I figured that, for the second game, my party could graduate to 'light' character sheets.
I don't want to submerge them in rules, but they've proven they can handle more than I originally expected.
My goal is to give them numbers that they can use right off the bat - no need to do maths. If they look for the initiative bonus, I want them to see the number '5' - no need for "dex + 1/2 level + misc" - I've done that already.
Applying the same idea to the core stats they can use and removing all other information, I figured I could cram a condensed character sheet to about a third of a page and still make it so moving to the full, standard, character sheet will feel natural later on.
What I elected to keep is:
- Character and Player name - because we need to know who the sheet is for!
- Level, Total XP, Max HP, Current HP - level & xp are cool things to see it's the progress meter as well as the 'version number' of the character.
- Initiative bonus, ability scores and mod - I keep the score because, on the first game, they really enjoyed looking at the scores and compare themselves to one another
- Defense scores
- Skill bonuses
- Attack/power workspace
Turns out I can really place three such light char sheets on a single page. I even have some room to spare.
I haven't tested them and the second game is still weeks to come (I'm getting a second baby first).
Still, I'd love for you to take a look at it and let me know what you think: charsheet-light-page.pdf
