Sorry, but this might go a bit long. I HOPE I can get my question/point across without going overboard with the wording.
Context: I am currently one of 2 DM’s playing D&D 5e and I am considering Pathfinder 2e. My long time group is currently doing the PF2e Beginner Box to see how well they like the rules system(I would like to switch from 5e, IF my requirements are meet). For context, all of my players and the other GM’s campaigns/characters are all in DnDBeyond paid for by myself, so I recognize the benefits Nexus COULD bring to my game.
With that said, I have 3 players who WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES use an electronic device during the game session. So, what that means is that character sheets for any game either need COMPLETE, or the game needs to have simple to look up rules in a single book. Well, we all know that the later is NOT Pathfinder2e.
For anyone who both played and used the D&D 4e Character Builder, you might remember there is an option when printing the character sheet to include powers and items in the print out and that’s basically what I am asking for/looking for in the Pathfinder 2e sheet. ie, will there be an option at Character Sheet launch or in the near future post launch to print out ALL of the characters feats in detail and their selected spells in detail?
Here is a small sample of what I have done for each character, but I spent about 45 minutes each to compile and format this into a document (times 10 character classes up to level 3) after building the characters in Pathbuilder
Basically, this is kind of a go-nogo on my “should I invest my money into Nexus” as the printed character sheet having everything the player needs to play front and center needs to be there in order for me to justify spending a large chunk of change into Nexus.
Note that the formatting can be completely different than the above example pic, but the level of detail needs to be enough to adjudicate the feat/class feature without having to pull out a physical book or the online version, especially when there are well over a dozen rule books to have to find.
Hello, and we appreciate you taking the time to post and ask the question.
We aren’t ready to confirm all the specifics on how it would be implemented, but we see the value in having supplemental information beyond what is typically entered on a paper / printed character sheet available in PDF / exportable form at some point in our roadmap.
Having said that, we will be focusing first on making the digital experience the best it can be. When the closed alpha starts soon, there will not be an “Export to PDF” option for the character sheet initially, but we would certainly have that option in place before the character tools enter the public open beta / Early Access phase.
Having now said that, we will most-assuredly start with providing that option using a form-fillable version of the official character sheet PDF that Paizo has created for the game, that will automatically fill all the relevant areas but also allow for additional notes and editing of the sheet to make it more convenient to have the more baseline printed character sheet that will be familiar to most players.
We currently would not start with additional sheets with full feat, spell, item, etc. information, but that is a place we have planned on the roadmap to eventually iterate toward. I can’t speak to the timing or priority of that progression at this stage - it will depend on the demand we see from the community in comparison to other potential features. The planned approach I just shared is also subject to change depending on feedback from the community on the importance its availability.
So, with all that context, to answer your question more directly, we see the ability to have game information available to export and print in the comprehensive vein you’ve described at some point, but it is currently on the long-term roadmap and not a short-term target.
While I sort of understand the pen and paper nostalgia… it’s 2022 going on 23… digital tools aren’t a fad they’re the present and future of this hobby and much of the world. Slap em and tell them to get with it, it makes rules heavy games like pathfinder much more accessibile.
its not nostalgia. Its 5 guys (my step brother and his friends) who I have known and played with off and on for the past 30 years(various games and systems, but mostly D&D). This is not a case of some guys being luddites, every one of use work in the tech industry. ALL of us stare at a screen every single day for 40+ hours a week. For two of the guys this once a month session is a time to hang out, drink a beer or two, make jokes and STAY disconnected from their machines, get away from their wifes and kids for a half a day, and just be a guy.
Honestly, we did not do any game during the pandemic as these two core guys would not consider playing remotely using a VTT. In fact, during this time we did have one singular google hangout… one, in almost two years. These are also guys who go camping/rafting and are completely disconnected from the world for a week at a time 2-3 times each year.
Now, that’s not for me, but I can get it. Don’t get me wrong, both of these guys are fine with using DnDBeyond to make their characters and print them off to bring to the game session, but during the game, they want to be immersed and not distracted by tech. My brother and I(the primary GMs), both use our computers (and or tablets as players via DnDBeyond) to handle encounter building, rules, character sheet, etc, and another of our players ONLY use DnDBeyond on his tablet.
