Character Sheet Feedback

#1

Hi ya’ll! Second post on here so please be gentle :slightly_smiling_face:

I was pretty active a few months back on the Gauntlet but life got in the way and I’m eager to get back into the groove. I’ve also been working on my own game for the last couple years and it’s finally ready to be play-tested which im very excited about. It’s also going to be my first time GMing on the Gauntlet so I’m a bit nervous too.

Anyhow, I’d love any feedback I can get on my current character sheet. The working title for the game right now is Archetype, btw. I had several design goals:

  • I wanted to keep it to 1 standard sheet of paper, back and front.
  • I wanted one side of it to be a source of roleplay inspiration (fluff) and the other to detail the mechanics (crunch).
  • I wanted good visual hierarchy and to keep it relatively uncluttered even with the space restriction.

You’ll probably get a sense for some of the rules of my game merely by glancing at the character sheet, so I’d love some feedback on that as well if you have any.

And lastly, a shameless plug: if checking out the link gets your role-play juices flowing, I’m running 4 sessions on Sundays in October with space and I’d love it if you could help me make my dreams become real, literally.

Thanks friends!

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yU4G0-GK36kuj-w8wJnEVaQVtr6T3wwG-W9V6W_jEXk/edit?usp=sharing

3 Likes
#2

I don’t know what game it’s for, it seems like you need a lot of complex modifiers for things like equipment so the small font and a lack of space to show what those modifiers do mechanically (it might be elsewhere on the sheet?) are perhaps an issue - hard to do when keeping the sheet small with a complex system.

Second, I don’t know about the fonts - the sort of Diesel-punk, pulp or jet-age italic font doesn’t read very cyberpunk to me. The small serif looks sort of typed dossier as well, so I would consider maybe finding some fonts that do a tiny bit of setting work for you?

1 Like
#3

I have to say your mastery of Google Sheets is pretty slick! Nice work!

1 Like
#4

overall i like it

most books/sheets stick to the rule of 3, 3 font types, 3 font sizes - this makes the reading flow rather than jerking your eye focus around.

4 Likes
#5

The equipment has “tags” which pretty much only keep track of item features, like at what range they’re useful as well as advantageous features (in green - might give bonus die in certain situations) and “flaws” (in red) which might be utilized by the GM when a player fails a roll. They’re pretty rules light and almost describe themselves.

As for the fonts, the game itself is totally setting agnostic; this just happens to be a cyber punk character but the game could play equally well in a fantasy or stone age setting so it’s hard to really do any font themes. I do agree with you, however, that the font choices aren’t my favorite. When I started designing the sheet there were only 10 or so fonts to choose from on Google Sheets and those were just the best of a list I wasn’t all too happy with.

#6

Good tip. Didn’t know that. Appreciate it.

#7

If you are using colors of recommend looking into color pallettes that are helpful to the color blind.

2 Likes
#8

Good work using light colors to separate the relevant sections. Some folks get over excited about using color to distinguish important details. Keep it minimal so that its easy for the user’s eyes to guide them to the info they need, when they want it.

#9

I’d say it’s coming together pretty well. You’ve got a lot to fit in there, so helping people find stuff quickly is key. I’d suggest

  • Try to get rid of the rotated headings. I know it’s a great way to save space, but it is hard for people to read.
  • Be as clear as you can in terms of what are headings, what are stats, and what are supporting text. I don’t know what ‘SP Total’ is, but the layout suggests it’s the single most important thing on the sheet. Is that really the case in play?