Review: Character Sheets, Landscape vs. Class
Character sheets are a necessity when playing D&D. You can't do without them. You might organize them online or, if you're old school like me and enjoy the tangible feel of paper, you print them out and fill them in. The purpose of a character sheet is to enable you, the player, to be able to keep track of all the necessary information and to be able to find it in a timely manner. Nobody wants to spend even a few unnecessary minutes flipping through all of their notes to find what that ability does for them or how that one spell works. This can get especially tiresome for DMs and other players who sit back and wait during the shuffle.
There are several character sheet options out there. If you want to go digital, you can always check out D&D Beyond - the official tool set for 5th edition. But if you want a tried and true paper sheet, you can check out the DMs Guild which has a plethora of sheet styles available for download.
Why so many choices? Don't they all do the same thing?
More or less. There are different choices because we exist in a community of creators, for starters, and many creators have attempted to design "better" character sheets - ones that look better and actually function better, i.e. make it easier and quicker for you as the player to find what you need to know.
I'm going to be doing a comparison of two downloadable character sheets. Why these two? Personally, I think they're a couple of the best options out there and, being markedly different from each other, they offer two vary different styles. We'll be checking out Millie Lavelle's Landscape Character Sheet and Emmet Byrne's Class Character Sheets.
For this comparison, I'll be using the sheets for my dwarven cleric, Vondal Caebrek, which means I'm using the Cleric specific sheets from Emmet's pack.
Landscape Character Sheets
The first thing that stands out about these sheets is of course what is hinted at in the title - they are landscape, as opposed to portrait, which in itself is a break from most character sheets out there. Before even looking at the layout, we get an immediate benefit from going landscape: space.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, lets take a look at all the pros and the cons of this design.
PROS
Saving Space. Gamers and dungeon masters who have reached an epic level in their geekdom might have the luxury of playing on a massive table in a wide basement room (dungeon?), with plenty of space for 3D terrain and large battlemaps. Most of us, however, are likely playing our games on relatively small dining room tables, with chairs squished together and not much room for both intricate maps and five or six sets of character sheets, dice, etc. Simply turning the sheet sideways means it won't cut into the centre of the table as much and will give the DM more space to lay out things for visualization. If you're playing exclusively theatre of the mind this won't matter, of course, so you can skip this point, but don't skip the sheet entirely just yet.
Navigation. Character sheets have to be easy to follow, especially for newer players who haven't memorized every single ability of their character just yet. Efficiency is key to keeping a game session running along smoothly. It's why we DMs tell our players to have their spells/actions/etc. planned out before their round in combat comes up. We all want to cut back on the time spent going over notes and get on with the gameplay itself. These sheets are very easy to navigate and are visually appealing as well. The most frequently used information is front and centre, with things such as AC and HP nice and bold. Essentially the pages break down into three categories: Combat Info, Roleplay Info, and Spell Info. Which leads into the next point.
Reallocation of Personality Info. The standard sheets from WotC has the personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws at the top right of the main (front) page, while the rest of the character's details are relegated to page 2. The landscape version bundles it all together on the same page, which honestly makes much more sense. If you're looking for something about your character's appearance, background, goals, etc., you go to page 2. It's a simple move but an effective one which organizes information a little better than the default layout.
Detailed Attacks. The standard sheets don't give much room for filling in your weapons, attacks. You can barely fit in the amount of damage, let alone the type, in the small box provided. These sheets flesh things out a little better. More room for the weapon's name (which comes in handy when using named magic items), a box for damage type, range, attack bonus, and plenty of room to record damage amounts. A few lines below each weapon give room for any special notes as well (loading, 2 handed, etc.). All in all, this layout makes keeping track of weapons and possible attacks a little easier.
CONS
Feats & Abilities. The standard sheets provide two sections for features, abilities, and traits - a sidebar along the first page and additional room on the second page. One of the complaints about the standard sheets is that there is very little room to record equipment. While it seems there was an opportunity to balance these two areas, the landscape sheets over-compensate by reducing the space for features to a small corner of the first sheet and almost tripling the equipment space. Any given character - especially at higher levels - is going to need more than a few lines for recording racial traits, class features, background abilities, feats, boons, etc. The large box in the centre of the first page could easily have been split in half, with one side for equipment and the other for abilities, with other treasure being moved to the right corner instead.
Page count. Now, I understand that for spellcasters using the standard sheets, they already need 3 pages. But I will always consider more than 2 pages a downside, since it inevitably creates more page flipping and time searching. If you are a spellcaster, you will need 3 pages using the landscape layout as well. In fact, there is no space given on either of the first two sheets for spellcasting at all, not even to record favourite or commonly used spells or quick cantrips.
The Spells Page. Essentially this is exactly like the portrait version only flipped sideways, so no changes from the standard sheets here. This is unfortunate. One thing missing from both is a simple little box that allows you to write down your number of spells per day, or even number of spells and cantrips known, depending on your class. Clerics, Druids, and Paladins all choose their number of spells per day based on their modifier and their level, meaning this will change as they level. Having somewhere to record this would be helpful and an easy addition to the spells page.
Overall
Despite a few setbacks, the landscape sheet is a very useful option, even for the space-saving feature alone. If you're looking for a simple alternative to the standard sheets that still has the same look and feel, give the landscape sheets a shot.
Class Character Sheets
One thing that limits standard character sheets is that they have to accommodate very different classes, each with different features and abilities and thus needing different things. Class-specific sheets allow for a fully customized experience using sheets that only include what your character needs and leaving out the rest. As mentioned above, I'll be looking specifically at the Cleric sheet for this review.
PROS
Detailed Abilities. Since these character sheets are specifically designed for each class, they list all of that classes special features and abilities gained at various levels on the first page. This saves a lot of time writing out every ability, especially the ones that apply to all characters of that class, regardless of subclass. For my cleric, I can fill out the specifics for my chosen domain (Forge), but things like Turn Undead and Divine Intervention, which don't change regardless of which domain you choose, are already printed out, saving me the hassle. Since my class is a caster, room is given on the first page to record my spell attack bonus and save DC, the number of slots I have, and even gives room for favourite spells and prepared spells and cantrips. Room at the top right of the page to list domain spells is handy as well, since they work differently from my character's regular spell slots.
Compact Design. My cleric only needs two pages using these class sheets, which is preferable to having multiple pages to flip through. A good amount of information is condensed into less space, and though it might feel a little cramped, it's still very usable and easy to navigate.Everything I need for combat, spells, checks, and abilities is all on one page, so little to no flipping is necessary for most of a session.
Check Boxes. It may seem like a simple thing, but having more check boxes makes it very easy to keep track of things, and these sheets have plenty. You can simply check off which weapons and armor you're proficient with (and write any specifics in the space provided) which is faster and nicer than needing to write it all out. Of course there are check boxes for spell slots and prepared spells as well for the Cleric, all on the first page.
Handling Equipment. I really like how the magic items and inventory are handled on these sheets. On the second page, there is a spot to record which items you currently have equipped in which slot, and an additional list of magic items below that, all with more check boxes to keep track of which items you're currently attuned to. Any other items can be listed in a nice-sized area on the right side of the page.
CONS
Reduced Roleplay Elements. One of the major downsides is that the space used to record background information and character notes has been greatly reduced. There are only three blocks, one for background, and two much smaller ones for allies and enemies. It gives the impression that non-combat is not at important to the game, something I tend to disagree with. Not giving players space to flesh out the details of their characters might actually hinder some players from doing just that, resulting in PCs with less depth. There is nowhere to record a character's religion (which seems especially odd for a Cleric), and no room for any additional notes that may pertain to the character specifically or even just the campaign in general.
Still no "spells per day". This is just a small one but one that stands out for me. Especially on a sheet that is designed for a class that relies on a certain number of spells per day, having somewhere to record that would seem... obvious. Instead, you'd have to write it in the margins or somewhere else - not ideal.
Skills Organization. Okay, this one is just a personal preference, I will admit, but I do fine the way the skills are grouped to be problematic. The standard character sheets have two versions - one which groups all of the saving throws together and all skills together, and one which, like the class specific sheets, puts both saves and skills with the ability they are connected to. Personally, I find it much easier to navigate when checks of a certain type are grouped together. Need to make a saving throw? You know exactly where on your page you need to look, because they're all together. And with the skills grouped together alphabetically, they're easier to find as well. Again, this one is just a matter of personal preference, but I do prefer it another way.
Conclusion
Personally, though I really do like the space-saving feature of the landscape design, I'd go with the class-specific sheet, but I would recommend either as a good option for somebody looking for a different way to organize their character. Both designs have many good qualities, and both have a few things that could perhaps use some tweaking. You can find these designs on the DMs Guild using the links below.
Happy Gaming.
Landscape Character Sheets by Millie Lavelle
Class Character Sheets by Emmet Byrne
