A Smart AD&D 1E Character Sheet

I've been preparing for an upcoming AD&D 1E campaign. One of the things I learned from Anthony Huso's wonderful blog is that in order to run such a campaign (and with such scope and scale), you need really good resources. To that end, I put together an AD&D 1e character sheet here (using Google Sheets) that is quite powerful. I've done everything I can to automate the complex bits of AD&D that slow the game down. That's a recurring theme for all my prep: find ways to facilitate fast gameplay. I also made an equipment list, a character creation guide, and some player and DM reference sheets, but those are posts for another time.

You'll notice there are a few template options: the first is a general use character sheet; the second has a thief skills table; the third has a turn undead table. There's also a Data sheet, which is used for the automation.

I committed some sins in making this sheet -- deviations from the holy doctrine of the MM, PHB, and DMG -- that should be addressed:

1. Weight-based encumbrance is replaced with an item-based encumbrance system inspired by Carcass Crawler Issue #2. I don't think weight-based encumbrance adds enough meaningful decision-making or fast gameplay to keep. Automating the process with a spreadsheet definitely helps, but if you have any intention of ever playing in-person, weight-based encumbrance will rear its ugly head. I have played and ran both ways, and players consistently praise item-based encumbrance systems and bemoan weight-based ones. If you prefer weight-based encumbrance, it's pretty straightforward to adjust, but if people start clamoring for a pure BtB sheet, I may do so.
2. Weapons list changed. AD&D has a lot of weapon choices, but there comes a point where there are too many weapon choices. I want something simple and precise! In my iteration, each weapon offers a meaningful choice from others. For example: maces get that sweet bonus versus heavy armour, but they're slower and shorter than their axe and sword counterparts (it also requires Str 13 to wield, soft-limiting it to the more martial-types). Swords, on the other hand, are faster, longer, and get a slight bonus versus lightly- or un-armoured opponents. Also, yes, I use weapon versus AC, though I don't bother distinguishing between AC and AC type since it slows the game down, confuses players, and is harder to automate. For those that don't want this, just keep it toggled off on the sheet! I also removed the distinction between damage versus medium and large opponents. That was one additional variable I didn't feel comfortable incorporating into the already complex weapon choices. Again, if the people (or my players) ask, I may add an option for it.
3. Armour list changed. This is almost the same as the list found in the PHB but slightly simplified.

When playing online, I have my players make duplicates of the template, turning the shared doc into a living character record.

That's pretty much it. Let me know if you catch any errors, and happy gaming!

Edit: I couldn't stop the endless tinkerer in me, so I made a new version that is printer-friendly and contains thief skills, spells, and turn undead all in one. I also made a BtB character sheet. You can find that here.