Building a character with the build 002 of the sheet was simple on paper but it didn't translate to the computer as well as I had hoped. The biggest problem was the screen itself. The original sheet was designed on my Qbe pen-based computer. If you have ever seen one then you know it looks a lot like a clipboard and you use it the same way. This design works great and is very fast because you don't have to scroll back and forth like on a conventional screen. Well I forgot one of the rules of good design, "Design for you installed base." Most, ok probably none, of you have a portrait style monitor. So if you want to see an entire 8.5" by 11" page at once you have to scale the page for the screen. Well now you wont have to. The new format eliminates some of the scrolling in and allows for faster character creation.

Part One: Defining the character
Click the big red Reset button at the top of the page to clear any old data that my be listed. Enter the character name then use the pull downs to select race, first class, deity and alignment. If the character's deity is not on the pull down list just type in the deity name. This field, as well as a few others are not locked so you can add custom information as needed. Then fill in the character age, height, weight and character features. If you want you can select a character portrait at this time or later. Next up grab your dice and begin rolling you abilities. Plug the rolls into the boxes next to each ability. Don't add the any race modifiers to the rolls, for all the official standard races the modifiers will automatically be factored in. You can see these modifiers in the second box next to each ability.

Part Two: What is you character good at?
On this page you can begin filling in you skills. On the Skill title bar at the top of the page there is a number in a red trimmed box on th left hand side. This number it the represents the number of skill points of the first class selected. The cross-classed skills will are automatically entered into the correct boxes for the first class only. Don't try to change them they will change back as soon as you make another selection.

Now move over to the Languages heading. If your character has a high enough intellegence modifier you will see a number in the box at the end of the language field. This it the number of free bonus languages your character can learn. If you do not see the language you want listed just select any and we can edit it later. The selection is just a place holder and will be changed later.

Part Three: Making you character stand out. This is the big list of feats separated by book. To add a feat to you character sheet just click on the name of the feat. If you select a feat you don't want just answer no to the confirmation dialog box or click the orange reset button. The reset button clears all the feats you have selected including ones from previous sessions. Make sure you want to clear the entire list before clicking the button.

Some feats like spell focus, exotic weapon proffiency and improved critical will require you to list additional information later in the sheet.

Part Four: Equipping you character.

The next three pages allow you to select weapons, armor and equipment. The rules for this are the same as for feats, click the ones you want and click reset if you want to start over. Some feats like spell focus, exotic weapon proffiency and improved critical will require you to list additional information later in the sheet.

Part Five: Magic Arms and Armor.

To add custom weapons fill the boxes and use the pull downs to set the weapons features and properties. There are 2 boxes that are designed specifically to handle magic items, attack bonus and damage bonus. This was done to account for some weapons having different bonuses for attacks and damage. Once you have entered all the weapon's information click the 'Add Custom Weapon'. For custom armor the steps are about the same. For magical armor the bonuses have also been separated to reflect the armor value and the magical bonus. Under armor type I have added 3 new categories - ring, cloak, helm and bracers. The new categories are used to determine which bonuses apply to your armor class when caught flat-footed or against touch attacks.

Part Six: The printable sheet.

Now that all the base information is entered it is time to customize and prepare for printing. Start by looking up your base attack and saving throw information in the book and entering it into the character sheet. Also list any saving throw notes in the box marked notes. The box will display only the first 9 lines of text 18 spaces wide so keep that in mind when you enter information.

Next add any persistent hit modifiers. For example if the character has a lost an eye he may get a negative on ranged attacks or the character has a special nack for melee combat. Because all of the math is linked in the sheet any changes made here may affect other sections so you don't have to worry about making the changes in multiple locations. Scroll down to the weapon section. Now we can enter custom information for the different weapons. Click on the field you want to change and type in your change. Notice the field M/R. This field sets the type of damage modifier that is used for the weapon. DO NOT CHANGE THIS FIELD. This field tells the sheet weather or not to add the strength modifier and how much to add. Use the hand drop down to change the number and type of hands used to wield the weapon. As you change this setting the damage modifier will automatically adjusted. If the weapon is a magical weapon, enter its to hit magical bonus in the box marked magic. Use the red DMG box to list any damage bonuses the weapon gets. If the weapon has any additional properties they can be listed in the special properties box. If you need more room or even if you don't, you may want to download the magic item form in the Files section of the site. The form is designed to allow listing of each type of bonus a item gives and can be cut apart for DMs to give magic item power listings to the players.