I would like to thank everyone who has voted in the poll already and everyone who commented. I see a lot of comments with similar questions, so instead of addressing them all separately, I'm writing this FAQ post. Hopefully, this will give you a better idea what to vote for.
If you haven’t done so already, please vote in the poll How MPMB should be updated to 5e 2024.This poll is only for active members and will be open until Monday October 28. I will post the results publicly after that time.
What is the idea behind creating a web-app?
The basic idea is to bring the MPMB’s Character Record Sheets to a format that is not reliant on Adobe Acrobat and thus making it:
Accessible on more platforms (e.g. mobile).
Able to use modern technology and thus easier to maintain (AcroJS hasn’t been updated for over 10 years and Adobe hasn’t addressed feature requests since).
Easier to expand upon (the current form is reaching the limit of AcroForm fields it can support without crashing Adobe Acrobat).
The philosophy behind the sheets won’t change. It will still be a (mostly) WYSIWYG form to build a D&D character. It will also still primarily be intended to be used printed out (see “Printed Character Sheet” below). A web-app should also allow for a much better user experience for those who only want to use the character sheet digitally.
Why spent all this energy just to recreate something?
That is a fair question and why I’ve been holding off on this for so long. A lot of time and effort has gone into the current sheet and starting anew from scratch will be equally challenging. I believe that the PDF has reached a point where it needs significant rewrites of the code to not become too bloated to provide a good user experience, especially if I want to add new features and it still be able to run on less powerful hardware. Instead of rewriting in AcroJS, I would rather invest that time in creating something that is more future-proof and more accessible.
Will the web-app result in a printed character sheet or do I need to keep it open like D&D Beyond?
The web-app will have printability as its highest purpose. Just like the PDFs now, my main goal for creating a digital character sheet is to print it out for use at the table. I understand people wanting to use it purely in a digital format, but that has never been the design philosophy behind MPMB’s character sheets. A web-app will allow for a much better user experience for those who only want to use the character sheet digitally.
I play D&D both online (with FoundryVTT) and offline. When I play offline, the only person allowed any digital device is the DM. Having a printed character sheet with pencil and eraser is essential for me personally, and I find it’s often necessary for the engagement of my players as well.
I play D&D with pen and paper, why would I want a web-app?
Please see the answer above for “Will the web-app result in a printed character sheet or do I need to keep it open like D&D Beyond?”.
Unrelated, but why do people call it “pen and paper”? I certainly hope most people are not writing stuff down on their paper character sheet with non-erasable ink. I guess it sounds better than “pencil and eraser”?
Will the web-app still produce a PDF character sheet?
This is related to the answer above for “Will the web-app result in a printed character sheet or do I need to keep it open like D&D Beyond?”.
If you can print it, you can print it to PDF. As having a printed character sheet is the main purpose of the web-app, you can rest assured that you can make a PDF character sheet with it. The resulting PDF will be like printing the current sheet to PDF.
Downloading the character from the web-app as a form-fillable PDF is technically feasible but isn’t on the initial feature list. It could be something to add in the future, if many people are interested.
Will the web-app require a constant internet connection?
No. Modern web-apps can be made in such a way that you “install” them once and then can access them even without an active internet connection. How this “install” will work in practice is still something to be seen, as there are several possible avenues of making that work.
For example, a progressive web application would ask you to allow it to be accessible offline. Then with a single click on “OK” you’d have offline access to it from that moment on.
Having the option to use the character sheets offline is a high priority for the web-app.
If option 4 wins, will there be no PDF with the 2024 rules?
I promise to supply a workable PDF with the 2024 rules, next to one with the 2014 rules, regardless off how the poll turns out.
If option 4 is chosen, this will just be one without altering the current built-in code or design. An add-on script can still get most of the rules added correctly.