5 tips on remembering D&D rules: Class Cheat Sheets Kickstarter shows many people need refreshers

I had one question for Anto Cerrato of Icarus Games when he told me that Icarus Games’ Class Cheat Sheets were coming to Kickstarter. Rudely, I wondered, “Why would anyone care?”

You see, I thought only newbies would need cheat sheets, and newbies wouldn’t be watching Kickstarter for cool new stuff. However, Anto told me that he’d been given a lot of feedback from experienced players who liked the idea.

Let’s look at the pitch video first. Note that the Kickstarter is now live; I was wrong; Anto was right as the target has been met. Easily.

[Back this Campaign]

According to Anto, experienced players liked the sheets because they hadn’t played a class in a while and just needed a quick reminder because they actually struggled to keep all the rules fresh in mind or wanted to use the sheets with a new gaming group.

It was Anto’s experience that remembering details down to certain abilities was a common problem.

And so, I had a second question; “Could you give me five tips on how to deal with that struggle?”

1. Repetition. I will often ask players to read out what their abilities do where they announce they are using them. This repetition most, if not each, time an ability is used helps to cement the rule in the player’s (and my) head. Down the line, I will still repeat my memorization of what an ability does back to the player when they say they want to use an ability to help keep that repetition up. 
2. Keep It Simple. Even as the GM, you don’t need to know every single rule off the top of your head. Focus on remembering the rules you use every week, and look up other rules when needed. 
3. Outsource. Most RPGs are collaborative and involve multiple people, so spread the load of learning the rules across the group. If you are learning a new game, each player can be responsible for learning one aspect of the rules, and then you can teach one another and learn as you play. 
4. Sticky Notes. Using sticky notes to bookmark different sections of your rulebook can make referencing rules so much easier, meaning you don’t have to keep so much memorized. 
5. Cheat Sheets. This is what kicked off this entire KS campaign; because each player at the table is going to need to remember different information, so using index cards, a notepad, the back of a character sheet, or a produced cheat sheet like ours to write out the most common rules you’ll need to reference is so useful. 

Class Cheat Sheets Kickstarter

Icarus’ Games Kickstarter is digital-only, covering the 12 base classes and some subclasses;

• Barbarian, Path of the Berserker
• Bard, College of Lore
• Cleric, Life Domain
• Druid, Circle of the Land
• Fighter, Champion
• Monk, Way of the Open Hand
• Paladin, Oath of Devotion
• Ranger, Hunter
• Rogue, Thief
• Sorcerer, Draconic Bloodline
• Warlock, Fiend Patron
• Wizard, College of Evocation

A pledge of £1 is enough for backers to pick up one digital cheat sheet as a reward.

Then, at £7 and with the GM Bundle, all 12 of this wave of cheat sheets are unlocked.

That’s it, although the early bird deal sold out in hours and some slots for the £200 one-shot game offer is still open.