I've been quietly working on a new version of my character sheets for the new edition, and I'm finally ready to show off a preview.
Dyslexic Character Sheets for Second Edition - Preview
This is a work in progress, with numerous things still to fix. When completed, they'll be comparable to the existing character sheets:
- Unique design for each class
- Space for details of your ancestry, background, feats, ancestries etc
- Your character portrait, chosen from a wide selection or upload your own
- Extra pages for spellbooks, animal companions, and other things
- A whole section of Dungeon Master sheets, including NPCs and maps
- Print on either US Letter or A4 paper
- Translations into other languages
Q: Are these ready to play?
No. The game isn't even out yet!
Q: Are these for filling in on screen?
No, they're for printing filling in with a pencil. I'm keeping the option to fill them in on the screen available, but it's not my top priority.
Q: Can I see what other classes look like? Will you be releasing further previews?
Most of my previews are for patrons only. Those include other classes, and an inside look at the process.
Q: What will this cost me?
Like my Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5 sheets, these will be completely free. Eventually. Until then, patrons get early access.
Everything I do is open source, so you can get it on GitHub.
Q: Are you still adding content for Pathfinder 1e and Starfinder?
I'm probably not going to be adding much more to Pathfinder 1e, though I will be fixing bugs and keeping things running. None of my older sheets are going away.
I'm still adding to Starfinder.
Q: Are you working on any other games? Can I get sheets for D&D 5e?
No, I'm not working on character sheets any other games. Once my work on Pathfinder 2e is finished, I may look for more, but not until then.
These look awesome! I'm curious, though, what makes the sheets especially suitable for dyslexic players?
The only thing I can say is the ability score section needs some tweaking. It works for level 1, but it seems like you could easily squeeze in a few more slots for the level up bonuses.
The only thing I can say is the ability score section needs some tweaking. It works for level 1, but it seems like you could easily squeeze in a few more slots for the level up bonuses.
The step-by-step page for building characters is really designed for when you're first starting, so it doesn't really scale to higher levels. It doesn't have space for all the feats you could take past level one, for example. Is it enough to add a few columns to that table for level-up bonus, or would it need more serious revision?
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These look awesome! I'm curious, though, what makes the sheets especially suitable for dyslexic players?
It's just a name.
I do intend to take accessibility seriously, with high-contrast and large print options, alongside translations into other languages.
These look awesome! I'm curious, though, what makes the sheets especially suitable for dyslexic players?It's just a name.
I do intend to take accessibility seriously, with high-contrast and large print options, alongside translations into other languages.
There are special font faces that help dyslexic people read printed text better. If you're interested, you can find out more here.
The only thing I can say is the ability score section needs some tweaking. It works for level 1, but it seems like you could easily squeeze in a few more slots for the level up bonuses.The step-by-step page for building characters is really designed for when you're first starting, so it doesn't really scale to higher levels. It doesn't have space for all the feats you could take past level one, for example. Is it enough to add a few columns to that table for level-up bonus, or would it need more serious revision?
I think just a few extra columns would be fine. It looks amazing btw.
There are special font faces that help dyslexic people read printed text better. If you're interested, you can find out more here.These look awesome! I'm curious, though, what makes the sheets especially suitable for dyslexic players?It's just a name.
I do intend to take accessibility seriously, with high-contrast and large print options, alongside translations into other languages.
I've looked into them in the past. As that link says, the scientific evidence for those special fonts is shaky, and a clean sans-serif font is generally the best choice for a dyslexic reader.
The one I use for small type is Roboto Sans Condensed. I picked it for readability, since it's the one Google made for its phones. I avoid using italic fonts, which hinder readability.
Also, none of them support enough languages. I need Polish and Cyrillic support in any fonts I use. And I need them to be legal for me to distribute as part of a free, open-source project.
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The most important thing you can do to help dyslexic readers isn't anything to do with fonts, it's structural: avoid having long passages of text. One word isn't hard to read, but many words become a problem, so just don't use too many words. Most text on my character sheets is in the form of short labels, which should be fine.
I generally avoid simply copy-pasting passages of text from the book; and when I do reproduce rules from the book I mercilessly edit them for length, as well as rewording them to say "you". Where possible, a calculation or other visual element works better. So instead of eg "You gain a +1 bonus to X; this goes up at 3rd and every two levels beyond 3rd.", I have a calculation: [X bonus] = [level]/2.
Probably the longest uninterrupted piece of text is the copyright notice at the bottom - and I can't do a lot about that, legally.
As it happens, I have thought about dyslexia :D
Thank you so much for this, you’re an angel!
Probably worthwhile to move this to the 2nd ed forums, no?