Updated version 3 here! I have a better version posted, so if you're finding this old thread, then head on over to the new one. :) This is an updated version of my previous ' Universal NPC Statblock Abilities and Spells Chat Menus ' post. The biggest difference is that I'm not including a non-macro mule version (as a lot of the functionality requires a macro mule). If you want to use simple cut-and-paste macros, then the previous post will still work just fine for NPCs. This is an advanced approach to generate Universal Skills & Spells chat menus for both NPCs and PCs , without using any Stylus extensions or API scripts (though Stylus is recommended for other reasons listed below). It is ready to use as is and will generate a chat menu with buttons, and only display abilities, spells, attacks, rolls, etc. that exist on the character sheet, and won't display categories or spells levels that the character doesn't have. I'll break this post down into a few posts (because of character limits on posts in Roll20): Features Details about what is included in the macro mule for NPCs and PCs. Part 1: Macro Mule Setup - scripted (using an API Mod script for Pro Subscribers) If you do have a Roll20 Pro Subscription, I have a script that will generate the Macro Mule character and collection macros automatically for you. It's like magic! After the character and macros are created, you no longer need access to any API Mod scripts - this simply automates the cutting-and-pasting that you would have to do otherwise. Part 1: Macro Mule Setup - manually (no API Mod script) If you don't have a Roll20 Pro Subscription, you can still use this approach. You simply have to cut-and-paste lots of pre-built code into a macro mule. I was able to do it in about 20 minutes. Step 1: Create Macro Mule Character Step 2: Create Attributes A: Attributes Step 3: Create Abilities B: Templates / Styles C: PC Abilities D: NPC Abilities E: Spells Abilities part 1 F: Spells Abilities part 2 Part 2: Calling the Macros Step 4: Create Collection Macros Instructions on how to set up the macro calls in the collections tab or on NPC character sheets. Part 3: Customization Step 5: (Optional) Change font colors Instructions on how to customize the appearance. Known limitations: 1. This only works for the 'D&D 5E by Roll20' character sheet. 2. You must select a token to use any of the macros. 3. Selected tokens must be linked to a character sheet. If you use a macro with a token that is not linked, you'll get a bit of public spam error messages in chat. 4. Characters cannot have any parentheses or quotation marks in their character names. (The name that is displayed in the journal.) HTML replacements won't work either. This limitation also applies to some other fields, such as 'range' for spells and weapons. 5. There is a limit on the number of items that will be displayed for different references. 10 spells per level, 30 items in inventory, etc. These are not hard limits, but I wasn't sure what number would be best so I set a number that I think will fit at least 95% of use cases. I can easily tweak the relevant macros to include more if needed. 6. I strongly suggest using the Stylus Extension to adjust the sizing and appearance of the default 'D&D 5E by Roll20' character sheet roll templates. Specifically code like this that widens the 'containers' more than the default 188px width. Otherwise some of the chat menus will appear a bit cramped and misaligned. 7. I change all of my NPC characters 'name' field to be '@{selected|token_name}', so that when I make rolls it will display the current token (for when I have multiple Goblins such as Goblin 1, Goblin 2, etc.). If you don't use this technique then it's possible you'll get weird output. Let me know if that happens. 8. The macros must be called from a separate macro and cannot simply be pasted into chat, as this is a Roll20 limitation with the &{noerror} functionality.
