The Only Sheet - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Only Sheet Plus is a character creation

Character creation

Character creation is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a largely fictional setting may include traits such as race and class...

and maintenance role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

tool for players of the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

v3.5 system, and Pathfinder RPG system. The implementation is done using the System Reference Document

System Reference Document

The System Reference Document, or SRD, is a set of reference role playing game mechanics licensed under the Open Game License by Wizards of the Coast and based upon their Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. The SRD forms the basis of WotC's various d20 System role-playing games, including the...

. The Only Sheet plus is an example of a Dynamic Character Sheet.

The software is a macro enabled Excel Workbook which runs on Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...

2000+ or later for Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

Main features

TOS+ allows users to create d20 System

D20 System

The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast originally developed for the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons...

Characters and Monsters, and subsequently maintain these creations as they advance in levels. Equipment, spells, treasure and such can all be tracked in the workbook:

Dynamic: Apply effects directly on the Character during gaming (Example)
Stacking Rules: Implements the Stacking Rules
Error checking: Helps create consistent Characters
Support: The Community Forum (see below) allows for technical support
Customization: Almost anything can be customized
Similar to Official Sheet: Output is similar to official Character sheet

Requirements

TOS+ requires Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel

to function (version 2000 to 2007), updated to the latest version and service release. It does not work on the Macintosh version of Excel, nor in any other spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...

applications.

Output

TOS+ can be used in two fashion:

Directly On a Laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

(using the LapTop worksheet).
As printed output: Various worksheets can be printed to represent the Character.

Sharing

Characters can be exchanged between people, like the Dungeon Master

Dungeon Master

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, the Dungeon Master is the game organizer and participant in charge of creating the details and challenges of a given adventure, while maintaining a realistic continuity of events...

and a player). The "Save Character" option of the Control Worksheet can be used to generate a small .tos file, which can then be sent to others.

Community forum

Opening in May 2005, The Community Forum for The Only Sheet has attracted over 2,100+ members (as of October 2009). The forum has sections for both TOS FREE and TOS+, but only TOS+ is actively supported. A host of Play-by-Post games are hosted on the Forum, where all players are users of TOS+.

History

December 2003: Work on the Dual-Class Character Sheet starts. It supports 2 classes.
April 2004: The Dual-Class Character Sheet is released as Donationware
Donationware
Donationware is a licensing model that supplies fully operational software to the user and pleads for an optional donation be paid to the programmer or a third-party beneficiary . The amount of the donation may also be stipulated by the author, or it may be left to the discretion of the user,...
August 2004: The Dual-Class Character Sheet is renamed Multiclass Character Sheet, with supports for 3 classes
January 2005: Creation of the Mailing List
May 2005: The Community Forum opens
April 2006: The Multiclass Character Sheet is renamed The Only Sheet
March 2007: TOS+ version 1 is released
October 2008: The last version of The Only Sheet becomes TOS FREE
November 2008: TOS+ version 2 is released
October 2009: TOS+ version 3 is released, with support for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game first published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.