The Helpful Friendly Macro

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Alethan
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The Helpful Friendly Macro

#1 Post by Alethan »

For general use of the Dice Roller, refer to this page: http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.asp?do=guide.

To make dice rolling easier, you can set up macros for your characters on the Unseen Servant Dice Roller site. All of my characters have their own set of macros established (they need their own macros because one character's To Hit roll might be totally different from another).

I like to set up my macros so when I paste the resulting forum code into my comment, it provides the exact details of what my action was, along with the roll results. It is very easy to do and now that ToniXX (site administrator) has added alphabetical sorting to the macro lists, you can create them with a bit of organization to make finding the roll you want to perform a lot easier.

To begin, log on to the Unseen Servant Dice Roller and click the "My Characters" link at the top of the page. If you need to create your character, do so at that point. If not, then locate your character and click the corresponding link for "Macros" in the same row. This will take you to a screen titled "Macros for character: XXX". To create a new macro, click the "Create a new macro for this character" link. This takes you to a screen titled called "New macro".

The Macro text field is where you will enter the required text for your macro (you don't even have to populate the Description field if you don't want to). Please note in any complete examples below, I will use the {} brackets in place of the [] brackets on the HTML tags so my text displays properly. When you are creating the macro, you must use the [] (square brackets) for your roll results to display in the post or it will not work.

Start by entering text that describes what the roll is for. If you paste Forum Code for your dice rolling results into a thread, this text will display along with the dice roll, so it should be very clear and easy to understand. I take advantage of the alphabetical sorting to group my macros appropriately.

Examples of descriptive text:
Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (L)
Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (S/M)
Damage, Light Crossbow
To Hit, Backstab, Shortsword +1
To Hit, Light Crossbow

After you enter your descriptive text, you want to use [] (square brackets) to set up the actual dice roll. The basic format is AdB, where A = the number of dice you want to roll and B = the kind of dice you want to roll (d6, d8, d20, etc.). You can use +, -, and x for calculations. There are some syntax limitations. For example, you cannot currently use two calculations in the same macro (like multiplication and addition); but unless you have a backstabbing thief with a magical weapon, you should rarely encounter any issues with setting up a dice macro.

Examples of dice rolling text:
[1d8X3] +1
[1d6X3] +1
[1d4+3]
[1d20+5]
[1d20+3]

When you combine these together, you get:
Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (L) [1d8X3] +1
Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (S/M) [1d6X3] +1
Damage, Light Crossbow [1d4+3]
To Hit, Backstab, Shortsword +1 [1d20+5]
To Hit, Light Crossbow [1d20+3]

Example #1:
Francisco Bandy, the cheery ranger with a fun name, fires his light crossbow into a band of (5) orcs...

Here is the PbP Forum Code:

{url=http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.as ... 196}Random Orc [1d5] = 3{/url}
{url=http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.as ... id=3199}To Hit, Light Crossbow [1d20+3] = 17+3 = 20[/url}
{url=http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.as ... 200}Damage, Light Crossbow [1d4+3] = 3+3 = 6[/url}

(Again, please note I've changed the brackets on the HTML tags so that the text displays; the text you would be copying would have square brackets.)

And here is how they would display in the post if I pasted the PbP Forum Code into the thread:

Random Orc [1d5] = 3
To Hit, Light Crossbow [1d20+3] = 17+3 = 20
Damage, Light Crossbow [1d4+3] = 3+3 = 6

The first roll is an example of how you don't have to have a macro set up for every roll you do. At the bottom of the Roll the Dice! screen is a tool for making on-the-fly rolls. Just pick your character name and quickly type in the description and roll you want. According to OSRIC rules, I cannot pick a specific target when ranging into a group, so I have to randomly assign a target for my crossbow bolt. This number could change with each encounter, so there isn't any reason to have a macro for the roll, so I'll just create it on the fly. It is also an example of how you don't have to stick to the traditional dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20) when making a roll. You can use whatever sided digital dice you need for the given situation.

Example #2:
If my charismatic halfling thief, Till, were to attempt to backstab a hapless hobgoblin with his glowing magical shortsword +1, I might end up with something like the following PbP Forum Code:

{url=http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.as ... id=3194}To Hit, Backstab, Shortsword +1 [1d20+5] = 11+5 = 16{/url}
{url=http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.as ... 195}Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (S/M) [1d6x3] = 5x3 = 15 +1{/url}

Here is how these rolls would display in the post if I pasted the PbP Forum Code into the thread:

To Hit, Backstab, Shortsword +1 [1d20+5] = 11+5 = 16
Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (S/M) [1d6x3] = 5x3 = 15 +1

In the example above, you'll see where I had to add the "+1" outside of the macro roll brackets for the backstabbing damage because it cannot handle multiplication and addition at the same time. So, in that case, you'd have to modify the PbP Forum Code in the post to indicate the actual roll result of "16"...

Damage, Backstab, Shortsword +1 (S/M) [1d6x3] = 5x3 = 15 +1 = 16
Last edited by Alethan on Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:59 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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ToniXX
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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#2 Post by ToniXX »

Good job, Alethan. I'd like to add the following:

Keep in mind that you can use multiple dice expressions (the part between the square brackets) in your macros. Here's an example:

To hit [1d20] = 11, damage with mace [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4 (sm/m opponent)

In my FtF group, we roll the d20 for the hit AND the appropriate damage die at the same time. I did the same with the macro above. If the to-hit part of the macro is NOT a hit, well the damage can be ignored, but if it does result in a hit, you've got the damage already. You're killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

For more info on building a macro and using dice expressions, read this:
http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.asp?do=help
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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#3 Post by migellito »

ToniXX wrote:Good job, Alethan. I'd like to add the following:

Keep in mind that you can use multiple dice expressions (the part between the square brackets) in your macros. Here's an example:

To hit [1d20] = 11, damage with mace [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4 (sm/m opponent)

In my FtF group, we roll the d20 for the hit AND the appropriate damage die at the same time. I did the same with the macro above. If the to-hit part of the macro is NOT a hit, well the damage can be ignored, but if it does result in a hit, you've got the damage already. You're killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

For more info on building a macro and using dice expressions, read this:
http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.asp?do=help
That's awesome! It never occurred to me that I could do that. I'll change up some of my macros :)

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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#4 Post by Alethan »

migellito wrote:
ToniXX wrote:Good job, Alethan. I'd like to add the following:

Keep in mind that you can use multiple dice expressions (the part between the square brackets) in your macros. Here's an example:

To hit [1d20] = 11, damage with mace [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4 (sm/m opponent)

In my FtF group, we roll the d20 for the hit AND the appropriate damage die at the same time. I did the same with the macro above. If the to-hit part of the macro is NOT a hit, well the damage can be ignored, but if it does result in a hit, you've got the damage already. You're killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

For more info on building a macro and using dice expressions, read this:
http://www.unseenservant.com/Default.asp?do=help
That's awesome! It never occurred to me that I could do that. I'll change up some of my macros :)
That's why I might not make the best teacher. I knew ToniXX did his macros that way, and I even thought about mentioning it, but... I prefer the other way, so I didn't. :) I'm terribly opinionated and biased.

Hey, at least I know my faults, right? ;)
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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#5 Post by rredmond »

You know what, though DMs mileage may vary, migellito's macro, with the DAM first the TH roll second, appeals to me. This way I only have to look at the end of the string to know if it matters or not. If it's a hit I can work my way back to damage.

It seems to me (and it may belong as a new thread, though I don't think so) that this is the easiest way to go when combining Damage and To Hit rolls in one macro. But as said earlier in this post YMMV. :)
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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#6 Post by migellito »

rredmond wrote:You know what, though DMs mileage may vary, migellito's macro, with the DAM first the TH roll second, appeals to me. This way I only have to look at the end of the string to know if it matters or not. If it's a hit I can work my way back to damage.

It seems to me (and it may belong as a new thread, though I don't think so) that this is the easiest way to go when combining Damage and To Hit rolls in one macro. But as said earlier in this post YMMV. :)
Glad you like it :)

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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#7 Post by ToniXX »

rredmond wrote:You know what, though DMs mileage may vary, migellito's macro, with the DAM first the TH roll second, appeals to me. This way I only have to look at the end of the string to know if it matters or not. If it's a hit I can work my way back to damage.

It seems to me (and it may belong as a new thread, though I don't think so) that this is the easiest way to go when combining Damage and To Hit rolls in one macro. But as said earlier in this post YMMV. :)
I just took a closer look at how Miguelito does this, and I agree it is quite efficient. He gives even more info with the addition of the literal text 'thaco16-'. So the to-hit part of the roll reads "thaco 16 minus the roll result (let's say it's 14) equals a hit to armor class 2 or greater". Brilliant!
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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#8 Post by migellito »

Thanks! :) It's the only way I could avoid going back to my character sheet every time.. even between rolls for the same post. lol My memory sucks.

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Re: The Helpful Friendly Macro

#9 Post by connivingsumo »

THANK YOU for this little tutorial & explanation. I know the post is quite old, but it is still used - still "a goodie"!! :mrgreen:

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