Getting Into Character: An RPG Character Questionnaire

Whether you are new to roleplaying or a storied veteran of the form, sometimes you need a little help getting into character.  Maybe you have a great concept for a character that you need to flesh out, or maybe you have a character you know intimately but want to view from a different angle.  Inspired by exercises authors use to get into the minds of their characters and that actors use to get into their roles, I have created a short questionnaire to flesh out your RPG character.

Go beyond the usual 'race, class, height, weight, hair, etc.' on your character sheet and delve into your adventurer's personality, background, and physical features.  Some questions (like "Where or with whom do they feel most as home?") are broad, allowing you room to expand and interpret your character's nuances.  Others (like "What would a demon lord try to tempt them with?") are more specific, designed to get you to explore aspects of your character that you might not otherwise think of during character creation.  One word answers are discouraged; instead of "What color is their hair?" it asks you to "Describe their hair," opening the door not just to color but to texture, smell, thickness, style preferences, and more.  The goal is to fully realize your character physically, emotionally, and mentally, making roleplaying easier and more rewarding - and more fun!

Read the questionnaire below or click here to download it from my patreon in pdf or docx formats!

Initiative Tracker: Manage Encounters with One Simple Sheet

Download the PDF HERE.  Works with Pathfinder, D&D, and probably other d20 RPGs.

There are tons of ways to track your players' initiative in combat, from note cards to apps to those cool magnetic dry-erase boards.  I tend to write it all down on a sheet of notebook paper, but recently I've been thinking I could do better.  This initiative tracker (available as an easily printable PDF from the above link) is a cleaner, sleeker version of what I've been writing down in my grubby old notebook.  It's what I'll be using from now on, and I thought I should let you have it too, if you want.

There are slots for twelve different characters.  This may seem like a lot, but it leaves plenty of extra room for cohorts, animal companions, mounts, and recurring DMPCs.

I like having the Armor Class of each character written down so I don't have to bog down combat asking "Does a 19 hit your AC?"  Now I can just roll, check the table, and say, "The wadjet sinks its deadly fangs into your flesh, and you feel its poison coursing through your veins.  Make a Fort save."  The Temporary AC section (much like the one on my advanced character sheet) lets you make note of a raging barbarian's lessened AC, a wizards mage armor, or what-have-you.

Similarly, having each character's Perception bonus written down lets you make secret rolls for your players if you don't want to tip them off that something is amiss.

The Notes section is where I would record ongoing effects like diseases, poison, or conditions.  Or whatever else needs keeping track of.

I also like to keep track of my players' XP so I don't have to worry about them forgetting to write down their XP from a session.  Plus, it lets me calculate the XP they got from the session after they've all left, instead of taking up game time telling everyone how much XP they got at the end of every encounter.

Below the 'characters' section is a place to record the monsters and their Initiative scores, and to keep a running tally of their HP.

Of to the right is a big blank space for more notes.  This is where I would jot down the XP value of every monster defeated (to be tallied up and divided later).  For a big battle that I expect to take a while, I will also write down all the characters and monsters in their proper initiative order because I don't own one of those cool magnetic dry-erase board initiative trackers.

-your initiative-taking d20 despot

Improved Character Sheet v2.0

Hey everyone, I've got an even better version of this character sheet now! You can check it out here.

Or here's the download link:
d20 Despot Advanced Character Sheet v3.0


But, if you prefer version 1.0, read on.

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It's been a year since I posted my original improved character sheet, and it has become the most viewed post on my blog (hey, last week we broke 5,000 total all-time blog views!).  So it's about time I updated it.

Here's the d20 Despot Improved Character Sheet v2.0.  <= Download it there, folks!

(Edit: Also, here's the first page with D&D 3.5 Edition skills: Download Here.  Sadly, in that version, the "Special Abilities" and "Conditional Skill Modifiers" sections have been sacrificed on the altar of 3.5's humongous skill list.  Fair warning: it still has the CMB and CMD stuff on it, but if you're playing 3.5 you'd damn well better be bringing those rules in instead of grappling with the grapple rules.)

Read on for more info about it and the changes/improvements I've made.

Improved Character Sheet v1.0

Hey everyone, I've got an even better version of this character sheet now! You can check it out here.

Or here's the download link:
d20 Despot Advanced Character Sheet v3.0


But, if you prefer version 1.0, read on.
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Download the PDFs here:
Advanced Character Sheet v1.0
Spellcaster and Animal Companion Sheet

Read on for more info.
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Your character sheet is one of your most important tools for gameplay.  It needs to be legible, it needs to present the information you need in a logical and accessible manner, and it needs to be resistant to stains.  I can't help with the last one, but I tried my hand at creating a better character sheet than the default pathfinder one.


Here's the first page: