All,
Since the UoH update for the 5e sheet was released I've received a ton of great feedback on it some of which will undoubtedly be incorporated into future releases. one of the most common things i've had feedback on is the NPC section of the sheet.
I wasn't sure quite how many people were actually using the NPC section as i've always considered it to be something of an incomplete project that was hastily added to the sheet a while ago to provide some basic level of support for GM's using the sheet. I certainly do not consider the NPC section complete or polished in anyway and have always tried to stress that it was provided "as is" for the moment but that I did plan to update it when time allowed.
It does seem that my estimation of how many GM's were using the NPC section were significantly underestimated! So very briefly, here are a few points to illustrate what the plan is for the NPC sheet -
Finally, there are no timescales for getting this done i'm afraid and at a bare minimum it's likely to be several weeks before I can get started on it. I took a week off work to get the UoH updates done to the sheet (not that I spent every waking hour on it but i did spend several full days!) and i'm pretty pleased how that all turned out but unfortunately other commitments mean I dont have a huge amount of free time left....I also have to prep more stuff for my Tyranny of Dragons group to do since they are just about to start Rise of Tiamat! :)
Thanks
Actoba
Since the UoH update for the 5e sheet was released I've received a ton of great feedback on it some of which will undoubtedly be incorporated into future releases. one of the most common things i've had feedback on is the NPC section of the sheet.
I wasn't sure quite how many people were actually using the NPC section as i've always considered it to be something of an incomplete project that was hastily added to the sheet a while ago to provide some basic level of support for GM's using the sheet. I certainly do not consider the NPC section complete or polished in anyway and have always tried to stress that it was provided "as is" for the moment but that I did plan to update it when time allowed.
It does seem that my estimation of how many GM's were using the NPC section were significantly underestimated! So very briefly, here are a few points to illustrate what the plan is for the NPC sheet -
- The priority in the past has been, and likely will continue to be, the PC side of the sheet. Simply put, the PC section is used by a much wider audience and by players of a much wider experience range and as such it helps to have the PC side of the sheet be as functional, usable and user-friendly as possible.
- Getting the NPC side to a state where it suits the range of GM's and their needs/wants is actually a more difficult task than getting the PC side doen right. By their nature, GM's tend to have greater game/system knowledge and experience and that, coupled with a wide variety of playstyles for their groups, makes it tricky to get the NPC side "right". And just like the PC side, it's impossible to cover all options.
- All that having been said the current plan is (subject to change as always)
- Finish up a few more post-UoH tweaks for the PC sheet
- Start work on revamping the NPC sheet with a tabbed interface like the PC sheet.
- In order to maintain maximum flexibility and allow for homebrew/custom content, the NPC sheet will remain largely editable with less auto calc fields.
- The revamp will likely break any existing NPC's/monsters you already have...sorry but theres no way around this really. I will likely create a tab that shows the legacy stuff to allow you to transfer it over to new sections before removing them entirely.
- I will post in the mentor forum (as they are the only GM's that can use custom char sheets) asking for NPC sheet feedback once the process has started and will make some test versions of the work completed so far available in the same way I did for the roll template updates. For now though I have enough feedback on the NPC sheet collected over the past several months as well as my own ideas for what needs done.
Finally, there are no timescales for getting this done i'm afraid and at a bare minimum it's likely to be several weeks before I can get started on it. I took a week off work to get the UoH updates done to the sheet (not that I spent every waking hour on it but i did spend several full days!) and i'm pretty pleased how that all turned out but unfortunately other commitments mean I dont have a huge amount of free time left....I also have to prep more stuff for my Tyranny of Dragons group to do since they are just about to start Rise of Tiamat! :)
Thanks
Actoba