Attack Macros

I've put together token macros for each of my players to roll the attack and damage and display results in the chat window.  It works just fine so this isn't a macro question, per se.  One of my new players (a teenager) insists that Dex modifier applies to damage on missile weapons and complains every time his damage doesn't roll that way.  In 40 years of playing D&D I've never played that way.  Dex mod applies to the attack roll, but doesn't impact damage.  I'm just curious whether other people are reading the 5E rules the way this player is.  May be completely the wrong place to put this question, but I'll throw my macro out here, for others' reference, just to keep it somewhat relevant. Macro Name:  < Melee Weapon/spell name> /em <character name here> swings at an enemy with a huge axe  (casts XXX spell at an enemy, etc.) rolls [[1d20+@{<character name here>|strength_mod}+@{<character name here>|pb}]] for [[1d12+@{<character name here>|strength_mod}]] slashing damage! Macro Name:  < Missile Weapon/spell name> /em <character name here> shoots at an enemy with a shortbow  (casts XXX spell at an enemy, etc.) rolls [[1d20+@{<character name here>|dexterity_mod}+@{<character name here>|pb}]] for [[1d6]] piercing damage!

In 5e it does add to missile and finesse weapons. From DnDBeyond SRD: Dexterity Attack Rolls and Damage You add your Dexterity modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a ranged weapon, such as a sling or a longbow. You can also add your Dexterity modifier to your attack roll and your damage roll when attacking with a melee weapon that has the finesse property, such as a dagger or a rapier.

That's an interesting distinction from the way I've been playing for 4 decades.  I appreciate the feedback.  It's certainly how the 5E PHB seems to read as well, though it's not as directly stated.

The D&D 5e character sheets here on Roll20 should apply this correctly. Are you not using a character sheet in your game?

There are so many variations on the characters with magic weapons, custom races, etc. that I'm not sure.  We're all still learning the ropes of roll20 as well.  I'll have to doublecheck what the character sheets are using... we don't use any of the macros from the character sheets.

Even if you need to do custom macros (that's natural as characters progress and get more distinctive), the macros from the sheet provide a solid foundation to build from, and would cover things like this rule for ranged attacks.

Yes, I understand that.  I'm new to 5E and it's different than every other variant I've ever played.  Just wasn't expecting the rule change and playing with someone who's never played any other version it came up. 

F P. said: Yes, I understand that.  I'm new to 5E and it's different than every other variant I've ever played.  Just wasn't expecting the rule change and playing with someone who's never played any other version it came up.  Yeah there are a lot little of changes in 5E to the way things are done, that if you actually have experience of earlier editions it is almost a hinderance.