Sheet


Alpha Playtest Feedback General Discussion


Currently I use a character sheet called the Singin' Sheet, by KEVIN ROSE, MATTHIJS HAKFOORT, GREYKNIGHT AND MICHAEL STROPE, that automatically calculates skill points, skill bonuses, base attack bonuses, ability score bonuses, and base saving throw bonuses. It's by far the best calculating character sheet of all the ones I've seen. It even adds bonuses to skill synergies for having 5 ranks in the appropriate skills. Best of all, from my viewpoint, is the fact that they have a Mac version (actually three Mac versions) too. [Actually it uses Adobe Acrobat, so any OS that can use Acrobat can use any of the various forms of the sheet.]

I'd already considered consolidating Balance and Tumble into a skill called Acrobatics, and Listen and Spot into a skill called Perception, but haven't implemented the consolidations as house rules because I make heavy use of the Singin' Spell sheet. I run a high-level, low-epic-level campaign, and when I create NPCs they often have several types of racial or class hit dice, base attack bonuses, base save bonuses, and skill points per level. Using the Singin' Sheet reduces my preparation time so much that I'd be loathe to abandon it just to follow the changes to skills that you've proposed in the alpha pdf.

If, however, you were to create an automatic calculating character sheet of a quality comparable to the Singin' Sheet, I would find the conversion much easier and would be much, much more likely to convert to the Pathfinder rules. You could even, dare I say it, hire these fine fellows to develop a Pathfinder Singin' Sheet. You can find them at http://singin.sheet.googlepages.com/sheet.


Can you fill that sheet and save it in Acrobat reader? I've made a fillable sheet, but I can only save it in Acrobat professional. Acrobat reader only let me print it...

Liberty's Edge

There is a free pdf reader called 'foxit' that allows you to save pdf documents that have changes in them. Might want to give that a try.

Linky


Tarlane wrote:

There is a free pdf reader called 'foxit' that allows you to save pdf documents that have changes in them. Might want to give that a try.

Linky

Great, thanks! This has been a problem, because I have Acrobat professional only in my work computer. Now I can save my character anywhere. cool. =)


Salama wrote:
Can you fill that sheet and save it in Acrobat reader? I've made a fillable sheet, but I can only save it in Acrobat professional. Acrobat reader only let me print it...

That is a very good question. Currently you cannot save it in Reader. (I just downloaded the most current version of Reader, 8.1.2 for the Mac, and you can't save the Singin' Sheet in that version either.) I just got a message from one of the authors of the Singin' Sheet about perhaps doing one for the Pathfinder pdf, so I asked him about creating a version of th sheet that you can save in Reader. Until this morning when I came across the SSA-X sheet at http://www.ssa-x2.com/products/X2/charsheet/index.shtml did I even know that it was possible to create a sheet you could save in Reader. Alas the Reader version doesn't calculate base attack and save bonuses or skill points, which makes it far less useful for me. (I don't know if the Acrobat version makes these calculates or not.)


Tarlane wrote:

There is a free pdf reader called 'foxit' that allows you to save pdf documents that have changes in them. Might want to give that a try.

Linky

Rats! I looks like they don't have a Mac version. :-(


Uzziel the Angel wrote:
Salama wrote:
Can you fill that sheet and save it in Acrobat reader? I've made a fillable sheet, but I can only save it in Acrobat professional. Acrobat reader only let me print it...
That is a very good question. Currently you cannot save it in Reader. (I just downloaded the most current version of Reader, 8.1.2 for the Mac, and you can't save the Singin' Sheet in that version either.) I just got a message from one of the authors of the Singin' Sheet about perhaps doing one for the Pathfinder pdf, so I asked him about creating a version of th sheet that you can save in Reader. Until this morning when I came across the SSA-X sheet at http://www.ssa-x2.com/products/X2/charsheet/index.shtml did I even know that it was possible to create a sheet you could save in Reader. Alas the Reader version doesn't calculate base attack and save bonuses or skill points, which makes it far less useful for me. (I don't know if the Acrobat version makes these calculates or not.)

Wow. That's very interesting. I'd very much like to know how they accomplished that. I have to look in to that when I get to my work computer...


The Singin' Sheet is the best. It is the only sheet I use. I sing its praises wherever I go. It has achieved the perfect balance of being entirely flexible while providing auto-calculations where you really want them.

If the Singin' Sheet were a ninja, it could totally flip out and kill everyone.

Scarab Sages

Plastic Ninja of Death wrote:
If the Singin' Sheet were a ninja, it could totally flip out and kill everyone.

Except Chuck Norris, of course.

That said, we were just talking this evening at our weekly gaming session about a character creator program. I personally use a highly configurable Excel spreadsheet program by someone I can't remember at the moment... :) It's excellent, though.

If you do have plans for this, Paizo, please, for the love of all that is holy, don't make it some kind of bulky java silliness... java was developed so your toaster could talk to your refrigerator... not for making characters. :)


Uzziel the Angel wrote:
If, however, you were to create an automatic calculating character sheet of a quality comparable to the Singin' Sheet, I would find the conversion much easier and would be much, much more likely to convert to the Pathfinder rules.

I'd even settle for a simple print and write sheet to get me started. Frankly, this is the biggest obsticle I've encountered in trying to start using 3P.A in my game. Using white-out on half the skills would be a pain, but the other option is to write out all the stats on notebook paper.

Any chance you might give us something to work with here? Quick and dirty is fine.


Conway, Plastic Ninja of Death wrote:

The Singin' Sheet is the best. It is the only sheet I use. I sing its praises wherever I go. It has achieved the perfect balance of being entirely flexible while providing auto-calculations where you really want them.

If the Singin' Sheet were a ninja, it could totally flip out and kill everyone.

My choice for a powerful auto-calculation Character Sheet is TOS+:

TOS+ ( http://theonlysheet.com ), has an implementation of the stacking rules, it is extremely customizable (you could make a sword that would allow you to manifest as a 4th level Psion!) and it has the ability to activate effects dynamically. For example, type "Haste" and the character is automatically updated with ALL the effects of Haste.

The next update will feature automated Gestalts: Select 2 classes, and it will automatically create the Gestalt out of these two classes.

I have yet to see a Sheet as powerful as TOS+.... See the video section here for what it can do: http://theonlysheet.com/video/howto_index.htm

And the community around TOS+ is very helpful and very friendly!

R


Thanks for the link man .


Khartan wrote:


I'd even settle for a simple print and write sheet to get me started. Frankly, this is the biggest obsticle I've encountered in trying to start using 3P.A in my game. Using white-out on half the skills would be a pain, but the other option is to write out all the stats on notebook paper.

Any chance you might give us something to work with here? Quick and dirty is fine.

Here are some fan-made sheets, to get you started

alpha character sheet


Salama wrote:
Khartan wrote:


I'd even settle for a simple print and write sheet to get me started. Frankly, this is the biggest obsticle I've encountered in trying to start using 3P.A in my game. Using white-out on half the skills would be a pain, but the other option is to write out all the stats on notebook paper.

Any chance you might give us something to work with here? Quick and dirty is fine.

Here are some fan-made sheets, to get you started

alpha character sheet

You are wonderful! Thank you SO much!!


sheetmonkey to the rescue =)

I think it's great we already have few different sheets to choose from. Awesome that people are sharing.

Community / Forums / Archive / Pathfinder / Playtests & Prerelease Discussions / Pathfinder Roleplaying Game / Alpha Playtest Feedback / General Discussion / Calculating Character Sheet All Messageboards
Recent threads in General Discussion