Universal D&D 5e Character Sheet

A self-contained, automated D&D 5e (2014 rules) character sheet that runs in any web browser with no install, no server, and no Adobe. It works offline, and a blank copy prints as a perfectly good pen-and-paper sheet. The whole app (layout, styling, automation, and a full sourcebook library) lives in one file: index.html (~14 MB, most of which is the baked reference data).

Why a single HTML file?

The most universal runtime on any device (Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, ChromeOS) is the web browser. A self-contained .html with inlined CSS + JavaScript depends on nothing external, works fully offline, and will keep working for years. It replaces MPMB's Adobe-locked automation with the same kind of live calculation, in a runtime everyone already has.

Use it

Two ways to run it, same file either way:

• Download a copy and double-click it: opens in your default browser, works fully offline forever. This is the primary way to use it. Use Save (see Toolbar) to keep a copy with your character baked in.
• Open it on the web: baestheorem.github.io/dnd-character-sheet (handy on a phone). It installs as a home-screen app and works offline after the first load.

Then:

1. Fill it in. Everything recalculates live:
   • ability modifiers, proficiency bonus (from level), saving throws,
   • all 18 skills (with proficiency and expertise toggles), passive perception,
   • initiative, AC (from the armor you select), hit dice, spell save DC / attack, spell slots, carrying capacity / encumbrance, and effective speed.
2. Ability scores: the Abilities card shows only the final score and modifier. Everything that feeds them lives in the wizard's Ability Scores step (Create Character, or Edit Character once one exists):
   • Generation method: Manual (type base scores), Standard Array (assign 15/14/13/12/10/8, each used once), Rolled (enter your rolls, assign each one), or Point Buy (27-point budget, scores 8–15, with a live points counter).
   • Bonus columns: separate ASI, Feat, Racial, Magical, and Misc bonuses per ability, plus a Notes field. Final score = base + all bonuses; the Racial column pre-fills from the chosen race.
3. It auto-saves to that browser as you type: reopening the file restores your character. Storage is IndexedDB (character data, portraits, and thumbnails), so a large photo can't blow a storage cap.
4. Portrait: click the box by the name to upload one (png/jpeg/webp/heic/etc.); it's shown at a fixed size beside the name. Click an uploaded image for a pop-up menu: Replace / Download original / Remove. The original file is stored so the download is full resolution. HEIC is kept and re-downloadable but only previews in Safari.

iPhone & iPad (iOS)

On iOS, use the web version, which installs as a real offline app:

1. Open baestheorem.github.io/dnd-character-sheet in Safari.
2. Tap Share (the square with the up arrow), then Add to Home Screen (the sheet shows the same tip in a bar at the bottom).
3. Launch it from the new home-screen icon: full screen, no browser chrome, and fully offline from then on. It updates itself automatically the next time you're online.

Notes for touch:

• The phone layout turns on automatically: stacked cards, bigger tap targets, a swipeable page-tab strip, and spell properties folded under each spell name.
• There's no double-click or Alt key on touch, so long-press a calculated field to pin a manual override; long-press, clear, and commit to revert one (see Manual overrides below).
• Characters auto-save to the app's own storage on that device. iOS keeps the home-screen app's storage separate from the Safari tab's, so pick one and stay in it. A character made in the Safari tab won't appear in the home-screen app.
• To back up a character (or move it to a computer), use Save: it downloads a copy of the sheet with the character baked in to your Files app; opening that file in any computer's browser shows the character.

Pages

Tabs at the top switch pages on screen; printing outputs every page on its own sheet. Hide any page you don't want via Settings → Layout.

1. Core: identity & portrait; abilities (final score + modifier; base scores and bonuses are edited in the Create/Edit Character wizard); saving throws; 18 skills (single tri-state proficiency control on screen, both checkboxes on print); senses & passive perception; and Proficiencies & Languages. The combat area holds Proficiency Bonus, Inspiration, a D&D-Beyond-style HP widget (Heal/Damage buttons, temp HP, death saves), AC / Initiative / Speed, a Defenses box (with auto-computed resistance/immunity/advantage chips), a Conditions & Exhaustion tracker, an Attacks table (with a calculated attacks per action from Extra Attack), a Limited Features tracker (Feature / Max / Recover / Used), and an Action Economy summary. A Rest bar above the page tabs runs Short and Long rests: spend Hit Dice to heal, restore HP / slots / limited uses, reduce exhaustion, with an overview of what each rest will restore. (Hit dice are auto-filled from class & level and spent through the rest flow; there's no separate Hit Dice card.)
2. Inventory: currency (PP/GP/EP/SP/CP) with coin weight; a continuous, auto-growing item table (auto item weights, drag to reorder, nest items into containers, live total weight); Strength-based carrying capacity (Max Carry ×15 and Push / Drag / Lift ×30; the variant Encumbrance rule in Character Settings adds the ×5/×10 encumbered thresholds and their speed penalties); Armor (sets your AC, with AC-bonus item pickers) beside Attuned Items; and Extra Equipment (its own containers + drag-reorder).
3. Features: Features & Traits, as an editable card list. Class, subclass, racial, feat, and background features all land here on character creation; hand-edits to a generated card survive a later rebuild. For Artificers, an Infuse Item picker appears (level-gated, hover rules, auto-applied weapon/AC/focus bonuses), and an Armorer's Arcane Armor card. Also surfaces Ancestral-Weapon effects when you carry one.
4. Spells: pick a spellcasting class and the sheet tailors itself: cantrips-known and spells-known/preparable counts, the visible spell levels, and the slot tracker all scale to your class & level (full / half / one-third / Warlock pact). Each row is a dropdown of your class's spells; hovering a spell shows its full text, with a ritual marker, material components, and "at higher levels" scaling. Auto Spell Save DC and attack. Supports subclass casters (Eldritch Knight, Arcane Trickster, Way of Shadow monk, …). A "Can Prepare" tracker pins to the corner as you scroll, and unprepared spells collapse behind a per-level toggle.
5. Companions: animal companions, familiars, summons, and Wild Shape forms. Add multiple creature blocks, each with a searchable monster stat-block picker (load the Monster Manual via Source books, or author a creature in the Homebrew Studio) and a template (Find Familiar, Pact of the Chain, Beast Master, Wild Shape, Artificer Steel Defender / Eldritch Cannon / Homunculus Servant, …). Each creature's portrait auto-fills from its stat block and makes its own paper mini.
6. Ancestral Weapons: a dedicated sheet for each Ancestral Weapon you carry (see below): artwork, lore, base weapon, rarity, Spirit Points, computed stat chips, and the per-character upgrade point-buy.
7. Background: appearance (age/height/weight/eyes/skin/hair) + Personality / Ideals / Bonds / Flaws + Allies / Enemies.
8. Backstory: a full-page Character Backstory box.
9. Notes: a full-page free-text box.
10. Mini: print-and-fold paper minis (fold-over standees) built from the character portrait and every companion portrait: a front panel, an auto-flipped back panel (so it reads upright once folded over the top crease), and a cut/fold/glue guide. The page hides itself (and won't print) when no portrait exists. Self-contained inlined SVG art. Adapted from the open-source dyslexic-charactersheets "Map Minis".

Pen & paper

A fresh sheet (before "Create Character" is used) is completely empty (no scores, no 0/+0 computed values, just blank boxes) and the free-write areas are sized for handwriting. So you can print a blank copy and fill it in by hand. Fill any value digitally and the math fills itself in.

Toolbar

The top bar keeps a few direct buttons; the rest live under a ☰ menu.

• Create Character → guided wizard (Race → Ability Scores → Class builder → class skill choices → starting equipment or gold → Background → name) that fills the sheet from the loaded sourcebook data: race ability bonuses / speed / senses / damage resistances / languages; class saves, hit dice, and spellcasting; all proficiencies (skills checked, weapons/armor/tools/languages listed); class and subclass features, plus a subclass's always-prepared spells; limited-use resources (Rage, Ki, Sorcery Points, Channel Divinity, …) into the Limited Features tracker with hover descriptions; and either the class's starting gear (resolved into Inventory, with choice/category/pack prompts) or average starting gold. Backgrounds deposit their items + gold too. Needs sourcebook data loaded (baked into the build, or loaded via Settings).
  • Class builder (multiclass). The Class step is a list of every class in your loaded sources; click one to read its full level 1–20 progression (hit die, saves, proficiencies, spellcasting, and every feature inline) and Add it. Your first class is your initial class (full proficiencies
    • starting equipment); add more for multiclassing. A second class you don't meet the multiclass prerequisite for (e.g. Wizard needs Int 13) can't be added, with the requirement shown. Multiclass spell slots auto-fill from the combined caster level (full = level, half = ÷2, Artificer = ÷2 up, Eldritch Knight / Arcane Trickster = ÷3; Warlock pact magic stays its own pool). Secondary classes grant only the limited multiclass proficiencies, never extra saving throws.
  • Pending decisions. The builder lists due/overdue choices: subclass, subclass options (e.g. Totem Spirit), ASIs/feats, and spell selection, and lets you resolve subclass/option/ASI right there. You can proceed without them; anything left unmade keeps alerting on the main sheet (a class-decisions banner beside the ASI banner; spell selection points to the Spells page). Click the banner to reopen the builder.
• Save → downloads a self-contained copy of the sheet with your character (and portrait) baked in. Email / AirDrop / Drive it; opening that copy anywhere shows the character. This is the way to move a character between devices (auto-save is per-browser storage, not written to the file).
• Search → jump to any field on any page by name.
• Mobile → force the phone layout on a desktop (auto-on for narrow screens).
• ☰ menu → Manage Characters, Homebrew Studio, Print / PDF, and Settings.
  • Manage Characters: a card view of every character saved in this browser (portrait or name initials, class/level, last-edited time). Open one to switch to it in place, or create / rename / duplicate / delete. Simulacra nest under the character they were cast from.
  • Print / PDF: "Save as PDF". A dense, standardized stylesheet fits a normal character onto one page (builder UI hidden; text sections render as full-content mirrors; overflow inventory / limited features flow onto extra sheets).
  • Settings: three sections. General: updates, appearance (dark mode, disable animations), the welcome guide, clearing manual overrides, and Export a blank sheet (a fresh copy with your loaded sourcebooks baked in but no characters, good for handing someone a ready-to-use sheet). Character Settings (saved per character): theme, visible pages, portrait, variant encumbrance, Item filters (Renaissance / modern / futuristic gear), per-character Enabled sources, and Tasha's optional rules. Advanced: Homebrew summary and Source books (see below).

Themes

Each character can carry its own theme, a named look chosen under Settings → Character Settings → Theme and saved with that character. Two ship today:

• Universal Character Sheet (default): the app's own flat/sharp look. On screen it's a landscape dashboard: a JS layout engine relocates the Core cards into a topbar/rail/skills scaffold with a tabbed centre panel, so everything stays live-calculated. For printing it falls back to a clean black-and-white portrait sheet (one page per tab), so it prints like paper.
• Classic (Official 5e Sheet): a pixel-for-pixel rebuild of the Wizards of the Coast 2014 fillable PDF: the official page art as the background, with live automated fields positioned over it. Renders the three canon pages (Core, Background, Spells) plus the paper Mini, in the official order, and prints to fit Letter. Light-only (it's a printed sheet).

Dark mode stays universal. It lives in Settings → General → Appearance as one global toggle and layers on top of the active theme (Classic is light-only). Printing always uses the light look. To add a theme: push an entry to the THEMES array in index.html and add its CSS block (gated on body[data-theme="ID"]).

Automation highlights

Beyond character creation, the sheet keeps these live as you edit:

• Ability Score Improvements & feats: a flag tracks every ASI you're owed (by class & level, including Fighter/Rogue extras and race-granted feats like Variant Human) and won't clear until you pick an ASI or a feat for each. Half-feats apply their ability bump, save/skill proficiencies, etc.
• Attacks: toggle a weapon's Atk box in Inventory to add it to the Attacks table with an auto-computed attack bonus and damage; ability substitutions are handled (Monk Martial Arts → Dex, Hexblade → Cha, Battle Smith → Int). A calculated attacks per action reflects Extra Attack.
• Spell slots auto-fill (and lock) for any known single-class caster (full / half / one-third / Warlock pact); multiclass and "Other" stay manual and writable.
• Conditions & Exhaustion: toggle any of the 15 conditions (with paraphrased rules) or set an exhaustion level, and the sheet applies the mechanical consequences: speed changes, halved Max HP at exhaustion 4+, ±5 passive Perception, and green-advantage / red-disadvantage badges pinned to the affected skill, save, initiative, and attack boxes. Feature-granted (dis)advantages (Rage, Gnome Cunning, armor Stealth penalties, …) feed the same badges.
• Senses & Defenses compute into chips from your race, feats, features, and equipped magic items, and update as you (un)equip and (un)attune, so there are no stale hand-written lines.
• Race / background / feat / class proficiencies route to the skill checkboxes and the Proficiencies box.

Ancestral Weapons

A built-in point-buy system for a growing legendary weapon (framework by Dungeon Rollers). Build one from Homebrew Studio → Items → + Ancestral Weapon: spend Spirit Points (roughly one per character level) on upgrades across four tiers; rarity scales with points. The result is a homebrew weapon that gets its own Ancestral Weapons page (artwork, lore, computed stats, unlocked abilities) and auto-applies its clean mechanical effects (the +X to hit/damage, extra-damage riders, AC, spell attack, speed, flight), all gated behind attunement. You can also point the weapon's effects at your Unarmed Strike (a focus instead of something you swing). Spirit Points and the upgrade buy are per-character, so the same source weapon can be tuned differently on each character. The whole module is a per-character toggle under Settings → Character Settings → Enabled sources.

Homebrew Studio

A built-in authoring UI for homebrew content, organized into named, togglable "source books" you can export/import as JSON. Author spells and magic items (AC / spell-attack / save-DC / attunement / unarmed / granted-spell / limited-use / senses / action effects all auto-apply), feats, races (and subraces), backgrounds, subclasses, and creatures, plus Ancestral Weapons. Import also accepts homebrew classes. Everything you author gets real mechanical support on the sheet rather than inert text, and each source is an independent book you can toggle on/off or share. All homebrew bakes into the file alongside the sourcebook data, so a saved/shared copy carries it.

Manual overrides

Every calculated value can be pinned by hand when your table's ruling, a homebrew item, or a variant rule disagrees with the math. Double-click any computed field (ability scores, modifiers, proficiency bonus, AC, initiative, passive Perception, saves, skills, spell save DC / attack / prepared count, attack rows, Max HP, speed, carrying capacity), type a value, and press Enter. Pinned fields show a small marker and an outline; their tooltip shows the calculated value so drift stays visible. Override-as-source: pinning a source value cascades. Pin an ability score and its modifier, saves, skills, AC and attacks all recompute from it; pin the proficiency bonus and everything that uses it follows. Alt-click a pinned field to revert it to calculated, or use Settings → General → Manual overrides → Clear all manual overrides to drop them all. On a phone or tablet, long-press a field to edit it (there's no double-click or Alt key on touch); to revert a pinned field on touch, long-press it, clear the value, and commit. Overrides are saved with the character and print as plain values.

Source books (Settings)

The build ships with the core 2014 sourcebooks already baked in. Sources split into two questions, in two Settings sections:

Which sources a character uses: Settings → Character Settings → Enabled sources. Every loaded book, homebrew source, and the Ancestral Weapons module gets a checkbox per character: uncheck one to hide its content (races, spells, items, …) from the pickers and the wizard for this character only. Every character keeps its own choices. Toggling needs no server: unchecking applies instantly, and re-checking a book whose data is baked into the file merges its content back in on the spot.

Loading and managing the books themselves, under Settings → Advanced → Source books:

• From a book file (no server). On a sheet with no sourcebooks loaded, a "No sourcebooks loaded" banner opens a file picker directly: select one or more downloaded book JSON files and they load in a single click. The same files load any time via Import files…, merged into whatever's already loaded (never replacing it). Export books as JSON… produces those per-book files from your own loaded library, bundled in a .zip. That is the way to hand books to someone else.
• From a local 5etools server: pick any book or adventure with player content (PHB, XGE, TCE, Monster Manual, …) and click Load, or Load all books to import every available 2014-ruleset book in one pass. The sheet fetches the raw 5etools JSON from your server (default http://localhost:5050, editable) and processes it in the browser. Loading the Monster Manual brings in every monster stat block for the Companions page. Loading more books merges them (dedup by name). Works fully offline as long as that local server is running. Only 2014-ruleset books are listed. 2024 ("One D&D") content is filtered out on purpose; this sheet is 2014-only.
• The loaded-sources list shows everything loaded in this browser (books, imports, homebrew sources); ✕ unloads one for every character. Per-character hiding lives in Enabled sources, above.
• Clear loaded books: forgets anything loaded in this browser and reverts to the data baked into the file. Your characters aren't affected.

Loaded books are remembered per browser; the toolbar Save button bakes them into the downloaded copy (making the file itself permanent and portable), and Settings → General → Export a blank sheet does the same with no character data.

Updating

The sheet self-updates without you touching code.

• On the web / installed app: a service worker keeps the document fresh (network-first) and a stale or broken cache can never strand you; you're never asked to clear anything by hand.
• A downloaded copy: an "update available" banner appears when a newer build ships. Update streams the new build and re-bakes your characters into it (with a real download progress bar). Your source data is refreshed additively: new/errata content is folded in, and your homebrew, imports, and characters are preserved. A build can also flag a critical update that keeps resurfacing until you take it.

Scope

• Rules: D&D 5e 2014 ruleset only. 2024 ("One D&D") books are filtered out of the book picker and blocked from loading on purpose, because this sheet is built for the 2014 rules.
• Guided creation with sourcebook data, plus live rules-math automation for any character, plus a full homebrew authoring layer.

Roadmap

• A separate 2024-compliant sheet. The 2024 ruleset changes enough (backgrounds grant ASIs and a feat, weapon mastery, new spell prep, species vs. race, etc.) that it warrants its own sheet rather than bolting onto this one.
• In-Studio authoring forms for homebrew classes and monsters (import already handles both).
• Warlock Pact Boon, Arcane Shot, Rune Knight runes; richer natural-weapon and feature-attack coverage.

Sourcebook data (build-data.py)

build-data.py is the offline data baker: it extracts a trimmed subset (races, backgrounds, classes + subclasses, feats, weapons/armor, spells, monster stat blocks) from a local 5eTools copy into source-data.json. The in-browser loader does the same job live from a 5etools server, so you rarely need to run the CLI. It defaults to the Player's Handbook (2014); pass a 5eTools source code to extract a different book:

python3 build-data.py            # Player's Handbook (2014), the default
python3 build-data.py XGE        # Xanathar's Guide to Everything
python3 build-data.py MM         # Monster Manual (monster stat blocks for companions)

source-data.json and any baked-data copies you make with Save data file are gitignored as build artifacts (they carry copyrighted content) so the working tree stays clean.

Versioning

The app carries two version numbers:

• APP_SEMVER (from the VERSION file): the human-facing SemVer shown in the UI and used to name downloads, e.g. 2.133.1. Hand-curated: MINOR for features, PATCH for fixes and internal changes.
• APP_VERSION (v<N>): a build id the pre-commit hook auto-bumps every commit; it drives update detection and the service-worker cache-bust. Not hand-edited.

.githooks/pre-commit stamps both on every commit and bumps the service-worker cache (CACHE in sw.js) to match, so each deploy drops the old offline cache and fresh content lands on the next load. After cloning, activate the hook once:

git config core.hooksPath .githooks

Changelog

The welcome guide shows a changelog (the CHANGELOG array in index.html), expanded after each update (and it only shows the gap since the version you last saw). When you make a user-facing change, add its bullet(s) to a {v:"Unreleased"} entry at the top of the array; the pre-commit hook rewrites that tag to this commit's vN, so each release's notes carry the right number with no hand-editing.

Critical updates

For a release that really needs attention (e.g. a data-correctness fix), create a one-line update-note.txt in the repo root with the message to show. The pre-commit hook folds it into version.json as {critical:true, note:"…"}, and the banner then renders an Important update style, shows the note, and keeps resurfacing on every load until the user updates. It's sticky: the note rides every subsequent release until you delete update-note.txt.

Design / longevity rules

Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS only: no frameworks, no build step, no CDN, no web-fetched fonts (uses the system font stack). Edit it with any text editor. Data model is plain JSON keyed by field id. The app code stays free of copyrighted WotC text. All such content lives only in the baked #source-data block, so the app itself stays clean.