I don't know why I didn't post this here too, as it might generate some interesting conversation. Which do you prefer for how character sheets are oriented? Do you have any experience with landscape character sheets, good or bad?

Portrait, all the way. I've used landscape sheets, but they were almost always copies made that way to fit two pages on a single page.

I prefer portrait because that's how I instinctively try to read something. It feels odd to read a book, write some notes, and then flip over to a landscape page.

I've got a thing for efficiency and usability in layout. Hate when it gets in the way.  I've tried landscape a few times but for looking up stuff it doesn't seem to work out that well. Scanning vertically happens on either type of sheet (maybe a learned habit?)  So I think Portrait has the edge because, well, of the edge. You don't need to re-align your eyes with the left edge of a column as often, and there are less left edges to line up with.

I'm the kind of asshole who responds to these things with "What about equilateral shapes, like squares or circles?"

!i!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaI'm the kind of asshole who responds to these things with "What about equilateral shapes, like squares or circles?"

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Give me a good layout for a circular character sheet and I won't consider you an asshole?

Quote from: WilI don't know why I didn't post this here too, as it might generate some interesting conversation. Which do you prefer for how character sheets are oriented? Do you have any experience with landscape character sheets, good or bad?

Usually I use portrait sheets, but I've seen good landscape sheets for Dead of Night and Dogs in the Vineyard.  

The landscape approach both of these used was having stats on the left side of the sheet, and reference stuff on the right side of the sheet.  If you can fit your stats in half a sheet, I think this is a good approach.

I think landscape 8.5 x 14 is a superior format to two-sided 8.5 x 11, if all the information can be legible on that size sheet.

Quote from: jhkimUsually I use portrait sheets, but I've seen good landscape sheets for Dead of Night and Dogs in the Vineyard.  

The landscape approach both of these used was having stats on the left side of the sheet, and reference stuff on the right side of the sheet.  If you can fit your stats in half a sheet, I think this is a good approach.

Part of the reason I'm looking at landscape is actually to give some room for things to be a bit larger and more legible than most standard sheets. When I'm done I should be able to rearrange everything back into a portrait sheet, just a little bit more cramped. More than likely I'm going to do both (this is for Tribe 8, BTW) so that individual players can choose the one they like better.

I have to say that looking at the mostly completed landscape sheet it seems to "swim" more so I can understand why it might be harder to focus/find a frame of reference over portrait. Of course, I need to put some seperators in - boxes and whatnot to contain groups of related fields - and that might help things out a bit. Right now it just has the text and spaces to write things in on it with nothing to break up the sheet into sections.

LEgal (or thereabouts) size paper is good. The only thing I don't like about it in comparison to standard size is the fold that inevitably appears when I go to carry different size papers around.

Quote from: jrientsI think landscape 8.5 x 14 is a superior format to two-sided 8.5 x 11, if all the information can be legible on that size sheet.

That's not a character sheet, that's a placemat!

Would it come with a maze and word puzzles?

Quote from: WilWould it come with a maze and word puzzles?

I have toyed with the idea of a full-size charsheet for a Risus game where the majority of stuff on the page would be kiddie placemat diversions.

@jhkim   Maybe I've just been using it in the wrong applications.  Do you have a link available? Or are they the standard character sheets for those games?

Quote from: blakkie@jhkim   Maybe I've just been using it in the wrong applications.  Do you have a link available? Or are they the standard character sheets for those games?

They are the more-or-less standard sheets.  

http://www.steampowerpublishing.co.uk/doncharactersheet.pdf

http://www.lumpley.com/games/pdfs/pulloutsgencon.pdf

Quote from: WilGive me a good layout for a circular character sheet and I won't consider you an asshole?

You know, I was once considering just such a thing.  Even more, I was considering a spiral, with the spiral itself being an integral element in the organisation of the sheet.  Of course, for the life of me, I can't recall just how it was supposed to have worked anymore.  I guess the meds did their job well. :deflated:

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Quote from: jhkimThe landscape approach both of these used was having stats on the left side of the sheet, and reference stuff on the right side of the sheet.  If you can fit your stats in half a sheet, I think this is a good approach.

More relevantly (and seriously), back in my WoD-playing days, I used to photocopy the expanded character sheets from the splats on a 64% reduction so that front and back would fit on a single sheet (albeit in very small print, but you ought to see how small I can write).

!i!