New user fails at macros

Hi, Brand new to roll 20, but have been GMing for 30+ years in D&D and other systems. I was very excited to find Roll20 as I now live in a small village in the arse end of nowhere. I am trying to set up attack rolls and damage rolls for my players to make their life easier. I am using the D&D3.5e template character sheet but have come across a problem. I click the "Attack calc/macro" button and get 3 d20 and 2 d6 rolled. the macro on the sheet is: 1d20cs>@{weapon1critmin} +@{bab}[BAB] +@{weapon1stat}[Ability] +@{size}[size] +@{weapon1enh}[Weapon1 Enh] +@{weapon1focus}[Weapon1 Focus] + ?{Flank (1=yes)|0}*2[Flank] +?{Power Attack? (put in penalty with negative sign ie -3)|0}[Pwr Attk] +?{Additional Attack Bonus?|0} The full attack macro is: &{template:DnD35Attack} {{pcflag=true}} {{name=@{character_name}}} {{subtags=attacks with a @{weapon1name} }} {{attack1=A1:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}]]}} {{critconfirm1=Crit!:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}]]}} {{fumbleroll=Fumble:[[d20]]}} {{damage1=D1:[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{critdmg1=+[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{fullattackflag=[[?{Full Attack? (hit space for full attack else hit return) |0}d1]]}} {{attack2=A2:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-5]]}} {{critconfirm2=Crit!:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-5]]}} {{damage2=D2:[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{critdmg2=+[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{attack3=A3:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-10]]}} {{critconfirm3=Crit!:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-10]]}} {{damage3=D3:[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{critdmg3=+[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{attack4=A4:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-15]]}} {{critconfirm4=Crit!:[[@{weapon1attackcalc}-15]]}} {{damage4=D4:[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} {{critdmg4=+[[@{weapon1damage}]]}} and this rolls 9 d20 and 7 d4 Am i inputting data wrong in the character sheet? Link to image (warning: large image) Thanks in advance and apologies if the answer is very simple and i just can't see it, Martin

Hi, first off welcome to roll20, you WILL be very happy here :) For an explanation of the dice see this thread ... or this quote from that thread: Diana P. said: The roll template rolls several die. a d20 for the attack, a d20 to confirm a crit if the attack meets the crit criteria, a d20 for the fumble roll if the attack fumbles, a d6 for the damage, and a d6 for the crit damage. It only displays the first d20 for the attack and the first d6 for damage if there is no crit possibility, but it still has to roll the extra die because of how the template works (it's just a way to display information). Naturally, if there is a crit threat, it will display the crit confirmation roll and the crit damage roll; if there is a fumble, it will display the d20 for the fumble confirmation. For more information on how to develop your own macros (I never tire of telling people that i use over 250 macros in my 3.5 campaign so far) you can check out the wiki page dedicated to 3.5 . A very handsome man recently added a bunch more information to it that may be of use should you wish to expand your knowledge of their workings or write your own. The wiki in general is a great place to learn those tricky little aspects of roll20 that can seem quite daunting to a new comer but it's like a jigsaw and the more you put bits together the more the whole picture makes sense :) Above all else, search the wiki, search the forum, ask questions if you can't find your answer anywhere else and before long you'll have all the tools you need to develop your campaign into something EPIC! One of the greatest features of roll20 is it's active, friendly and helpful community... not even mentioning it's active, friendly and helpful developers!!! Anyway, like i said... welcome to roll20 ;) If there is anything I can help with (from one 3.5 gm'er to another) just give me a shout.

ok, i think i understand the mechanics, but i am at a a loss with regards to the outcome display. In my mind, the player clicks their attack macro. The dice is shown as rolled. It hits. He then clicks his damage macro. The appropriate die is rolled and shows damage done. On Screen there are only the attack roll and the damage roll shown. I also understand that Diane states Unfortunately the only way to change that is to remove the crit and fumble parts of the roll and, of course, then it won't display those for you if you have a crit threat or a fumble. so the answer is that there is no way to ONLY show the attack and damage die even if there is no crit / fumble , or better still have a separate macro that can be clicked if a crit / fumble happens?

Sure, you can totally ignore Diana's inbuilt macros, replace them with your own or write your own and assign them as token actions either globally or on a token by token basis. Diana's sheet (which i also use) is set up to provide the best immediate solution to most 3.5 gamers, her own group included, but is by no means the only way to present the data required for the system. My group personally don't use a single macro in-built to the sheet as I've written my own for EVERYTHING! All you really need from the sheet itself is the 'names' of the fields so that you can call upon them for your own macros. By studying Diana's attack macro and understanding the macro system in general you can eventually start to see it like the matrix (blonde, redhead, brunette etc etc... thanks to Aaron for reminding me of that quote and its use in most situations lol). Diana also includes handy notation in her formula in single [] which help identify where each number is coming from in a roll. Once you understand the mechanics it really is a simple step to writing your own bespoke macro that will do whatever you want (within some limits... see here for details (particularly order of operations). Here are a few of my macros before i was prompted to wiki them (have written many more since...)

I think i see it now. I think the error i am making is assuming that monsters are just tokens. By your reference to [[@{target|armorclass}]] and +@{selected|size}[size] i assume that you have your monsters set up as characters in the journal? That would make a lot more sense to me I think. thanks for the link to your macros and all your help BTW. VERY useful :)

No problem you are most welcome, I asked 90% of these same questions when i first started and was lucky enough to have some training from the great and wonderful Diana herself (amongst others). I personally use character sheets for my monsters as it makes things easier in the long run and remember you only need to give them the information they need for your macros... If you want any more help at all just drop me a PM or use this thread and we'll soon have you automating all that pesky maths that 3.5 is so keen on ;) ps. this will also be useful when setting up monsters as tokens tied to journals...

Excellet. Monsters are now journal linked and my (crude) macro's work. Now then - how do you avaoid having lots of macro buttons on sceen. (say you want an attack macro, a seperate damage macro (bear with me) and then one for each ability, one for each attribute - that's a LOT of screen real estate. Is there a way as GM i can ask a player to make a dex roll and have a button appear for them to click? Or is that going WAY too far?

oops nevermind. I can just change the "Visible to players" option. :P

As you are now a mentor subscriber (sure you weren't when this thread started....) your options are unlimited (ish). I tend to have the main things, attack/damage/initiative/specialabilities set up as token actions so that i can personalise them. The rest i leave as #<insert macro name here> chat options so that they can quickly fire off that once a session diplomacy check without losing real estate to it. Visible to players just means they can see it in the macro menu and call on it in chat i believe* (i use this for setting spell macros to only be visible to players who can use that spell for example) *I may be wrong... often am... As for the macro bar (for my evil gm needs) i have my most used #macros set up there for general monster use (weapon 1, weapon 2 etc) as well as a few other things... my secret roll button for those quick behind the screen checks (complete with chat output telling them i'm secretly rolling for that true 'whats the DM up to' feel). Heres a screen shot from my current campaign showing the players quick macros (at the top) and mine (at the bottom):

I know Ziechael has answered most everything, but you can even change all the macros built into the 3.5 sheet. That's why (unless I missed a couple) every roll button has an associated macro field which is editable. If you want to use the built in attack but don't want it to show the damage or crit confirm, edit the macro and remove the {{critconfirm#=xxx}}, {{damage#=xxx}}, and {{critdmg#=xxx}} fields. There is a separate damage macro built in as well. :) Part of the idea behind how the sheet (and the roll templates/macros) were designed is to be flexible enough to allow for personalization. :) There is no 'one true way'. edit: and Ziechael, you make me blush some days... But I am glad you like the sheet and I enjoy seeing how your macros evolve. :)

Martin T. said: Is there a way as GM i can ask a player to make a dex roll and have a button appear for them to click? Or is that going WAY too far? You can do this. it's called ' API Command Buttons in Text Chat ', read more about it here: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1692467/#post-1692467" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1692467/#post-1692467</a>

Diana P. said: edit: and Ziechael, you make me blush some days... But I am glad you like the sheet and I enjoy seeing how your macros evolve. :) I just believe in credit were it is due :) GenKitty said: You can do this. it's called ' API Command Buttons in Text Chat ', read more about it here: <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1692467/#post-1692467" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/1692467/#post-1692467</a> I had considered suggesting that but wasn't sure Martin would be ready to start exploring API and its uses quite yet... that being said, it's never too early is it, good call GenKitty (&lt;-- another of roll20's most awesome of residents!)

Ack! I'm no one special!!! He may not be ready to dive into the deep end, but knowing what's possible is never a bad thing :&gt;

I'm still waiting on Aaron to come in and offer to automate everything with one script ;)