Let's talk character sheets. It's no secret that everything about Numenera and Numenera 2 is awesome, except that the official character sheets that come with them are a bit "much". No question they are very pretty, but they're not very printer-friendly, are laid out (IMO) unintuitively, and have too many pages. I much prefer plainer, printer-friendly, black-and-white character sheets, single-page if possible.
Here, then, for your edification and enlightenment, is a collection of alternative, print-friendly, minimalist fan-made character sheets for Numenera.
Troy's Character Sheet
Some of the choices I made on this character sheet may require some explanation. Skills are not linked to stat pools on the character sheets (they way they are on most other character sheets) because skills are not necessarily inherently associated with a stat pool. Perhaps most are, but (for example) melee attacks can use either Might or Speed. Other skills may use a different stat pool than whatever their normal one is depending on how the skill is applied (e.g. perhaps you are watching a recording of two sword-wielding combatants going at it and are trying to analyze their fighting moves for some reason; with a situation like that the GM might allow you to apply your trained skill with bladed weapons, but it is nevertheless an Intellect roll.) On the other hand, even if a skill is tightly coupled to a particular stat pool, it will probably be obvious/common-sense which one it is (e.g. the Speed Defense skill is associated with the Speed pool, not terribly hard to remember). So, I don't really see the point of separating Might, Speed, and Intellect skills from each other, or having a Pool column for each skill.
The other unusual thing on my character sheet is the "A" and "A2" columns under skills, an idea I "borrowed" from Ryan Beller's character sheet below. These stand for Asset and Second Asset. Having a quick way to mark that you have a permanent or semi-permanent Asset (such as a shield) associated with a particular skill seems like a handy reference. For example, say you have Training in Speed Defense (from your "Impulsive" Descriptor, let's say) and also carry a shield. In the Skills, Inabilities, and Assets section, you'd write Speed Defense and circle (or X or whatever), the (Tr) for Training and the (A) for an Asset, allowing you to see at a glance that you have both Training and one Asset normally available for that skill roll. (You would also write in the shield under Other Equipment.) Or, if you have a long-lasting cypher that grants a double asset on a particular skill check, (e.g. the Time Dilation Node), instead of just hoping you remember, you can mark off the (A) and (A2) on the appropriate line and then erase it when the cypher fades. I feel like the Asset columns add a lot of value even though they might be considered redundant.
If you don't like having Asset columns in the Skills and Inabilities section, the older version of my character sheet is still available as well.
Ryan Beller's Character Sheet
This one is several pages, but it is simple and printer-friendly. Certainly it is a lot less cramped than my own character sheet. If you are wondering about the "1-25" stat pool rows, the layout of this character sheet is designed to be used behind a clear paper-protector and marked off with wet/dry erase. (Or I suppose you could use a small counter such as a centimeter cube and slide it to the left and right to track each pool.) Additionally, the "A" columns under "Training" are Assets-- in case that isn't clear-- the same as in mine (indeed, I stole that idea from this character sheet).
Otherwise everything else on that character sheet should be pretty self-explanatory.
Bryan Lott's Character Sheet
This is another single-page design. It is, I think, the most attractive-looking printer-friendly Numenera character sheet out there (at least that I know of). It doesn't have Asset columns under skills, but it does have columns for costs and an Action/Enabler column under Special Abilities, (marked "A/E") which is handy. The trade-off is that with more stuff per line it has fewer total lines for stuff. Note that the creator of this character sheet seems to subscribe to the Multiple "Other Options" Theory of character advancement and the sheet reflects that. (I also subscribe to that theory, but I tried to make my character sheet usable for those who interpret the rules as allowing only one "Other Option" per character advancement Tier.) Also, its summary of Other Options has not been updated for second edition. Nevertheless, it is a fine character sheet.
If you know of other print-friendly Numenera character sheets out there, feel free to post a link to said character sheet in the comments. (And allow me to say "character sheet" one more time for search engine ranking purposes haha. Character sheets!)
Here, then, for your edification and enlightenment, is a collection of alternative, print-friendly, minimalist fan-made character sheets for Numenera.
Troy's Character Sheet
Some of the choices I made on this character sheet may require some explanation. Skills are not linked to stat pools on the character sheets (they way they are on most other character sheets) because skills are not necessarily inherently associated with a stat pool. Perhaps most are, but (for example) melee attacks can use either Might or Speed. Other skills may use a different stat pool than whatever their normal one is depending on how the skill is applied (e.g. perhaps you are watching a recording of two sword-wielding combatants going at it and are trying to analyze their fighting moves for some reason; with a situation like that the GM might allow you to apply your trained skill with bladed weapons, but it is nevertheless an Intellect roll.) On the other hand, even if a skill is tightly coupled to a particular stat pool, it will probably be obvious/common-sense which one it is (e.g. the Speed Defense skill is associated with the Speed pool, not terribly hard to remember). So, I don't really see the point of separating Might, Speed, and Intellect skills from each other, or having a Pool column for each skill.
The other unusual thing on my character sheet is the "A" and "A2" columns under skills, an idea I "borrowed" from Ryan Beller's character sheet below. These stand for Asset and Second Asset. Having a quick way to mark that you have a permanent or semi-permanent Asset (such as a shield) associated with a particular skill seems like a handy reference. For example, say you have Training in Speed Defense (from your "Impulsive" Descriptor, let's say) and also carry a shield. In the Skills, Inabilities, and Assets section, you'd write Speed Defense and circle (or X or whatever), the (Tr) for Training and the (A) for an Asset, allowing you to see at a glance that you have both Training and one Asset normally available for that skill roll. (You would also write in the shield under Other Equipment.) Or, if you have a long-lasting cypher that grants a double asset on a particular skill check, (e.g. the Time Dilation Node), instead of just hoping you remember, you can mark off the (A) and (A2) on the appropriate line and then erase it when the cypher fades. I feel like the Asset columns add a lot of value even though they might be considered redundant.
If you don't like having Asset columns in the Skills and Inabilities section, the older version of my character sheet is still available as well.
Ryan Beller's Character Sheet
This one is several pages, but it is simple and printer-friendly. Certainly it is a lot less cramped than my own character sheet. If you are wondering about the "1-25" stat pool rows, the layout of this character sheet is designed to be used behind a clear paper-protector and marked off with wet/dry erase. (Or I suppose you could use a small counter such as a centimeter cube and slide it to the left and right to track each pool.) Additionally, the "A" columns under "Training" are Assets-- in case that isn't clear-- the same as in mine (indeed, I stole that idea from this character sheet).
Otherwise everything else on that character sheet should be pretty self-explanatory.
Bryan Lott's Character Sheet
This is another single-page design. It is, I think, the most attractive-looking printer-friendly Numenera character sheet out there (at least that I know of). It doesn't have Asset columns under skills, but it does have columns for costs and an Action/Enabler column under Special Abilities, (marked "A/E") which is handy. The trade-off is that with more stuff per line it has fewer total lines for stuff. Note that the creator of this character sheet seems to subscribe to the Multiple "Other Options" Theory of character advancement and the sheet reflects that. (I also subscribe to that theory, but I tried to make my character sheet usable for those who interpret the rules as allowing only one "Other Option" per character advancement Tier.) Also, its summary of Other Options has not been updated for second edition. Nevertheless, it is a fine character sheet.
If you know of other print-friendly Numenera character sheets out there, feel free to post a link to said character sheet in the comments. (And allow me to say "character sheet" one more time for search engine ranking purposes haha. Character sheets!)
Character sheets!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, just what I needed today.
ReplyDelete