Side Quest: Keeping the Challenge in the Dungeon
Character Creation
I've been running a Dungeons & Dragons group for new players since mid-May. Only one player had been in a group before, and it was years ago under different rules, which were updated in 2024.
The character sheet and character creation guides in the Player's Handbook are... a bit overwhelming. Especially if you aren't already familiar with the process. D&D already has a significant intrinsic cognitive load: players are learning new terminology, rules, mechanics, and systems all at once. When they also have to figure out where information belongs and how to navigate unfamiliar resources, that adds extraneous cognitive load that doesn't actually help them learn to play the game. It can make it more difficult to invite new people in and "onboard" them to an already complex game.
I created a Character Creation Guide for my players, which was printed as a document they could work through step by step. Rather than requiring players to learn the entire character-creation system before they could use it, the guide scaffolds the process into smaller, sequential steps. The instructions use terminology that matches the character sheet, and images from the sheet help players identify exactly where information belongs. It also includes references to specific pages in the Player's Handbook when players need additional information.
I designed this performance support based on my own experience creating characters with the 2024 Player's Handbook and existing character sheet, identifying areas of friction, unnecessary cognitive load, and possible confusion. Here is the Character Creation Guide I made for my players, that I am currently working on iterating for the session I'm leading later this month:
Character Tracking Sheet
During play, which happens every other week, I've also noticed players sometimes have difficulty finding exactly what they want to reference when they need it. Searching a character sheet doesn't contribute anything meaningful to the challenge of the game. Instead, it creates extraneous pauses that can interrupt momentum and immersion.
I am facilitating a session at a small local game convention later this month focused on character creation and the basic mechanics of the game. I decided it was time to play with making a new character sheet: one that allows all of the same information to exist in one place but makes that information easier to locate and reference during play. After all, the difficulty really shouldn't be in finding information or learning how to read a character sheet. The difficulty should come from deciding how to solve problems within the game and defeat the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy).
The current character sheet supplied through D&D Beyond uses very small fonts, and there is very little space to write, even for people who can write quite small. This is especially noticeable in areas for attacks and spell functions, which contain information players reference frequently during play. (I could write an entire post about how D&D Beyond digital materials are all quite inaccessible, but I'll spare you today. I have reached out to them multiple times.) So I knew I needed larger type and more writing space, which would add another page to the sheet.
Adding another page meant that I really needed to make sure all of the more referenced content was available on the first page, to avoid as much flipping and finding as possible. To make those details easier to locate at a glance, I added icons where they could provide useful visual cues, including for abilities and features and to help players quickly locate HP (Hit Points) and AC (Armor Class).
Then there are the questions of... Should the base AC be written on the line, without accounting for armor or shields? Or should AC represent the total, assuming the character is wearing armor and holding a shield, when applicable? And if it does, where does a player record what needs to be added or removed when those circumstances change?
Because characters are almost always wearing their armor during combat and may rarely be caught without it, it made the most sense to include armor in the displayed AC while providing a separate space to record how AC changes without it. Shields are different. A shield must be held and affects what the character can do with that hand, so it isn't necessarily always in use. I created a separate place to record how AC changes when a shield is equipped.
It's a tiny design decision, but that's exactly the kind of friction point I wanted to address. The sheet shouldn't require a player to stop and reconstruct information they need regularly during play. And that's just one of many small details I adjusted.
Right now, the redesigned sheet is a prototype intended only for my current campaign group. I'll use their experience with it as usability testing, gathering feedback and watching for additional friction points I may have missed. I'll then iterate on the design before making a finalized version available to the convention attendees I'm training on character creation later this month.
My next steps also include creating a version with no icons at all. It will use a similar structure but remove the additional visual cues, allowing for slightly larger type and more white space for players who prefer a cleaner layout. Icons can reduce cognitive load and make information easier to locate for some people, while increasing visual clutter or cognitive load for others. Accessibility isn't always about finding one design that works best for everyone; sometimes it's about providing meaningful options that let people use the version that works best for them.
I also intend to create an accessible digital version for players who would rather keep track of their character on a mobile device. That will require considering accessibility beyond the visual layout of the printed sheet, including things such as reading order, meaningful labels, keyboard and assistive-technology access, and how the design adapts at different screen sizes.
I'm happy to answer questions about why I made particular decisions in the new character sheet. One of my players has already taken a look and told me it's "way less overstimulating" than the original and that it's much easier to find things. I can't wait to hear more of her thoughts and ideas after she's had a chance to use it for a few sessions.
Here is the character sheet I've created:
(Note: This is not yet digitally accessible, so I have included a written description of the character sheet below the PDF).
Character Sheet Description
Page 1
Top Left
There is a decorative box for basic character information. On the first line is Character Name, Alignment, Level. On the second line is Background and Class. On the third line is Species and Subclass.
Top Right
There is a square box around 4 different trackers. They are in a checkerboard fashion with either very light gray or white background.
Top left on a light gray background is Armor Class. There is an icon of a shield with a ribbon that reads "Armor Class" and space to write AC in the shield. Below this is a circle to fill in for a Shield (if one has a shield and proficiency with shields) and a +2 to remind the player to add +2 to the AC when holding the shield. Below that it reads "No armor -" with a space to write down how not wearing armor will effect the AC.
Top right on a white background is Hit Points. There is a heart icon with __/__ inside of the heart and HP below it. This allowed the player to write their current HP is out of the total max HP. Below the heart is a space for Temp HP, and below that a space to track HP Dice.
Bottom left on a white background reads "Heroic Inspiration". There is a flying heart icon with a small square in the middle that the player can fill in if they have Heroic Inspiration to use.
Bottom right on a light gray background reads "Death Saves". There are three heart icons, and below them three headstone icons so the player can track their saving throws easily during play.
Upper Middle Left
There is a light gray rectangle with space for basic stats with icons. First is Initiative with a flying sword, follow by Passive Perception with an eye where a brain belongs in a side profile of a head icon, followed by Speed with a person running icon, and finally Size with a ruler icon.
Below this is a white rectangle which contains space for the Proficiency Bonus with a medal/ribbon icon, followed by lines to write all coins (including conversions) with a coin icon.
Upper Middle Right
There is a rectangular box for Languages, with a small icon in the lower right of the box showing a profile of a head speaking, and a book where the brain belongs that reads "A Z".
Middle
The entire middle of the sheet is taken up with a checkerboard pattern of light gray and white, showing ability and skill stats. Each ability has an icon, and the stats that go with the ability are in the same box as the ability, under lines to write Modifier and Saving Throw. There is a small white recntangle box in the lower left of each area for the Ability Score.
Strength Icon: Flexing arm with STR written in it. Dexterity Icon: Hand building block tower with DEX written on wrist. Constitution Icon: Shield with a small heart at the bottom and CON written in the shield. Intelligence Icon: Open book with INT written across the middle. Wisdom Icon: Owl with WIS written on it's stomach. Charisma Icon: Star with CHA written in the middle.
Bottom
Weapons and Damage Cantrips appear on the bottom, insice an outline white rectangle that takes up the entirety of the sheet from left to right. There is space for 7 weapons and damage cantrips, formatted into columns. Column 1: Name Column 2: Attack Bonus/DC Column 3: Damage & Type Column 4: Notes
There is a flaming sword icon in the top right of this rectangular section.
Page 2
Inventory is written on the top left. There are 20 lines available to write down any character inventory, split into 3 columns.
Column 1: Item Column 2: # (small space, just enough to write a number) Column 3: Notes
Below this are boxes for Equipment Training & Proficiencies (modeled closely after the original) as well as boxes for Feats, Traits, and a larger box for Class Features.
Page 3
Top Left
A rectangular box with fillable lines labeled Spellcasting Ability, Modifier, Spell Save DC, Attack Bonus.
Top Right
A rectangular box to track how many level spells are available, and how many are used, which closely resembles the original character sheet.
The Rest
The rest of the page has a table to write down prepared spells and basic information. The table columns are:
Column 1: Level Column 2: Name Column 3: Cast Time Column 4: Range Column 5: Concentration/Ritual/Materials. There are shapes to fill in for these table cells to identify any of these requirements. Column 6: Notes
Page 4
The entire page is another table for continuing spells. The table is identical to the one on page 3, but longer because it takes up the full page.
Closing
Have you encountered any accessibility or usability issues in your hobbies? I'd love to hear about it. It's difficult for me to keep a hobby just as a hobby. My brain is always looking for ways to dig deeper and improve. I'm a curious person and I love a good puzzle, and improving things I enjoy always feels like a good puzzle to be solving.
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