What Are All These Boxes? (Reading Character Sheets Part 2)
- Tanner Jensen
- Oct 25, 2017
- 6 min read
Hello again. Unfortunately for you, character sheets aren't just a bunch of numbers; they're also a bunch of empty boxes. That's right, there's yet more to learn, so hold on to your butts because today we're going to look at how to fill in who your character is. To start, let's look back at that character sheet we've been working on.
In my last post, we went over the majority of the math that goes into a character sheet: ability scores, proficiency bonuses, and everything those two numbers determine on your sheet.
You've probably noticed by now, and maybe even last time, that a big chunk of this sheet is still unexplored and unexplained. You may also notice that, ignoring the text currently in those boxes, they are much more open and less structured than the parts we went over last time. You're right, they are, and that's because for the most part those boxes will be as filled or ignored as you want them to be. Let's take a look at them.
Character
The first of these boxes, those on the top right, are where you will place some brief descriptions of your character's outlook on the world. Your character's Background (which we'll examine at a later time) will supply suggestions for most of these, but here are some basic descriptions and examples to give you an idea of what each section asks for.
Personality Traits
These are the characteristics unique to your character that make them stand out from other characters and NPCs. These can be past accomplishments, fears, likes and dislikes, mannerisms, or your character's perception of them-self. Ex:
I quote (or misquote) sacred texts and proverbs in almost every situation.
I fall in and out of love easily, and am always pursuing someone.
I misuse long words in an attempt to sound smarter.
Ideals
These are the founding principles of your character's moral code. They can be rules that you are resolved to never break, personal ambitions that your character strives to achieve, or any other principle or belief that drives your character to act. Ex:
Honor. If I dishonor myself, I dishonor my whole clan.
Respect. Respect is due to me because of my position, but all people regardless of station deserve to be treated with dignity.
Might. If l become strong, I can take what I want— what I deserve
Bonds
Bonds are your character's emotional and physical connections to places, institutions, and other characters within the game. They can be places you have worked at, people who have treated you well, a group of people you are sworn to protect, or the target of your revenge. Ex:
My honor is my life.
I sponsor an orphanage to keep others from enduring what I was forced to endure.
I am the last of my tribe, and it is up to me to ensure their names enter legend.
Flaws
As much as we might think that our character should be a flawless paragon of perfection, character flaw make characters much more interesting. These can be social ineptitude, addictions, a lack of knowledge, or even character traits that could make your interactions with other characters more difficult. It is important to have at least one flaw to give make your character feel more believable, and allow you more roleplay options. Ex:
If there's a plan, I'll forget it. Ill don't forget it, I'll ignore it.
Don't expect me to save those who can't save themselves. It is nature's way that the strong thrive and the weak perish.
I can't keep a secret to save my life, or anyone else's.
While there is no particular quota to meet for each of these characteristics, you should aim to have a minimum of 1 in each section. The more you add, the more detail you give to your character, and the easier it will be to have your character react to certain situations in a way that aligns with their interests, rather than your own. You are also not limited to just those suggested by your particular background; if you can come up with your own characteristic that fits one of the four characteristic categories, go for it.
Features/Traits
The biggest single box on this sheet, as you can see on the left, is the home of your traits, abilities, and features. This is where you can write down some of the abilities and passive traits of your character, which can come from your class, race, background, or items. It's essentially a big note for yourself on what your character is capable of, acting as both a reminder and a minor explanation depending on what information you want to add.
For example, maybe your character's race gives them the ability to see in the dark. Writing down the feature and the range, like in the image, can be a useful way of reminding yourself that you have the feature. This can be especially useful when the feature is one that you will not always be using, such as seeing in the dark or being resistant to a particular type of damage.
Treat this section like a piece of scratch paper where you can write down what you feel you need a reminder of. There's not that much room, so it's usually a good idea to play your character with either a Word document or notebook that has the full list and explanations of all your features and abilities. This space is really just for what you think you need the most help remembering.
Equipment
I might have told a wee lie earlier when I said that we were all done with math. The bright side though is that this is one bit of math most players care the most about; money. This section of the character sheet
covers your material possessions, money included. The big open space is reserved for whatever basic items you want to keep track of, like armor, tools, and personal effects. The smaller boxes on the side are for tracking your monetary wealth. From top to bottom, they are: Copper, Silver, Electrum, Gold, and Platinum. These coins all work off a metric system that can be seen below.
Some DM's make use of each of these currencies in tandem, and it will be important to keep track of how much of each coin you have in the appropriate boxes. Other DM's, myself included, treat gold as the standard coin and ignore the existence of anything smaller. This simplifies things a bit, and while some items may be a bit more expensive than they otherwise would be (paying for items that would normally be less than 1 gold coin gets tricky), the overall currency system runs much more smoothly for players and the DM.
This alternate system also allows you to re-purpose the boxes that are no longer being used. For example, bow users in my games have used one or two of those boxes to keep track of their arrows and bolts during combat. Others use them to track certain abilities that have limited uses. Still others simply leave the boxes blank. How you use these boxes depends partially on your DM, but feel free to get creative with how you want to use them.
Other Proficiencies
Lastly, at least on this sheet, we have the last of our proficiencies.
This section holds a list of any and all proficiencies you may have beyond your skills. These can be languages you can speak and read, tools (like Smith's tools or a lockpicking kit) you can use, weapons and armors you can wield/wear effectively, musical instruments you can play, or gaming sets you have experience with.
Proficiency in a particular tool or other item on this list is not necessary to be able to attempt an action involving one of them. Instead, the proficiency acts as an indicator that you are competent enough with the particular action/knowledge to be able to perform it without significant difficulty. Think of it this way: if you took two people, one who has experience playing the guitar and one who doesn't, and asked them to play a song on the guitar, the one with experience is going to have an easier time of it. That's not to say that he will automatically succeed at what he attempts, just that he will be able to use his experience to help him in the action. In other words, he is proficient in the action, but not a master.
These proficiencies will come mostly from your race, background, and class. Others may develop over the course of a campaign, either through magical items or gods granting you abilities or through careful study and training.
That'll wrap up the last of the basic info you'll need to understand and operate this particular side of a character sheet. The other two sides will be discussed a little later when we start going into actually building a character and explaining a few of the aspects of the character sheet that I glazed over. Thanks for reading, and as always if you have any questions feel free to contact me!
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