[D&D 4E] Character Sheet issues & suggested improvements

Good day everyone! I have determined that the character sheet for 4E has some issues that I could not circumvent alone and I would require the assistance of the more proficient at wielding this unwieldy tool. Please keep in mind that I do not know how to script and or program and all these request are addressed to those people that do and maintain the 4E character sheet. Also please be aware that I am on a free account for the moment and I don't have access to Subscriber/Mentor features. 1. Armor Class for Heavy Armor is NOT calculated by using Dex modifier When using heavy armor (chain, scale, plate) the character doesn't use his Dex modifier to AC defense. The fix is to add a -x Dex modifier for a character that uses heavy armor. Possible solution would be to include the possibility to select the armor's type in the Inventory. 2. Burst and Blast powers use MULTIPLE attack rolls but only ONE damage roll This is big if it can be implemented/solved. For now I managed to get two copies for the same power: one for attack and one for damage and I use this fix to enable the character to attack multiple targets in an affected area and roll damage once. But this method is cumbersome as hell. A possible solution is to add "attributes" to the Powers like Range (Area burst x within y, Ranged x, Close burst x, Close burst y, Wall x within y, etc.) and targets (creature, ally, enemy). I managed to use @{target|token} to enable the character to point his intended target with such powers but it still clutters the chat as hell. 3. Monster/NPC Character Sheet request Wishing to keep a clear line between characters, NPC's and monsters I would consider adding a "Monster/NPC" sheet, formatted as per Monster Manual 3. This would easily speed up the macros and monsters for the DM and help with micromanagement during session. As far as I understood, I could have one monster statistics but three tokens for it ? How ? 4. What is "floor(1/2)" and "floor(18-10)" mean when I roll damage? According to 4th Edition rules, the half-level variable applies only to the following: - attack rolls - skill checks - defenses - miscellaneous (paragon path or class specific powers) I believe that in these calculations lies a bug that needs to be fixed, as every time I roll attack and damage, it applies half level with "floor(1/2)" and an odd variable with "floor(18-10)". Care to show me, please? 5. Select multiple tokens one-by-one and roll one attack/damage dice Related to the 2nd point I have found that @{target|token_name} is very helpful in targeting the allies and enemies for tokens the character's can't control. As ranted in point no.2 I wish to use this script or something similar to this @{target|token_name} to select more than one token and afterwards an attack roll (or damage roll) to happen. How can I do this, as the "?" doesn't help very much. [spoiler] This is what I am actually trying: Target: @{target|target1|token_name} Attack: [[1d20+@{power-5-attack}]]vs @{power-5-def} I would need to make this from a single attack power to a multiple targeting attack power. [/spoiler] Thank you very much for listening to my rant. If I find more issues I will post here. Cheers, Ivlev Raul Dungeon Master Extraordinaire P.S. Please be as verbose you need to be as I have trouble understanding complex programming&scripting (e.g took me 2 hours to determine where @{select|Atk} gets his values. Answer? Attributes, which need to be added). Thanks!

Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 1. Armor Class for Heavy Armor is NOT calculated by using Dex modifier When using heavy armor (chain, scale, plate) the character doesn't use his Dex modifier to AC defense. The fix is to add a -x Dex modifier for a character that uses heavy armor. Possible solution would be to include the possibility to select the armor's type in the Inventory. In the Settings tab, near the bottom, you can select what ability is used to calculate each defense. I believe some characters don't get any ability added to AC, in which case your strategy of manually applying a penalty is the only option, currently. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 2. Burst and Blast powers use MULTIPLE attack rolls but only ONE damage roll This is big if it can be implemented/solved. For now I managed to get two copies for the same power: one for attack and one for damage and I use this fix to enable the character to attack multiple targets in an affected area and roll damage once. But this method is cumbersome as hell. A possible solution is to add "attributes" to the Powers like Range (Area burst x within y, Ranged x, Close burst x, Close burst y, Wall x within y, etc.) and targets (creature, ally, enemy). I managed to use @{target|token} to enable the character to point his intended target with such powers but it still clutters the chat as hell. This is an issue with the dice rolling engine in general, not the 4e sheet. Barring access to the API, something like your solution is a perfectly reasonable solution. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 3. Monster/NPC Character Sheet request Wishing to keep a clear line between characters, NPC's and monsters I would consider adding a "Monster/NPC" sheet, formatted as per Monster Manual 3. This would easily speed up the macros and monsters for the DM and help with micromanagement during session. As far as I understood, I could have one monster statistics but three tokens for it ? How ? Currently, the only way for a sheet author to create something like a "monster sheet" is to create a tab with the relevant information, which can significantly increase the size of the sheet, lengthening load times. I believe the Pathfinder sheet has done this, but it's not ideal. The ability to have multiple character sheet configurations is somewhere in the roadmap, though. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 4. What is "floor(1/2)" and "floor(18-10)" mean when I roll damage? According to 4th Edition rules, the half-level variable applies only to the following: - attack rolls - skill checks - defenses - miscellaneous (paragon path or class specific powers) I believe that in these calculations lies a bug that needs to be fixed, as every time I roll attack and damage, it applies half level with "floor(1/2)" and an odd variable with "floor(18-10)". Care to show me, please? Many powers in 4e add an ability mod to your damage, which can be calculated as either floor((ability - 10) / 2) or floor(ability / 2 - 5). The default macro for a power on the 4e sheet is /me uses @{power- N -name} [[1d20+@{power- N -attack}]] vs @{power- N -def} Hit: [[(1*@{power- N -weapon-num-dice})d@{power- N -weapon-dice}+@{power- N -damage}]] Damage Hit: [[1d6+@{power- N -damage}]] Damage Where N is the number of the power. @{power-N-attack} includes floor(@{level} / 2), and @{power-N-damage} includes @{power-N-mod}, which will be something like floor((@{strength} - 10) / 2). Note that the default macro is just a sample, and includes two hit lines, one designed for weapon powers and another designed for implement powers. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 5. Select multiple tokens one-by-one and roll one attack/damage dice Related to the 2nd point I have found that @{target|token_name} is very helpful in targeting the allies and enemies for tokens the character's can't control. As ranted in point no.2 I wish to use this script or something similar to this @{target|token_name} to select more than one token and afterwards an attack roll (or damage roll) to happen. How can I do this, as the "?" doesn't help very much. Unfortunately, without the API, your only option would be to hardcode the number of targets, which isn't particularly efficient or satisfying. Your current strategy of having an attack macro and a damage macro is about the best you're going to get for your area/burst/blast powers.

Brian, thanks for the kind reply! Because I dislike being defeated by a tool (sometimes feeling defeated by a hammer is quite the motivator), I decided to delve a bit deeper into scripting this for all the characters participating in my current campaign (six of them). Besides scripting, trimming and cleaning every power, I wish to show whatever have I learned along the way in these two days. Below is the script for Freezing Burst at-will power: ----------------------- /em hurls a hailstone toward his foes. It explodes among them, temporarily turning the ground into an ice slick. * Target: @{target|target1|token_name} Attack:[[1d20+@{power-3-attack}]] vs @{power-3-def} * Target: @{target|target2|token_name} Attack:[[1d20+@{power-3-attack}]] vs @{power-3-def} * Target: @{target|target3|token_name} Attack:[[1d20+@{power-3-attack}]] vs @{power-3-def} Hit: [[1d6+@{power-4-damage}+(1*(@{feat-enlarge} * ?{Enlarge Spell (1=yes)|0}))+@{feat-destructive} * ?{Destructive Wizardry (1=yes)|0}]] [Cold] damage,and you can slide the target 1 square. ----------------------- The "(1*(@{feat-enlarge} * ?{Enlarge Spell (1=yes)|0}))+@{feat-destructive} * ?{Destructive Wizardry (1=yes)|0}" is a trick to allow the character to add a bonus or a malus when he uses the mentioned feats, which I add in Attributes as flat number. The multiplier is added manually for each power that has more than one dice to its damage roll. After creating this I felt mighty and went to do the Half-orc Rogue: ----------------------- "/em monstrous wrath burns inside him, giving strength to his attack. Trigger: You hit an enemy Effect: The attack deals [[((1*@{power-9-weapon-num-dice})d@{power-9-weapon-dice}) * ?{Weapon (1=yes)|1})]] extra damage if it's a weapon attack or [[1d8 * ?{Implement (1=yes)|0}]] extra damage if it isn't." ----------------------- A tricky power which says that you deal 1-weapon damage if the triggering attack is from a weapon or 1d8 if it comes from an implement. Not the most elegant or clean solution but until I afford to become a Mentor I believe this will do. Simply put, the player notes what power he used (because Rogue, on implement the default is 0) and the power shows him how much damage he dealt. Now with a macro ... this can be quite the stuff of legend !! Someday ... Thanks again Brian and everyone here! Cheers, Ivlev Raul Dungeon Master Extraordinaire

Brian said: Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 1. Armor Class for Heavy Armor is NOT calculated by using Dex modifier When using heavy armor (chain, scale, plate) the character doesn't use his Dex modifier to AC defense. The fix is to add a -x Dex modifier for a character that uses heavy armor. Possible solution would be to include the possibility to select the armor's type in the Inventory. In the Settings tab, near the bottom, you can select what ability is used to calculate each defense. I believe some characters don't get any ability added to AC, in which case your strategy of manually applying a penalty is the only option, currently. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 2. Burst and Blast powers use MULTIPLE attack rolls but only ONE damage roll This is big if it can be implemented/solved. For now I managed to get two copies for the same power: one for attack and one for damage and I use this fix to enable the character to attack multiple targets in an affected area and roll damage once. But this method is cumbersome as hell. A possible solution is to add "attributes" to the Powers like Range (Area burst x within y, Ranged x, Close burst x, Close burst y, Wall x within y, etc.) and targets (creature, ally, enemy). I managed to use @{target|token} to enable the character to point his intended target with such powers but it still clutters the chat as hell. This is an issue with the dice rolling engine in general, not the 4e sheet. Barring access to the API, something like your solution is a perfectly reasonable solution. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 3. Monster/NPC Character Sheet request Wishing to keep a clear line between characters, NPC's and monsters I would consider adding a "Monster/NPC" sheet, formatted as per Monster Manual 3. This would easily speed up the macros and monsters for the DM and help with micromanagement during session. As far as I understood, I could have one monster statistics but three tokens for it ? How ? Currently, the only way for a sheet author to create something like a "monster sheet" is to create a tab with the relevant information, which can significantly increase the size of the sheet, lengthening load times. I believe the Pathfinder sheet has done this, but it's not ideal. The ability to have multiple character sheet configurations is somewhere in the roadmap, though. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 4. What is "floor(1/2)" and "floor(18-10)" mean when I roll damage? According to 4th Edition rules, the half-level variable applies only to the following: - attack rolls - skill checks - defenses - miscellaneous (paragon path or class specific powers) I believe that in these calculations lies a bug that needs to be fixed, as every time I roll attack and damage, it applies half level with "floor(1/2)" and an odd variable with "floor(18-10)". Care to show me, please? Many powers in 4e add an ability mod to your damage, which can be calculated as either floor((ability - 10) / 2) or floor(ability / 2 - 5). The default macro for a power on the 4e sheet is /me uses @{power- N -name} [[1d20+@{power- N -attack}]] vs @{power- N -def} Hit: [[(1*@{power- N -weapon-num-dice})d@{power- N -weapon-dice}+@{power- N -damage}]] Damage Hit: [[1d6+@{power- N -damage}]] Damage Where N is the number of the power. @{power-N-attack} includes floor(@{level} / 2), and @{power-N-damage} includes @{power-N-mod}, which will be something like floor((@{strength} - 10) / 2). Note that the default macro is just a sample, and includes two hit lines, one designed for weapon powers and another designed for implement powers. Raul - Tiberiu I. said: 5. Select multiple tokens one-by-one and roll one attack/damage dice Related to the 2nd point I have found that @{target|token_name} is very helpful in targeting the allies and enemies for tokens the character's can't control. As ranted in point no.2 I wish to use this script or something similar to this @{target|token_name} to select more than one token and afterwards an attack roll (or damage roll) to happen. How can I do this, as the "?" doesn't help very much. Unfortunately, without the API, your only option would be to hardcode the number of targets, which isn't particularly efficient or satisfying. Your current strategy of having an attack macro and a damage macro is about the best you're going to get for your area/burst/blast powers. @Alex L., Raul - Tiberiu I and Brain, This is some great stuff! I currently use @HoneyBadgers(HB) Character importer API which doesn't fill in Alex L, Character Sheet. I have been trying to mod HB's API and notice that HB's is following the naming convention used in The D&D Character Builder export files (.dnd4e), it's the Character Sheet that is using a different naming convention. If the Character Sheet was updated to follow .dnd4e exported files, HB's importer would fill in the Character Sheet automatically. @Alex L., If I provided a .dnd4e file for reference would you be willing to update the Character Sheet? Jim