Obsidian D&D Character Sheet: a 5e Template That Calculates Itself

A paper character sheet asks you to write the same number in four places: the score, its modifier, the skills that use it and the saves. This Obsidian D&D character sheet asks for it once. Ability scores, level, armor class and hit points live in the note's properties, and Dataview works out everything that follows: modifiers, proficiency bonus, initiative, all eighteen skills, saving throws, Passive Perception and, for spellcasters, spell save DC and spell attack bonus. Level up by changing one number. The vault comes with three filled characters and a party sheet for the table.

What's inside this Obsidian D&D character sheet

• Characters/: Brannoc Vell, a level 5 human fighter; Isolde Marrow, a level 5 high elf wizard with spells prepared; and Tamsin Reed, a level 4 halfling rogue with expertise in Stealth and Sleight of Hand. Each has features, equipment and a short background with bonds.
• Party Sheet: the whole party in one table with class, level, AC, hit points and Passive Perception, a list of who needs healing, and everyone's proficient skills.
• Templates/Character Sheet: a blank sheet with every formula already in place.

D&D 5e character sheet with automatic modifiers

The sheet follows the 5e rules in the System Reference Document. A modifier is the score minus ten, halved and rounded down, so a 16 gives +3 and an 8 gives −1. The proficiency bonus starts at +2 and rises by one at levels 5, 9, 13 and 17. Both are inline Dataview queries that read the note's own properties, which is why changing level: 5 to level: 9 updates the whole page. The modifier cell for Strength is this:

`= choice(floor((this.str - 10) / 2) >= 0, "+" + floor((this.str - 10) / 2), floor((this.str - 10) / 2))`

Skills and saving throws

One short DataviewJS block draws two tables: the six saving throws and the eighteen skills, each with the ability it uses and its total bonus. List a skill under skills to add your proficiency bonus, or under expertise to add it twice, the way a rogue's Expertise works. Passive Perception is 10 plus the Perception bonus, and a wizard's spell save DC is 8 plus proficiency plus the Intelligence modifier.

A party sheet for the DM

The Party Sheet is a plain Dataview page that reads every note in the Characters folder. The first table is what a DM checks most: armor class, current and maximum hit points, and Passive Perception for everyone at once. The second lists only the characters who are hurt and by how much. The third shows who is proficient in what, for the moment someone asks who wants to try picking the lock. It pairs well with the NPC template and the D&D campaign vault, so the players' side and the DM's side live in the same kind of notes.

Plugins the character sheet uses

Dataview does every calculation. The skills and saves tables need its JavaScript queries setting switched on; the ability table, combat block and party sheet are plain Dataview. The core Templates plugin is enabled and pointed at the Templates folder.

Download the Obsidian D&D character sheet

Unzip the download, open the folder as a vault in Obsidian, allow community plugins, install Dataview and switch on JavaScript queries in its settings. Open Start Here, then one of the characters in reading view. To make your own, create a note in Characters, insert the Character Sheet template and fill in the properties.