Roll 20 Macro's

[andreww]

Hello everyone,

I have been running online games for a while now using Roll20 and I thought it would be useful to have a thread dedicated to discussing how macro’s work on the VTT. Macro’s are a way of automating a lot of rolls you make and come in many forms from the very simple to very complex but their main benefit is that they can significantly speed up play. Given online games can take longer to run than face to face cutting down roll handling time is really useful.

Thus this thread,

I am going to provide some examples of how macros work and provide some I use quite a lot. For those who haven’t used them before this can also stand as a sort of how to guide provide a basic introduction to them. However, I hope to use this thread as a way of helping new and old players alike so please provide examples of your own macros.

HOW DO YOU MAKE A MACRO?

1.Log in to your roll20 table

2.At the top right you will see 5 menu options, click the gear wheel which is the furthest to the right

3.That brings up lots of options but the top one should read Macros. Click the Add button

4.This brings up a text box. Give your Macro a name, something like Saves or Vital Strike or Full attack, whatever describes it best.

5.The Actions box is where we write the Macro itself, we will come back to this.

6.You will see a tickbox called “Show as token action” If you select this then the macro button will appear when you select your character token

7.Hit save changes. You will now see your macro appear in the menu on the right

8.There is a tickbox next to it marked “in bar”. If you select this the macro button appears along the bottom of your screen provided “show macro quick bar” is selected. This is at the bottom of your macro list.

Voila, you have just created your first macro.

HOW DO I WRITE A MACRO?

Macros range from the very complex to the very simple but they can automate a whole load of rolls. They can also be set up to allow you to input all sorts of variables when you use them. I am only going to be showing some fairly simple stuff. Others may well add more complex ones. You can also make use of the character sheet if you use that. I tend to find it doesn’t add much. If you are using the character sheet then you can also put macro’s into the Attributes and Abilities section. If you have access to the Character Vault then you can move your character between games which can save a lot of time rewriting macros. If you don’t have that then I recommend writing them into a text file and just copy/pasting for each new game.

For my examples I am going to use a sample character, a level 8 archer Fighter. He is purely a set of numbers to help show how to write various different types of macros.

Quote:

Fighty McFighterson Half-orc fighter 8 LN Medium humanoid (human, orc)

Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18, Speed 30

AC 25, touch 17, flat-footed 19 (+7 armor, +1 deflection, +6 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 68 (8d10+16)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +8 (+2 vs. fear)

Ranged +1 seeking greenwood composite longbow +17/+12 (1d8+7/×3)

Str 16, Dex 22, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +8; CMB +11; CMD 28

Feats Additional Traits, Deadly Aim, Manyshot, Improved Initiative, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow), Weapon Specialization (longbow)
Traits criminal, fate's favored, observant, spirit animal: woolly rhinoceros

Skills Climb +7, Disable Device +20, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge (engineering) +5, Perception +18, Profession (barkeep) +5, Ride +10, Sleight of Hand +7, Survival +5, Swim +7; Racial Modifiers +2 Intimidate
Languages Common, Kelish, Orc

Gear +1 mithral breastplate, +1 seeking greenwood composite longbow (+2 Str), amulet of natural armor +1, belt of physical might +2 (Str, Dex), cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone, eyes of the eagle, ring of protection +1, masterwork thieves' tools

Quote:

Initiative

Initiative is a simple macro to create and is one of the most useful to have as you know at some point you will end up in a fight. Roll20 has an automated turn tracker and your initiative macro can add you directly to that if set up properly. Our Fighter has a +11 modifier which adds some complications but they are easily handled.

Basic Macro

[[1d20+11.92&{tracker}]]

A common theme with these macros will be the use of [[ ]]. These avoid the use of /roll and save considerably on chat box space. Our example character has a +11 modifier which is obvious from the macro but why the .92? Decimal points are generally used to break ties, highest initiative modifier winning the tie. With modifiers higher than 9 you can’t just use the number as, for example, our .11 would end up behind someone with a modifier of +2-9. This way single digits remain as, say, 4.4, while those higher than 9 roll up into .9x.

An alternate way to do it is to use a second decimal place so people with single digit modifiers would use the hundredth rather than the tenth. Therefore a macro for someone with a +4 modifier would be:

[[1d20+4.04&{tracker}]]

One final note, to make sure that your initiative is added directly to the tracker you need to have your token selected when you hit the macro.

Quote:

Saves

Having your saves macro’d saves lots of time and is very easy to do. For our example character it would look like this:

/em Cross your fingers!

[[1d20+12]] Fortitude
[[1d20+12]] Reflex
[[1d20+8]] Will, +[[2]] versus fear

The /em adds a little bit of flavour text, remove or change to suit your own tastes. This macro rolls all of your saves at once or you can split it into 3 separate ones.

Quote:

Attacks

This is where some of the more complex macros can come into play. Personally I prefer a fairly simple set up. Our example character has a straightforward ranged attack but one which can have numerous modifiers applied to it, Manyshot, Rapid Shot, Point Blank, Deadly Aim. How do we reflect each of those possibilities? One way is to create a macro which includes each of them as a variable. I personally dislike that option as it means you have to turn each of them on or off for each attack which takes time. I prefer doing something simple like this:

[[1d20+17+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]] and [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]
[[1d20+12+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

When you hit this macro it will ask for a modifier value and then an extra damage value and then it will roll two attack rolls. When doing something like this I have a bit of paper next to me with all the possible modifiers, in this case it would be:

+1/1 Point Blank
-3/+6 deadly aim
-2 and an extra attack Rapid Shot

If I was using deadly aim and benefitting from point blank I would put -2 in the modifier box and +7 in the extra damage one.

The inclusion of Rapid and Manyshot does complicate things so instead you might want three separate macros, one for a single attack, one for a full attack and one for a rapid shot full attack. They might look like this:

Single Attack:

[[1d20+17+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

Normal Full attack:

[[1d20+17+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]] and [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]
[[1d20+12+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

Rapid Shot Full attack

[[1d20+15+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]] and [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]
[[1d20+15+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]
[[1d20+15+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

The base position for Roll20 is that any maximum roll will be highlighted green and minimum rolls will highlight red. This helps to identify auto misses and potential crits provided your threat range is /20. If you are using a /20 weapon you can set up your macro to automatically reroll any result of 20 which you can then use as your confirmation. It looks like this:

[[1d20r20+17+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

If you roll a natural 20 the attack roll will be highlighted green but the macro will show the second conformation roll. If you hover over the result you will see both numbers in brackets. Weapons with wider threat ranges cannot be rerolled automatically but you can set the macro to highlight a number in the threat range. If we are using a /19-20 weapon it would look like this:

[[1d20cs>19+17+?{modifiers}]] for [[1d8+7+?{extra dmg}]]

Note that in this case the > symbol doesn’t stand for greater than, it is just a notation which tells the macro to highlight the roll if the dice number is equal to or more than the value following it.

Quote:

Skills

Skills are very easy to macro and pretty much just follow the same structure as saves. If I wanted a macro for our fighters disable device it might look something like this:

/em back up everyone, I’ve got this!

[[1d20+20]] Disable Device

You can also combine various different skills into a single roll. Something like:

/em flexes his muscles

[[1d20+6]] Acrobatics
[[1d20+7]] Climb
[[1d20+6]] Escape Artist
[[1d20+10]] Ride
[[1d20+6]] Stealth
[[1d20+7]] Swim

This can be useful to save on macro space, especially if using the macro bar as you will have limited space at the bottom of your screen. You can also create a generic macro for those random rolls you never expect to make:

[[1d20+?{modifiers}]] for ?{reason|noreason}

When you hit this macro you will be asked to add a number and then given a text box to put in what it is for. This can be handy when you suddenly find yourself having to make an ability check or a skill check you hadn’t expected to need.

Finally you will note that when I have used /em I have left a line between that and the macro text. You should do the same when writing other macros, just leave the first line blank and start typing from the second. This will mean that when you hit your macro then text should avoid starting next to your name and remain clean and easy to follow/parse.

Quote:

GM Macro’s

I mostly run online nowadays and there are a few tips I have picked up which can help people running.

I make a lot of use of /w gm. This whispers information to me about what is happening. For example, if an enemy has a poison effect on its attack I will whisper myself its DC and effects. I also commonly use it to whisper creatures attack modifiers to me so I am only showing the players the attack roll. An attack sequence might look like this:

/em the hideous monstrosity tries to insert its tentacles into you!

[[1d20+?{modifiers}]] for [[2d6+12+?{extra dmg}]]
/w gm +[[15]], power attack -[[3]]/+[[6]]

The modifiers section is used to incorporate power attack but it keeps the players from automatically knowing the creatures attack bonus.

You can make rolls which include all modifiers and prevent players from seeing the results using the following:

/em the hideous monstrosity tries to insert its tentacles into you!

[[[[1d20+15+?{modifiers}]]]] for [[[[2d6+12+?{extra dmg}]]]]
/w gm power attack -[[3]]/+[[6]]

However in my experience this prevents crits or crit threats from showing up so I avoid using this one.

Finally as a GM I find it really useful to have 3 simple macros to hand

[[1d20]] rolls a single d20, I use it for monster saves all of the time so I don’t have to macro all of their saves
/w gm [[1d20]] great for secret sense motive, disable device or perception checks
[[1d100]], useful for displacement/total concealment checks and confusion

[chris manning]

as the GM you often want to sent a descriptive message to the chat box (eg for box text etc) that will stand out

/desc the Venture captain leaps on the table, spilling nearby drinks!

you can even send images to the chat (use sparingly !)

/desc [image](http://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderCampaignSetting/PZO9280-DrowMatro n_120.jpeg)

[Quadstriker]

Thanks very much for presenting this information in a concise easy to follow manner. This is exactly what I was looking for.

[Glord Funkelhand]

Stupid questions: Is there a Way to store my Marcos permanently?

[TriOmegaZero]

Huzzah! Thanks andreww!

[TOZ]

Glord Funkelhand wrote:

Stupid questions: Is there a Way to store my Marcos permanently?

If you mean in such a way that you can drop them into any game, you'll need to add them to a character sheet and have access to the character vault. Then you can export the character sheet with the macros wherever you like.

[LazarX]

Do you know of anyway to export Herolab characters to Roll20?

[Secret Wizard]

Just if anyone wants to see how good macros can be, here's my Paladin attack macro:

/w gm &{template:pf_attack} {{character_name=@{character_name}}} {{character_id=@{character_id}}} {{name=@{repeating_weapon_0_name}}} {{attack=[[1d20cs>@{repeating_weapon_0_crit-target}-floor(((4+@{bab})/4))+(?{Smite?|0}*@{cha-mod})+@{attk-melee}+{@{repeating_weapon_0_masterwork},@{repeating_weapon_0_enhance}}kh1+@{repeating_weapon_0_attack}]]}} {{damage=[[@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-dice-num}d@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-die} +@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-ability}+floor(2*(floor((4+@{bab})/4)))+(?{Smite?|0}*@{class-0-level})+@{repeating_weapon_0_enhance}+@{repeating_weapon_0_damage}]]}} {{crit_confirm=[[1d20+(?{Smite?|0}*@{cha-mod})-floor(((4+@{bab})/4))+@{attk-melee}+{@{repeating_weapon_0_masterwork},@{repeating_weapon_0_enhance}}kh1+@{repeating_weapon_0_attack}]]}} {{crit_damage=[[(@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-dice-num} * (@{repeating_weapon_0_crit-multiplier} - 1))d@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-die}+((@{repeating_weapon_0_damage-ability}+@{repeating_weapon_0_enhance}+(?{Smite?|0}*@{class-0-level})+floor(2*(floor((4+@{bab})/4)))+@{repeating_weapon_0_damage}) * (@{repeating_weapon_0_crit-multiplier} - 1))]]}} {{Smite=[[?{Smite?|0}]]}} {{type=@{repeating_weapon_0_type}}} {{description=@{repeating_weapon_0_notes}, @{attack-notes}}}

[LazarX]

For those of us who don't read gobbledy, what does it do?

[BigNorseWolf]

TOZ wrote:

Glord Funkelhand wrote:

Stupid questions: Is there a Way to store my Marcos permanently?

If you mean in such a way that you can drop them into any game, you'll need to add them to a character sheet and have access to the character vault. Then you can export the character sheet with the macros wherever you like.

How does one obtain access to a character vault?

[TriOmegaZero]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

How does one obtain access to a character vault?

The Pro subscription will give you access for $5/month or $50/year. If you have a regular GM who has paid for the sub, they can use their vault to import/export your character sheets for you. I do it myself for my non-subbed players.

[Secret Wizard]

LazarX wrote:

For those of us who don't read gobbledy, what does it do?

1. Asks whether the Pally is Smiting. (1 is yes, 0 is no)

2. Rolls an attack, adding everything that needs to be added - included CHA if smiting, only adds masterwork +1 if Enhancement bonus is not present, looks up to the weapon for critical threat range, also automatically adds the scaling Power Attack penalty.

3. Rolls damage, adds everything that needs to be added, including Pally level if smiting and Power Attack bonus, scaling (you don't need to ever change how much damage PA adds, it just looks up your BAB.)

4. Since the attack roll looks up to your crit threat to see if it was a critical threat, in positive case, it will roll a confirmation check automatically, with everything it needs.

5. Crit damage is calculated in that case, looking at the weapons crit multiplier.

6. It also shows other relevant info like what type damage the weapon deals and other attack notes.

7. Also, it shows whether the Pally put 1 or 0 on whether he was Smiting (so he doesn't cheat).

[andreww]

LazarX wrote:

Do you know of anyway to export Herolab characters to Roll20?

No, I don't believe so. Using the character vault and keeping your sheet there up to date to move between games is probably the easiest thing.

[SCPRedMage]

LazarX wrote:

For those of us who don't read gobbledy, what does it do?

It helps if you understand how templates work, which I covered in the Roll20 tutorial I wrote about a month ago..

[chris manning]

here is a way to roll either active or passive perception for all your players (for an active check, enter 0 at the prompt - replace the playerX with PC names and replace Z with their actual bonus)

.

/em rolls some dice
/w gm perception player1 [[?{Passive|10}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]]
/w gm player2 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]] player3 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]]
/w gm player4 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]] player5 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]]
/w gm player6 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]] player7 [[?{Passive}+(1-(?{Passive}/10))d20+Z ]]

.

As a GM this will roll NPC saves (pick which type from a dropdown box) but hide the bonus to prevent metagaming (replace A, B & C with the requisite bonus)

&{template:pf_generic}{{name=save}}{{?{What kind of Save|Fort, Fort [[[[1d20+A ]]]] |Ref, Ref [[[[1d20+B ]]]] |Will, Will [[[[1d20+C ]]]]}}}