New Player Character Sheet for 5th Edition
I've run quite a few games with brand new players who knew absolutely nothing about D&D or tabletop RPGs or even roleplaying at all. Typically I describe it to them as improv with some rules for realism and a narrator, which is the DM. That seems to do the trick to get them to understand and get excited about playing. Then I hand them a character sheet and all the color drains out of their face as they see a dizzying matrix of numbers and math and terms they've never heard of before. What was genuine excitement before is replaced with a "maybe I'll just watch."
How I generally manage to salvage the situation is telling them to ignore huge swaths of the sheet and only focus on the simple lists and character descriptors. I also decided to make this sheet, with the parts players will actually want to focus on at the top, and leaving the stuff that honestly only the DM needs to care about at the bottom for reference.
Shout outs: Stacey, Revan#4962, Jane McClintock, JMartins, Jade Arrowood, Sean Kane, Angelo Anderson, yoland katamari, Rhonda Seiter, Noble Saffron, Alexa Hobusch, Jonathan Lekse, DMMichael7000, Katie White, Subzotic, JollyGamer, Jayden wingler, Yi Tan, Emma Holloway, Ashley Sullivan, Gillian Tolbert, David R Abbott, S.T. Jenkins, Vanda Leipold, Rick Marsh, Brittany DeNicholas, Phillip Hash, Ly Anton-Blake, Bobbie Crane, Amanda Kettles, Anthony Brown, Lou Bliss, Treighton, Pythor Sen, Michael Isberg, Nat, Cory Evans, Krueger82, BestWorseCaseScenario, Damian Steele, Icarus Unleashed, Mark L, Conall Reilly, Alex, keith oneal rogers, Moss, Ash Harkness, William Bamann, Merissa, Patrick Natale, Cam Largent, Thaddeus Johnson, Siren, Donavan Guay, AstroLass, Chandlor Desper, Lizzie, Masca Boom, Jordan, Rincewind, Michael Hamilton, Rob Hale, Vedie V, Mylon Schroder, Nathan, Joseph Mitchell, Jordan Florez, Robert Rich, Rodney O'Dell, Robin Ellis-Foster, Deanna Pyle, Jess, Meme Pitt-Melton, E.D.F., Zee Livezey, Kevin, ryan scott, Kerry Melton, Mary Kieser, SallySparrow132, Lunesolace, DJ_Kelf, Cassandra Keyes, Naomi B, Millergendraft, charles phillips, Nick Soucy, Ellen Mitchell, Melanie Warga, Jeremiah Walker, Bryan Sheairs, Bryan Kempka, chris wilson, Max Hops, Sarah Holland, Joshua David Maddox, Jennifer Smith, Ray Bissonnette, Joe Dalby, Nicholas Zamora, ShortyMcgibble, Mr. Vinclair, mtnman1979@aol.com, KFB_Patreon, eric sun, Bruce Willison, Gundar Wez, Ken Shapiro, Nahellion, Serena Verden, bilbens baggo, Stuart, Brysen Packer, Galygious, Tim Mason, Maxwell Mayer, Gannon Dubay, Thobek, Aaron Teupe, Felix Schmäche, XMrMonkyx ., John, Miss Zilla M, Jordan Brazeal, Kyle Clark, Jake Lane, Adam Ruiz, Phillip P Torchia, Natalie Luttrell, Brian McDougall, Stefan Gottschalk's, Remora's Jewel, Buffonturtle, jeremy baisch, Zealot23, Shane Andrews, CJMAXP, Chevy Jones, KingHavok1217, Shazear, Curran Vallejo, Steve Rosenlund, Leanna Orr, Ezzela1891, John Nazario, Gary, Gordon Alexander Fallon, Jason Clark, Trey Vickory
Their contribution stands as a beacon of hope for all adventurers!
