Advanced Character Sheet

[disco54]

My friends and I have been playing D&D for years now, and it's been great to play online now that we live in different states. Fantasy Grounds is a great product, but it does not facilitate high-level play.

I am developing a character sheet for high-level D&D play, and I'd like to share it with the community. I am posting a working version, but it is untested. I'd like feedback in order to make it a stronger mod.

Please refrain from giving me copyright lectures. If I'm stepping on someones legal toes, they can serve me with a cease and desist and I'll pull my post. Until then, I'd appreciate it if the brainy smurfs of FG would resist the urge to be the reluctant bearers of bad news.

I tried to keep the spirit of the original FG design intact. To that end I did my best to duplicate the fonts, style and layout of the original FG character sheet. I kept as much of the original FG sheet intact, choosing to expand it, rather than completely re-do it.

I removed the tabbing because it was annoying to map the tabbing pattern, and I never used the tabbing. I don't know if it's a big deal, but that could matter to somebody.

I added a lot more modifier fields, especially for calculating AC, saves, attacks and other combat-oriented numbers. In fact, I added a whole new combat sheet. It might seem excessive unless you've played in very high-level game. If you plan to DM for high-level characters, you'll love the advanced mini.

I tried to map the values of the original sheet to the values of the new sheet so that you could convert an existing campaign to the advanced campaign. Some of the fields don't map. Hit points and attributes are handled differently on the advanced sheet, and they don't map. I also found that converting a campaign to a new rule set can produce to frustrating bugs. I recommend starting a new campaign with any rule set.

These screenshots offer a comprehensive view of the character sheet mod. They are staged in the DM client, but it gives you an idea of how the sheet would work in a live game. The text on the sceen shots gives some additional commentary:

Player action shot: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/playerspread.jpg
DM action shot: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/dmspread.jpg

Biography sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/biography.jpg
Combat sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/combat.jpg
Buffs sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/buffs.jpg
Skills sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/skills.jpg
Spells I sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/spells1.jpg
Spells II sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/spells2.jpg
Feats sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/feats.jpg
Inventory sheet: https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/inventory.jpg

d20 Advanced Character Sheet
Download the mod: https://www.zipri.com/data/d20_Advanced.zip
Install to C: Program Files/Fantasy Grounds/rulesets/
Start a new campaign using the "d20_Advanced" ruleset

[Jozie]

Nice character sheet, but I did find one error and a wish to add.

Wish - The advance mini sheet is missing a Total Hit Points entry. Seems like it could fit and be useful right next to the current hit points entry.

Wounds on the mini sheet no longer exist in your new character sheet file. So you need to change it to be current hitpoints. I changed the code from:


<windowclass name="mini_charsheet">
<frame name="mini_charsheet" />
<datasource name="charsheet" />
<defaultsize width="209" height="93" />
<nodelete />
<playercontrol />
<sheetdata>
<stringcontrol name="name">
<bounds rect="17,13,121,20" />
<static />
</stringcontrol>
<numbercontrol name="ac">
<bounds rect="153,29,24,20" />
<nodrop />
<nodrag />
<noreset />
<source name="acdexbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acsizebonus" op="+" />
<source name="acarmorbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acshieldbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acmiscbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acbasehelper" valuemap="0:10" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="hp">
<bounds rect="17,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<noreset />
<dropoperation op="+" />
<tabtarget next="wounds" prev="subdual" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="wounds">
<bounds rect="57,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<dropoperation op="+" />
<hideonvalue value="0" />
<tabtarget next="subdual" prev="hp" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="subdual">
<bounds rect="97,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<hideonvalue value="0" />
<tabtarget next="hp" prev="wounds" />
</numbercontrol>
</sheetdata>
</windowclass>

to:


<windowclass name="mini_charsheet">
<frame name="mini_charsheet" />
<datasource name="charsheet" />
<defaultsize width="209" height="93" />
<nodelete />
<playercontrol />
<sheetdata>
<stringcontrol name="name">
<bounds rect="17,13,121,20" />
<static />
</stringcontrol>
<numbercontrol name="ac">
<bounds rect="153,29,24,20" />
<nodrop />
<nodrag />
<noreset />
<source name="acdexbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acsizebonus" op="+" />
<source name="acarmorbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acshieldbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acmiscbonus" op="+" />
<source name="acbasehelper" valuemap="0:10" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="hp">
<bounds rect="17,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<noreset />
<dropoperation op="+" />
<tabtarget next="currenthp" prev="subdual" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="currenthp">
<bounds rect="57,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<dropoperation op="+" />
<hideonvalue value="0" />
<tabtarget next="subdual" prev="hp" />
</numbercontrol>
<numbercontrol name="subdual">
<bounds rect="97,47,34,23" />
<nodrag />
<hideonvalue value="0" />
<tabtarget next="hp" prev="currenthp" />
</numbercontrol>
</sheetdata>
</windowclass>

This made it work for me.

[wavecutter]

Please refrain from giving me copyright lectures. If I'm stepping on someones legal toes, they can serve me with a cease and desist and I'll pull my post. Until then, I'd appreciate it if the brainy smurfs of FG would resist the urge to be the reluctant bearers of bad news.

I'm glad someone finally said it. Good work by the way.

[disco54]

I agree. I'll start a list of fixes and changes.

[disco54]

Thanks. If you end up using it, let me know what other features you'd like to see.

[Jozie]

I really enjoy the sheet. I did have to correct the quickspell slots though. You have them pointing to the wrong one. Spelllist 1 was pointing at quickspell slot 2, and vise versa. I corrected the code and even added a new png for the quickspell to label the slots. Now when I open the quickspell slot it says Spellslot 1 or 2. makes it easier to read.

Let me know if you need the code I switched.

Again, great work.

[kalmarjan]

Would there be a way to add something to this sheet for Mounts/Familiars/Cohorts? Would it just be another tab with a quickslot as well?

Kalmarjan

[Cypher]

I second the request for an animal companion tab.

[mr_h]

I like the mini sheets, lots of useful information:)

Stupid question: Is there a way to make it so you can have one mini sheet open, but 'scroll' through it to see each player? I hate having three mini sheets open for my PC's....it'd be nice to have one with arrows at the top to move to the next PC, or back to the previous...

[kalmarjan]

You could always drag the icon to open the mini sheet to your hot key bar... works like a charm for me...

Sandeman

[mr_h]

I did not know I could do that....thanks for the tip :)

[disco54]

Thanks. I'll fix the spell slots. It's on the do-to list.

[disco54]

Would there be a way to add something to this sheet for Mounts/Familiars/Cohorts?

I thought about that too, but I didn't have time to put it together. For now there is a big text box on the Biography sheet for companions.

Adding a sheet for Mounts/Familiars/Cohorts presents some problems. It needs to work for all those types of companions, and it's possible to have multiple companions. A sheet like that could get complicated very fast.

[disco54]

Is there a way to make it so you can have one mini sheet open, but 'scroll' through it to see each player? I hate having three mini sheets open for my PC's....it'd be nice to have one with arrows at the top to move to the next PC, or back to the previous...

As far as I can tell each character sheet is isolated from every other sheet. There is no way that I know of to hop from one sheet to the other.

We get scripting in the next FG release, so maybe we can start doing this kind of manipulation with scripting. It's a great idea.

For now Kal's solution is very good: Drag each mini-sheet button to the QB.

[Wraith]

I think that if this had just one sheet for a animal companion or familiar that characters start with I would love and use this sheet but it doesn't need to be an endless sheet for every possible cohort would be unnecessary and uncalled for. Just so characters can have a place to put their familiar is my biggest concern.

[disco54]

I think that if this had just one sheet for a animal companion or familiar that characters start with I would love and use this sheet but it doesn't need to be an endless sheet for every possible cohort would be unnecessary and uncalled for. Just so characters can have a place to put their familiar is my biggest concern.

I'll look into adding a "Companion" sheet. It should be detailed enough to hold all the information a stat block would have, and it could have its' own mini.

For now there is a section on the "Biography" page that will accept straight typing, so you can enter as much data as you want (it scrolls automatically if you run out of space), and space it out however you like.

I realize this isn't a very formal solution, but at least there is a space for that info.

https://www.zipri.com/data/screens/biography.jpg

[garibaldi]

Do you have the latest upgrade of you character sheet? I'ld like to take a look at it, if its ok.

[disco54]

Do you have the latest upgrade of you character sheet? I'ld like to take a look at it, if its ok.

I have been logging suggestions, but I haven't made any changes to the original posting.

[kalmarjan]

Would you be able to do something like this?

Consumables Sheet (Needs acrobat reader (https://www.d20srd.org/downloads/consumablesLogExample.pdf)

Perhaps it could be put into the Items Tab.

Also, in the buffs page, there is this that is also cool:
Character Conditions sheet (Needs acrobat) (https://www.d20srd.org/downloads/statusLogExample.pdf)

For these sheets, a number control simular to the ones used in the NPC sheet would work out well.

If you needed help with the graphics portion of this, I could tip my hat in, if you would take care of the XML. Would be very cool indeed.


Sandeman

[disco54]

Would you be able to do something like this: Consumables Sheet. Perhaps it could be put into the Items Tab.

Also, in the buffs page, there is this that is also cool: Character Conditions sheet

Quote edited for brevity.

Both of those are great sheets, if a bit complicated.

Buffs sheet is intended to track time on a buff (counting time time left or end-time). It does not track uses left however.

The Combat sheet can handle a lot of types of buffs (but not each specifically), and the Buffs sheet can handle durations as I mentioned above.

Your sheets are a great idea, but I'm also looking for ways to keep the data entry somewhat general so that the character sheet can be used in many types of ways.

I'll try to incoporate your sheets into my next revision where I can fit them, but please feel free to take any work I've done, and make it your own. Most of the XML "programming" is simply mapping the X Y pixel coordinates of entry fields. there are a few how-to guides in the forums as well.

[kalmarjan]

Just a silly question:

Is it possible to have a hotlink that opens up into another window, like the advanced sheet?

To save space, I was thinking it would be possible to add a hotlink for the Character Conditions sheet, and have the total values mapped out to the entries in the character sheet.

I don't know if that gets too advanced, but it could be easier to input everything in, then map it out.

As for XML, I have basic knowledge, but I have no real idea about the charactersheet creation. I can make graphics, but I am hopeless when it comes to making the numbercontrols and stuff. :)

Sandeman

[disco54]

Is it possible to have a hotlink that opens up into another window, like the advanced sheet?

Yes it is possible to do that. It's a good idea. The only reservation I have is reverse-input. For example, say you input several types of armor class bonuses in the Advanced Character Conditions sheet. Some of these bonuses stack together in the "other" bonus field on the main sheet. No problem there, but say a user doesn't want all that detail, and just enters a combined bonus in the "other" field, ignoring the Advanced Character Conditions sheet. You'd get that little correction bubble above the "other" field because the field would still be mapping to a combination of several bonuses on the Advanced Character Conditions sheet.

I suppose I could add "advanced" bonus fields on the main sheets to represent combined bonuses from the Advanced Character Conditions sheet. that way a user could still use the "other" field normally.

The best character sheet will ultimately allow player to be as detailed or specific as they need to be. It should be flexible so it helps the player, instead of forcing the player to enter certain information.

[kalmarjan]

Okay, What can I do to help?

Sandeman

[disco54]

Okay, What can I do to help?

I haven't had time to work on the sheet, and I have a couple big conventions coming up. It is unlikely that I will get much time to work on this project over the next few months. the files are posted, so download and modify them if you want. I just will not have any time to collaborate for quite a while.

[sphilps]

love the sheet, the only thing I can see that it's really missing is a good spell minisheet. I'm playing a heavy spellcaster, and while it's better than paper, FG is really lacking in the spellcaster range.

A sheet with a bonus spells slot, wands, scrolls, as well as class specialties, etc. would be AWESOME! Other than that crazy request of mine, I'm loving it!

Oh... and languages spoken.

[disco54]

love the sheet, the only thing I can see that it's really missing is a good spell minisheet.

I agree. As you can see, all I have done is create a second basic spellsheet to accomdate a second spellcasting class. I happen to be a big fan of the Mystic Thurge, so I feel your pain here. If I can find the time (and space), I'd like to include a lot more information on the spell sheets including most of your suggestions.

[sphilps]

Awesome! Like I said, really loving your sheet, just a few suggestions! :D

[disco54]

I returned to do some more work on the advanced character sheet, but it looks like V2 of Fantasy Grounds will not be backwards compatible. For that reason I'm not going to do any more work until I find out what they will be giving us with V2.

Thanks for all the suggestions. If FG fails to provide some measure of usability then I will probably rebuild this modification in the new version. I'll incorporate all your great ideas in that version.

[Jingo]

Hey Disco this sheet looks really nice! I would love to use it in my adventure I'm running, but I'm already using the DA's complete SRD ruleset. How can I get this to work with that ruleset?

[disco54]

Hey Disco this sheet looks really nice! I would love to use it in my adventure I'm running, but I'm already using the DA's complete SRD ruleset. How can I get this to work with that ruleset?

Unfortunately you can't combine rulesets. Hopevully FG v2 with it's scripting will provide a way to add mods that only change one-or-two aspects of the ruleset, so that you can mix-and-match mods to get the ruleset you want.

[Illrigger]

I've actually gotten it working with the CSRD with very little effort; however, certain crucial fields don't line up quite right. If you're working from a blank campaign, it's doable, but you can't really upgrade a campaign in progress.

[disco54]

...but you can't really upgrade a campaign in progress.

You'd think working with the XML that changes to the XML would only change the way information displays, but I haven't been able to make (significant) modifications to an existing campain without some bugs appearing. Unfortunately the source code for FG is not editable. This is one of the things I hope FG improves in the next version -the ability to modify an ongoing campaign without serious problems.

Connectivity is another big issue, but I think plenty of people on the boards have posted on connectivity already.

[Jingo]

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to get it to work with an existing campaign with existing characters. It looks like a brand new campaign would work. From my tests, this doesn't look quite possible without some modification as I noticed all the Abilities were all at -5. Oh well. Maybe with v2.0. When it comes out... :D

[disco54]

...all the Abilities were all at -5.

By default all the ability modifiers will list as -5 because in D20 3.5 a "0" ability score yields a modifier of -5.

[water_prophet]

I second the request for an animal companion tab.

I third the request!!! My druid would be most grateful.

[disco54]

I third the request!!! My druid would be most grateful.

I'm waiting on the next version of FG. It's not going to be backwards-compatible, so I'm not wasting any time upgrading this version. Sorry :(

[kalmarjan]

I've actually gotten it working with the CSRD with very little effort; however, certain crucial fields don't line up quite right. If you're working from a blank campaign, it's doable, but you can't really upgrade a campaign in progress.

Believe it or not, I did just this. You have to do things the old fashioned way. Take a screenie of each character sheet, and enter in the things yourself. Better yet, have your players do it for you.

Sandeman

[Stuart]

I may have misunderstood the thread here ... I switched my campaign from the original default character sheets to the "improved character sheet" by Darkstar (hosted at DA) with no problems and no retyping. All 20 characters were fine - no re-typing needed at all.

[Zakarius]

This is a great character sheet, disco54 -- bravo. I'm new to FG but was really disappointed with the lack of info in their normal character sheet. My own upcoming campaign is pretty-low level and low magic, however, so I took the liberty of altering the combat sheet in PhotoShop to necessitate some of the house rules I'm using (like Vitality & Wound points system instead of HP, half of armor as DR, etc.).

[ldyparadox99]

I've used this sheet for 3 sessions now, and it fits the d20 system we're using perfectly with a little editing to the graphic to fit the rules.

It's true that if you plug it into an existing campaign, you're going to lose most if not all character information. So if you don't have a hard copy of your sheets stored somewhere (I keep hard copies of each character as they level on an excel sheet), I don't recommend switching over mid-campaign.

A heartfelt thanks though! This saved me tons of work in having to re-invent the wheel and make my own sheet for this game system. ;)

[disco54]

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

I can't believe FG has not released 2.0 yet. I have a feeling we'll be waiting a bit longer, and dammit if they make us pay for an 'upgrade'. Sorry about the rant, but it's relevant.

I'm going to start implementing the fixes suggested in this thread. Originally I was going to wait for FG 2.0 because it was going to be incompatible with earlier versions, but seeing as were going to be waiting a while, I'll just get right on the fixes for my character sheet for this version.

I'll post as soon as I have something useful.

[Zakarius]

I'm assuming you made the originals in PhotoShop, right? If so, how would you feel about making them available to the public so those of us with the PhotoShop know-how could replace the original paper/paprus with other types of skins?

I didn't take the time to do this (since it would basically mean completely rebuilding the character sheets' images from scratch) but I did do it for some of my reference materials. I used a white marble for background since my campaign is an underdark game which involves mostly dwarves & gnomes.

[Kilahm]

I love your character sheet, and have been using it since I bought FG. Like others, I've modified it slightly to accommodate house rules.

I'm just wondering if you're still working on this project, and if so what you've come up with recently. I would be interested in assisting you on this project as it got me interested in the XML as well as the graphical work.

[disco54]

I was going to wait for the new version of FG before making any changes, but the devs are dragging their feet. I'm all for giving the dev team time to "get it right", but it's been a long time, and previous patches were there to fix gaping holes (and there are still game-crashing bugs). I'm working with what amounts to an unfinished product. 1.x is like a beta, and 2.0 seems like it will be the 1.0. I wouldn't have the criticism except that I paid as much as a I'd pay for a retail game. This isn't Open RPG. This software should be solid for that kind of cash. End rant.

I'm making some changes based on recommendations posted in the thread. I've got most of them incorporated. The adding a fully detailed sheet for cohort/companion is a bit tough though.

I'm thinking of how to make it so multiple cohorts could be added. Think along the lines of the spells sheet. Imagine adding to a list of companions that could each be opened into a complete new character panel. Each of those companions could have infinite companions as well. The other option is to somehow set it up so that one player could spawn multiple separate characters. I don't know how that would be possible the way the software is set up now. It would be more elegant than "nested" characters, I think.

Some of you have mentioned that you modified my mod. Can you post about what you modified? I'd also be interested in knowing what you don't use in the mod -what could be left out.

It will be difficult to share the work with anyone else, but all the offers of help are appreciated. What I can do is post a set of the graphics files, and maybe someone could produce some alternate themes based on the "vanilla" versions.

[Griogre]

The beta for 2.0 has finality started and the new character sheet has many more tabs. I would expect a general release around the start of the year or so - just a guess.

[disco54]

Go figure. Anybody monitoring the post have a beta copy? What is in it already? Should I even bother revamping my mod?

[ldyparadox99]

You know the moment you start revamping your sheet...2.0 will be released. :D

[Toadwart]

The ability to have multiple characters per player is working nicely in the beta and that may make life easier for you. Rather than having separate areas on the sheet for cohorts they can be created as full blown characters. You might even be able to customise the charactersheet so it can take different 'forms' changing to suit the type of character (e.g. an animal companion charactersheet may look very different to that of a hireling)

Personally, I'd hang out for FGII as it will be easier to do some of your modifications in that version.

Griogre's guestimate as to a possible release date sounds about right to me but nothings certain...

[Oberoten]

Have to second Toadwart here. It doesn't seem as if the work on a new charsheet with several places for extra chars will be needed with FG II once it is released.

[Kilahm]

The modifications I made were to include spellpoints into the spell sheets, as well as add a list of cohorts/followers/animal companions. I did exactly what you were thinking, making a simple mini-sheet like graphic with all the stats needed for the companion/cohort, then created a listcontrol so you can have any number of companions you wish. There are still some formatting issues I need to work out, but it's functional for the most part.

I felt this method is exactly like it is handled on actual paper character sheets, except you can put more info on each companion, and you can handle any number of companions.

[neceros]

The ability to have multiple characters per player is working nicely in the beta and that may make life easier for you. Rather than having separate areas on the sheet for cohorts they can be created as full blown characters. You might even be able to customise the charactersheet so it can take different 'forms' changing to suit the type of character (e.g. an animal companion charactersheet may look very different to that of a hireling)

Personally, I'd hang out for FGII as it will be easier to do some of your modifications in that version.

Griogre's guestimate as to a possible release date sounds about right to me but nothings certain...

Two questions.
1.) Will I be able to upgrade from FG1, since I just bought it yesterday?
2.) Is there an ETA for FG2?

[Kilahm]

You will be able to upgrade to version 2 for free (or at least that's what I've seen on these forums).

ETA is when it gets done. Many posts have been made about version 2 coming soon, so I generally ignore them. I'll get excited again when I see news that version 2 has been released.
:square:

[arcath]

I agree.

from what i can read, he stoped working on this because he though version 2 was around the corner.

yeah, now it probilly actually is, but untill we know for sure, i actually hope he finishes this new character sheet.

with no solid version 2 info, its all just here say.

::shrugs::

[lucyanor]

Some months later and while still no FG2 final date is anounced, dare I ask if you have done any new version of your fantastic Character Sheet? I would be more then keen to download it and use it, especially since the way I see things (and especially since there was not FG2 launch at Icon which was what I kind of hoped/expected) we may be looking to a few good months ahead of us.
So yo sum up all this, if you have a latest update please post.

[disco54]

Smite Works has been teasing me. They took out full-page ads in Dragon and Dungeon announcing FG2. I just know if I fix up my sheet, they will finally release FG2 like the next day.

Here's the good news: FG2 looks like it will have a lot of the features that I put in my sheets, as well as many other improvements that I did not or could not include. It should be definitely worth the wait.

[Culdraug]

I just know if I fix up my sheet, they will finally release FG2 like the next day.

Then by all means, release yours now :)