Hey folks, I've been finding lately that the last few PF campaigns that I've been creating a forum post with a bunch of Macro examples, tricks, and how-to's. I'd be curious to know if the general community (Hi people!) would find this interesting as an addition to the Pathfinder Specific section of the Wiki. I'd also love to see other folks' tips and tricks as well. INTENT: To illustrate specific techniques for macros specifically designed for the Pathfinder RPG system and to demonstrate their use through examples. As you read through this article you will find certain techniques simplified or unused in order to emphasize the topic method. The examples provided are not necessarily meant to be used as-is(Though everything posted is functional). Rather, they're offered as an example of a particular method to be combined with other techniques for you to craft your own comprehensive macros using all techniques you're comfortable with employing. TIPS AND TECHNIQUES: Spacing: Spacing inside a roll rarely matters, as it does not generally effect the results of a roll. When I make macros I space everything far apart so its easier to see where I might have made an error, and to make it easier to adjust later on as needed. When figuring out result spacing in the chat window, I try to get things to fit on as few lines as possible. I can be a bit obsessive about this, but it makes for cleaner macros and speeds the game along if you can see and comprehend the results easily. Group your Macros: To save your own screen space and to avoid having dozens of macros I combine similar rolls into one macro: Ex: Conversation skills (bluff,sense motive, diplomacy, etc) can all be rolled at once in a single macro, rather than a macro button for each one. Boolean Math : Using the Identity property of 1 and the multiplicative property of 0, combined with Queries, you can make ON / OFF type switches in your macros. This is as close as you can get to conditionals in the Macro system. Real If/Then/Else requires Mentor subscriptions and the API. Note: Pathfinder almost always rounds down, so always use the "Floor" function to force it when finding the 1/2 of something. Example: (Two-Handed Weapon Damage) [[ 1d12 + 5[STR] + ( ?{Two-Handed Weapon?|0}[TwoHanded?] * floor( 5[STR] * .5) ) ]] Reason : Since regular weapon damage adds 1x your strength, and a Two-handed Weapon adds 1.5x your Strength you can add Query * HalfYourStrength . By using a 1 in your query result, you add the extra 1/2 str. If you reply 0, the added result is zero so effectively just your regular strength. Calculated Dice Roll : Mostly for Casters where damage of spells is often dependent on your level, you can use math and attributes to determine how many dice to roll. This is also an example of grouping rolls with { } and comparing them with KL1 (keep Lowest) Example: CureLightWounds would does 1d8+ Level, but only up to level 5 at max giving us [[ 1d8 + ( { 5 , @{Level} }kl1) ]] This takes the number 5, compares it to your @{Level} attribute, and keeps the lower of the two. So if you're level 2, you'll end up rolling 1d8+2. if you're level 12, you'll roll 1d8+5 Note: Grouped rolls like KL1 and Calculated Dice Roll's currently don't play nice with each other. The only way to combine them is to do a plain regular /roll and inside THAT, do your comparisons. For example, Fireball (Your level of d6' up to 10d6) would come out as /r [[ {10, @{CasterLevel} }kl1 ]]d6 Unfortunately that leaves us with the messy graphical dice, but it does calculate correctly. In these cases, I'll often forgoe the level comparison and just put in my level attribute and replace it with the max number when I hit that level (ie: [[ (@level)d6]] until I hit level 10 and just make it [[10d6]] Passive Rolls for GMs: If you have your players keep Perception, Sense Motive, etc attributes defined in their character journals, you can use @{Target|Attribute} or @{Selected|Attribute} to determine if the character made their check without notifying the player that it happened. This assumes that the Tokens are bound to the Character Journal correctly. Example : /w GM @{Selected|TokenName} Passive Perception [[ @{Selected|Perception} + 10]] Since it's the GM whispering to the GM, only they see the roll. Corollary to Passive GM Roll: If your player-base is consistent you can make one macro to test all their passive checks and use it for any NPC or monster that might try to stealth, bluff, or traps, etc. NOTE : Spacing gets a bit messy after 4 players without reworking it Example : (Secretly rolling generic monster's stealth check and comparing it to player's rolled perceptions) /w GM NPC Stealth[[ (1d20 + ?{Stealth bonus?|0} ) ]] /w GM Player's Name:[[ 1d20 + @{PlayerName1|Perception} ]] /w GM Player's Name:[[ 1d20 + @{PlayerName2|Perception} ]] /w GM Player's Name:[[ 1d20 + @{PlayerName3|Perception} ]] /w GM Player's Name:[[ 1d20 + @{PlayerName4|Perception} ]] Calculating Crits: Aside from using plain text to describe what constitutes a crit, you can use inline rolls to tell you the actual final roll value. ex: Rapiers crit on an 18-20. If I have a +6 attack bonus, that means you would crit on a total roll of 24,25, or 26. (18+6 or higher) You essentially repeat your attack roll portion and replace 1d20 with your lowest crit range (18). Note that when you don't use a roll, you can't use the [ ] descriptions inside an inline roll. Game Note : Pathfinder Crits are your damage and bonus' rolled multiple times, not the result multiplied. /me stabs with his Keen LongSpear! Attack:[[1d20 + 6[AttackBonus] ]] for [[1d6 + 4[STR] ]] Dmg Crits on [[ 19 + 6 ]] for addt'l [[ ( 1d6 + 4[STR] ) + ( 1d6 + 4[STR] ) ]]
