What to Put in Your DM Cheat Sheet on PCs?

[Grimmnist]

I'm about to start a new home-made campaign of 5e and am looking at improving my DM'ing in a couple areas. One idea I read on the forum was a cheat sheet on each PC containing information like appearance, how NPCs react to them and motivations/goals. In the past my notes on PC's end up scattered so I think it would help me to formalize the cheat sheet. Please let me know if you have used something like this, and if so what fields you included.

Below are the fields I think I will need, but please give feedback if you see any gaps.

• PC Name
• Appearance
• Gear
• Personality (This one maybe should be split into a couple different categories)
• Motivations/Goals
• Relationships with NPCs
• General Notes

[DMThac0]

Player Name
AC
HP
Passive Perception/Insight
Important Relationships
Important Story notes

[noob]

I have no idea.
I put random stuff such as their possessions or their initiative.

[vasilidor]

Relevant combat data (short hand) and whatever perception equivalent the game has. Perception type rolls are the most common roll in any game I run.

[Koo Rehtorb]

Scenes I want to see with them, that can be slotted in in appropriate moments.

Things like "Heinrich's drunkard father leans on him for money." or "Elsa's room being invaded during the night by a thief that sets off her alarm ward."

[Grimmnist]

Scenes I want to see with them, that can be slotted in in appropriate moments.

Things like "Heinrich's drunkard father leans on him for money." or "Elsa's room being invaded during the night by a thief that sets off her alarm ward."

I really like that one!

My old DM just recommended character fates/prophecies in case they talk to a seer or something.

[LordCdrMilitant]

Maximum Wounds and Current Wounds
Ballistic Skill / Weapon Skill
Damage for most commonly used weapons
Movement increments [Half/Full/Charge/Run]

That's about it.

While my players should know their own weapon damages, I have to look up the damage of a Krak Missile about twice a session.
Also: "How far can I move?"

[noob]

Maximum Wounds and Current Wounds
Ballistic Skill / Weapon Skill
Damage for most commonly used weapons
Movement increments [Half/Full/Charge/Run]

That's about it.

While my players should know their own weapon damages, I have to look up the damage of a Krak Missile about twice a session.
Also: "How far can I move?"

Wow they use a lot of krak missiles.
How did they get so high ranked(or gained such influence)?
And how far can I move is a very important question in such grimdark world filled with war and tactical backtracking.

[RazorChain]

I just have a copy of my PC's character sheet on my laptop. Helps when they forget at home

[KillianHawkeye]

In addition to what others have posted, what kinds of special senses they might have (such as darkvision or permanent see invisibility) if any, and what languages each one speaks.

[Keltest]

Pretty much any stat that you think will get referenced a lot is a good thing to have recorded. AC, saves, etc are the obvious ones, but it can also be helpful to know, say, the maximum range on their favorite weapon or spell. Part of this is table specific, and only you can decide what the threshold for frequency is as far as what to record, but if you find yourself asking for a stat frequently, its probably a good idea to just cut to the chase and write it down.

[Quertus]

So, as a programmer, I only wrote down my interface to the character: name, AC, and any special senses that they possess. EDIT: "Appearance" and "relationships with NPCs" is part of the interface that I try to keep in my head - writing it down might not be a horrible idea.

Anything else is bad coding practices.

In addition to what others have posted, what kinds of special senses they might have (such as darkvision or permanent see invisibility) if any, and what languages each one speaks.

Huh. Someone actually got this. Kudos!

[Pelle]

Passive stuff that you want to use to just modify the descriptions for information you give out without rolling for it (Int and knowledge skills, Perception, Insight, Backround)
Things you may want to use passive checks for to keep things secret (Stealth, Deception).
Personality Traits depending on how you implement Inspiration.

[Grimmnist]

So, as a programmer, I only wrote down my interface to the character: name, AC, and any special senses that they possess. EDIT: "Appearance" and "relationships with NPCs" is part of the interface that I try to keep in my head - writing it down might not be a horrible idea.

See, I do front-end, I have no idea what information is on my cheat sheet but it looks very pretty!



I ended up putting: Appearance, Background, Disposition, Gear, Proficiencies, Goals, Fates, Relationships with NPCs, and an event table. I haven't put any stats since I have found I do a good job remembering them off the top of my head (often better than the player themself).

[LordCdrMilitant]

Wow they use a lot of krak missiles.
How did they get so high ranked(or gained such influence)?
And how far can I move is a very important question in such grimdark world filled with war and tactical backtracking.

My Black Crusade party stole a missile launcher and a Centaur full of ammunition.

My Dark Heresy parties tends to visit IG fortress planets and demand things. I generally rule that the if it's on the IG special or heavy weapons list in the codex, it's widely available enough IG fortress/armory planets.

[Cealocanth]

On a 3x5 notecard.

PC name, Player Name
AC, Max HP, Tally markers for hits until down, Damage output by die.
Passive Perception. Proficient skills.
Literal or theoretical strengths and weaknesses.
Things that the player gets upset at you if you fail to do, mention, allow, or cause that thing. ("Player X likes to cinematically describe his spellcasting.", "Player Y wants his familiar to make cheeky comments.", etc.)

[Jay R]

Basic stats and saving throws.

Any aspect of a magic item that they don't know about, or that activates without their decision (curses, geases, etc.).