A few questions regarding macros for D&D Next rule set, and other things

First, love Roll20! Still figuring it all out (I'll be a mentor starting next month). Got a game tonight and I'm having some issues with macros and other things. Thanks in advance for any help! 1. Moving players to a new map. Saw the tutorial, was able to move the player to another map, but the player's character remains on the previous map. Should I be able to move both simultaneously? Or do I need to do something more involved than that? 2. Grouping tokens together. Not sure if I'm doing it wrong, but I was thinking for whatever reason that they tokens all snap together. Am I doing anything wrong? 2. I would love to figure out how to automate the most important part of the D&D Next rule set, which is the Proficiency Bonus. It factors into nearly everything (skills, saves, weapons). I can get it where the player is asked for a value. I can get it where the static bonus is listed for the player or DM to add after seeing it in chat. How do I get the macro to just add it in and give the total result? I'm hoping that this problem will be solved by the new character sheets, but I would like to have it done for tonight's game.

moving a token on Map A does not effect a token on Map B. IF they are set to the same character in the Journal you might be able to change HP. Grouping does not snap to grid IIRC. but it is an easy way to copy a group and paste to another map 2. If you set up the Journal entries (Attributes) you can pull the values into your macros (Abilities) Look in the Wiki for more notes on Characters and Macros

Thanks for the quick response. 1. I'm specifically referring to moving a player (and his/her character) from one map to another. When I move a player, they can see the new map, but not their character token. I can move the token separately, by copy/paste, but I was hoping there was a way to just move both together. Sorry for any confusion. 2. Gotcha. 3. I read the wiki and saw the tutorial. I just need to know how to do what I want to do, which at least at third glance, doesn't appear to be specifically covered in said wiki/tutorial: How to get a given macro to add in a static proficiency bonus. As I said before, I'm new to macros (and APIs) in general.

If there is an Attribute ProfBonus just add @ProfBonus in the Macro: [[1d20+@Strength+@ProfBonus]]

This is what I currently have: Melee Attack (Std | Adv/Dis) [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] ]] | [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] ]] + @{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] + [[?{Miscellaneous Modifiers|0}]] (Misc. Mods) [[?{Damage Roll|1d4}]] damage

While they're at first level, I could just add a minimum value and it would work as a stop gap, but once the bonus begins to change from character to character, it'd break again.

What about Melee Attack (Std | Adv/Dis) [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} +?(Attack Modifier|0} ]] | [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} +?(Attack Modifier|0} ]] Vs AC [[1d4 +@(selected|Dexterity) +?{Damage Modifier|0} ]] damage PM me if you would like to talk about running D&D Next on skype. If you keep all the players the same level, the proficiency bonus will always be the same for them.

I'm running on Google+ hangouts. With players having chaotic gaming schedules, leveling won't always be equal, so the proficiency bonus needs to be variable. That said... I inserted your formula, fixed the ( } and ( ) notations to { }, added a minimum value to the proficiency bonus and that seems to have worked. The default value on the proficiency gets added in, along with everything else. I just need to add a miscellanious modifier in there and I'll be good to go on that count. Thanks for the help! On the other remaining issue, I guess I just have to settle for copy/paste to move tokens from one map to another?

i see what the problem is, you put each thing in its own inline. change it to Melee Attack (Std | Adv/Dis) [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] ]] | [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] + @{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] + ?{Miscellaneous Modifiers|0} (Misc. Mods)]] [[?{Damage Roll|1d4}]] damage that should give you the totals for everything. using it the way you had it is only telling the dice roller to do the things inside the [[ ]] the alternative would be to use Melee Attack (Std | Adv/Dis) /roll [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] ]] | [[1d20 + @{selected|Melee Attack} [Attack Bonus] ]] + @{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] + [[?{Miscellaneous Modifiers|0}]] (Misc. Mods) [[?{Damage Roll|1d4}]] damage but that's a lot messier in the chat log.

yes, you need to use copy paste to move your tokens, or if you set the token as a default for the character sheet you can drag the character from the journal onto the new map.

Okay, so no shortcuts there. Gotcha, and thanks!

Why are you only adding bonuses to the second roll? Proficiency bonus should apply to both, as well as any other misc mods. Also, i would suggest making attributes for your characters for each stat, then you only need to create a few macros. Your attack bonus is going to be based on the attribute mod (str/dex), which will also apply to the damage roll as well. You could then make macros for each stat bonus, for all the various skill checks, and it would apply to all characters. Then you could use those macros for saves, skills, advantage/disadvantage, and report the proficiency bonus separate.

I have macros for melee attack, ranged attack, magic attack, one for each of the abilities (str, dex, etc). I was planning on doing some up the separate skills, but as of the beginning of this next month, I should have character sheets to do that for me. Still, probably wouldn't hurt to have a back-up, right? The best way I can see to do it (with my level of know-how in macros, which is admittedly somewhat lacking) is to add the proficiency bonus separately, after the rolls are done, just like the misc mods which could be anything from skill points to magical enhancements. If you could write up a suitable alternative, I'd be much obliged.

Well, you typically should only need one macro for all skill and ability checks. If you setup one macro for each stat, have it roll two dice, and show your proficient bonus in the roll, it covered everything. Just know when to apply the proficiency bonus. For attacks, its has been simplified as well. Only issue is players can use STR or DEX to attack with melee or thrown ranged. For this scenario i setup 4 macros, and the players choose which ones to add. I also set it up to roll damage automatically, and apply all bonuses. Here's an example of an strength melee attack: /em (@{selected|token_name}) attacks! !power --format|ddn --name|@{selected|MH Weapon} --leftsub|Melee --rightsub|Main Hand --attack|[[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] +@{selected|MH Bonus} [Magic Mod]]] | [[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] +@{selected|MH Bonus} [Magic Mod]]] --damage|[[@{selected|MH Damage}+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|MH Bonus} [Magic Bonus]]] @{selected|MH damagetype} damage! Granted, i'm using an API script to do the formatting, but the rolls would be the same. This global macro allows you to easily change weapons in the character sheets, so you never need to change macros. Here's a skill/ability/save check: !power --desc| --name|@{selected|token_name} --txcolor|#FFF --bgcolor|#004 --Wisdom|[[1d20+@{selected|WIS Mod} [Wisdom Mod] ]] | [[1d20+@{selected|WIS Mod} [Wisdom Mod] ]] --Proficiency Bonus|[[@{selected|Proficiency Bonus}]] So i basically have 4 attacks, initiative, and 6 ability rolls. Only scenario that is not covered is crits, which I just tell them to add a max die to their damage roll.

Felts said: Why are you only adding bonuses to the second roll? Proficiency bonus should apply to both, as well as any other misc mods. Also, i would suggest making attributes for your characters for each stat, then you only need to create a few macros. Your attack bonus is going to be based on the attribute mod (str/dex), which will also apply to the damage roll as well. You could then make macros for each stat bonus, for all the various skill checks, and it would apply to all characters. Then you could use those macros for saves, skills, advantage/disadvantage, and report the proficiency bonus separate. The sample macros on the wiki separate the prof bonus from the actual roll, because the prof bonus doesn't always apply. Players may make many strength checks for various reasons, but the prof bonus would only apply if they had a skill that was useful to the situation. By separating the prof bonus out and displaying it in the macro, it trims the number of macros needed by one for each ability score. So instead of twelve macros (six with the bonus automatically added, six without the bonus added), you only need six total and just have to do a little bit of addition to get the final result.

HoneyBadger said: Felts said: Why are you only adding bonuses to the second roll? Proficiency bonus should apply to both, as well as any other misc mods. Also, i would suggest making attributes for your characters for each stat, then you only need to create a few macros. Your attack bonus is going to be based on the attribute mod (str/dex), which will also apply to the damage roll as well. You could then make macros for each stat bonus, for all the various skill checks, and it would apply to all characters. Then you could use those macros for saves, skills, advantage/disadvantage, and report the proficiency bonus separate. The sample macros on the wiki separate the prof bonus from the actual roll, because the prof bonus doesn't always apply. Players may make many strength checks for various reasons, but the prof bonus would only apply if they had a skill that was useful to the situation. By separating the prof bonus out and displaying it in the macro, it trims the number of macros needed by one for each ability score. So instead of twelve macros (six with the bonus automatically added, six without the bonus added), you only need six total and just have to do a little bit of addition to get the final result. This is why the proficiency bonus should be an optional add to rolls. The api stuff looks great, thanks. I'm not at all familiar with api (yet), though. So, it'd be a lot better if I could see what it looks like as just a straight macro. The " -- " in --Proficiency Bonus... is that what makes it optional? This is me, trying to learn how to fish ;) As an aside, I was also contemplating how the wealth mechanic from d20 modern would work in roll20 (a value, that when one purchases something, lowers that value by X amount), but that's a discussion for another day...

Basically, the attack roll ends up looking like this: Line 1: D20 with all bonuses / D20 with all bonuses Line 2: Proficiency Bonus Line 3: Damage And the Ability roll looks like this: Line 1: D20 with ability mod / D20 with ability mod Line 2: Proficiency Bonus So in this one macro, you have a standard roll, optional adv/dis roll, and optional proficiency bonus. You as a GM tell the player whether he can apply the proficiency bonus on rolls. And if you like, i can give you examples without the API, it was just a copy paste. The API just does neat formatting is all.

Felts said: Basically, the attack roll ends up looking like this: Line 1: D20 with all bonuses / D20 with all bonuses Line 2: Proficiency Bonus Line 3: Damage And the Ability roll looks like this: Line 1: D20 with ability mod / D20 with ability mod Line 2: Proficiency Bonus So in this one macro, you have a standard roll, optional adv/dis roll, and optional proficiency bonus. You as a GM tell the player whether he can apply the proficiency bonus on rolls. And if you like, i can give you examples without the API, it was just a copy paste. The API just does neat formatting is all. Yes, that would be helpful. Thank you :)

Here's what I do, and this is converted to normal macros. First, create the set of most useful macros, which include one of each die, initiative and 6 stat macros. I create the dice cause im lazy and dont want to type /r d20 Initiative Macro I have this set to auto-add to turn counter, adds "DEX mod" attribute, and "Init Mod" attribute which can be used for things like improved init, etc. @{selected|token_name} rolls initiative [[d20 + @{selected|DEX Mod} [Dexterity Modifier] +@{selected|Init Mod} [Initiative Modifier] &{tracker}]] Strength Check Macro (Make one for each stat) @{selected|token_name} rolls a Strength check [[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] ]] / [[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] ]] Proficiency Bonus [[@{selected|Proficiency Bonus}]] Then I put a checkbox for all these macros in the "add to bar" option, so they are on the bottom of the screen. Or you can add them to the tokens instead, up to you. Problem is they dont all fit if you have multiple attack macros with them. Then, I create 4 generic attack macro's that I can use for all players. Melee Attack STR, Melee Attack DEX, Range Attack STR, Range Attack DEX Melee Attack STR Macro @{selected|token_name} attacks with @{selected|M Weapon} [[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] +@{selected|M Bonus} [Magic Mod]]] / [[1d20+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|Proficiency Bonus} [Proficiency Bonus] +@{selected|M Bonus} [Magic Mod]]] For [[@{selected|M Damage}+@{selected|STR Mod} [Strength Mod] +@{selected|M Bonus} [Magic Bonus]]] @{selected|M damagetype} damage! This macro will roll 2 d20's for advantage/disadvantage, add all modifiers, roll damage, add damage modifiers and show damage type. Once you have these macros made, then you make the following attributes for all characters: STR Mod DEX Mod CON Mod INT Mod WIS Mod CHA Mod Proficiency Bonus Init Mod M Weapon (name of the weapon) M Bonus (use this for magic bonus) M Damage (put the damage die here) M Damagetype (Slashing,Piercing, etc) R Weapon R Bonus R Damage R Damagetype Someone levels up, gets a new weapon, etc, you just change it in the character attributes instead of having to modify macros.

All good advises but there is, I feel, one thing missing and since it's a core concept of D&DN, that's odd: Advantages & Disadvantages, though the API thing just prints out double rolls. This post will probably be too late but heh, who knows... I'll therefore just give my 2 cents, based mostly for a 100% chat based game, in which the nice API thing is a bit too spammy and mechanical. You'll find the sheet Attribute structure that I use for PCs and NPCs at the bottom of the post (basically made a template, then I just Duplicate) Here's an example macro for a STR check /ooc STRENGTH CHECK - [[?{number of dice|1}d20?{drop or keep} + @{STR} + @{PROF} + ?{other bonus|0}]] Or an INT check /ooc INTELLIGENCE CHECK - [[?{number of dice|1}d20?{drop or keep} + @{DEX} + ?{other bonus|0}]] And a 1hd standard attack /em ?{Attack emote|attacks!} (ATK: [[?{Attack dice number|1}d20?{drop or keep}+@{TOHIT}+?{other hit bonus|0}]] / DMG: [[@{DAMAGE}+?{other damage bonus|0}]]) Or a Grapple check /em ?{description|tries grapples his target!} ([[?{number of dice|1}d?{dice type|20}?{drop or keep} + @{STR} + ?{other bonus|0}]] vs STR/DEX) I play 100% chat based games so the "input" system allows me to customize each actions quickly. These macros also allow for advantage/disadvantage on the go. By default, it'll be a normal roll, but you can use the same one should there be advantage or disadvantage, which to me is key for D&DN. Lastly, the "other bonus" is also key. By default it's 0 of course, but you never know what can happen and to keep the macro useful, having such input allows to apply the modifiers on the fly. These macros work with bless, bard songs and other effects because of these custom fields... As a GM, I also use things like this: For attacks without requiring a hit, causing damage with a DC /emas @{selected|token_name} ?{Attack emote|attacks!} (DMG: [[?{damage|d6}]], ?{save|STR} SAVE vs ?{DC|12}) For attacks just causing effect, with a DC /emas @{selected|token_name} ?{Attack emote|attacks!} (?{save|STR} SAVE vs ?{DC|12}) For attacks requiring a hit, causing damage with a DC /emas @{selected|token_name} ?{Attack emote|attacks!} (ATK: [[?{Attack dice number|1}d20?{drop or keep}+?{to hit bonus|0}]] / DMG: [[?{damage|d6}]], ?{save|STR} SAVE vs ?{DC|12}) You get the idea. And finally, a simple INIT tracker macro that allows to just select any token, add to tracker and repeat. /w gm @{selected|token_name} - initiative roll [[1d20 + @{selected|INITIATIVE} &{tracker}]] For the sheet, I use the first columns for the modifiers (simply easier to use in macros) and only keep the actual score (or max values) in the second column. The TOHIT and DAMAGE portions are the basic stats for melee and ranged attacks of course and INITIATIVE is used for just that. All PCs and NPCs are using this exact template, therefore all macros work on everything, with just a couple of personal macros added, mostly for PCs actions (as they decide to add things, spells, emotes, etc) and very specific attacks for NPCs. All in all, here are a couple of tips: Setting up your game structure BEFORE anyone actually starts playing (or you yourself start creating and adding too much stuff in there) is paramount I think. You NEED to think how you want to organize things, before you start actually making maps, tokens and whatnot, especially if you're going for a long campaign, where early mistakes will echo and add up the longer you go. Keeping ALL your base tokens, as you link them to sheets, on a separate map page dedicated just for that, is, I think, very important. Only link tokens from this page, then never just "copy/paste" tokens around but instead "drag/drop" from the sheets themselves, therefore making sure that you use the base token structure, not any altered one from a previous play map. This will keep your base settings constant AND you will always be able to go back to the original token should any modification is required. This is especially true for PCs, since they are the most likely to receive changes on the tokens in play as you go (light variation, effects, etc). Make your macros as generic as you can. There is just not enough space to keep dozens and dozens of macro to answer for every situation, so you just need a few, that can handle any variation of the theme. The last thing you want is to have superb macros for specific things, only to realize that they're completely useless in a situation because of a special modifier, event and whatnot, forcing you to manually type EVERYTHING.

So, three things. My suggest post above does two rolls, so covers advantage and disadvantage already in one roll. You simple use the first roll on standard attacks. Very simple. Second, your "TOHIT" reference above is too generic. The above example only works on strength attacks. Same with your damage, you have tied it to strength based thrown weapons. You already know someones to-hit is going to have a maximum of three modifiers, Proficiency, Attribute bonus and Magical bonus. Nothing more. Mine calculates all three. Third, all your macros are prompting the user. Mine are calculated automatically. Also, i removed the API references and gave him simple chat rolls. They can be used in a chat only environment. You might want to look more closely at my examples as it could improve your setup. I do however like how you used the MIN/MAX on stats to save an additional attributes, i will probably steal that idea, thanks!

Felts I like what you have done a lot, thank you. I will probably use this the next time I run a 5e game. But a query roll modifier added to the attack and damage part would still be nice, song of battle and bless both two very common buffs add 1d4 to either attacks or damage. There are other buff spells and abilities that modify rolls on a round by round basis.

Sure, you can add whatever you like to it. I just personally dont like having extra steps to roll my dice. ie: pop-up windows. In those circumstances, would would typically be rare, i will just manually roll another die to add it.

Thank you all so much for your help! I believe that I have a firm handle on this now.