Macros in Roll20 - Part 1

Picture this scenario. You are playing a paladin in Roll20. It's your turn and you have to remember everything you need to roll to take full advantage of abilities. Depending on your level, you have two attacks, three if you are hasted. Your weapon does regular damage, fire damage, and you picked up a bonus that also gives you radiant damage. And oh yeah, you also have Savage Attacker to try to replace your lowest damage roll.

That's a lot to keep up with, right? That's where macros come in.

Roll20 has a very robust macro system that can be as simple or complex as you like. With the push of a button, you can automatically roll all the scenarios listed above in one shot.

Here's what the macro would look like:

Flame Sword Attack Macro

flame-sword-attack-macro.txt

&{template:default} {{name=Flame Tongue Longsword Attack}} {{Attack 1=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}} {{Attack 2=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}} {{Attack 3=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}} {{Savage Attacker=[[1d10+4]]}}

It seems complex, right? Let's break it down.

Macro Breakdown

&{template:default}

Tells Roll20 to use the default display style when the macro runs.

{{name=Flame Tongue Longsword Attack}}

Gives a title to what is displayed in Roll20 - this can be customized to display whatever you want.

{{Attack 1=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}}

Your first attack roll. Add your attack bonus (+8), weapon damage (sword), fire damage, and radiant damage. Numbers in double brackets instruct Roll20 to perform the roll.

{{Attack 2=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}}

Second attack - same as the first but denoted as Attack 2.

{{Attack 3=[[1d20+8]] for [[1d10+4]] damage and [[2d6]] fire and [[1d8]] radiant}}

Third attack - same as the first but denoted as Attack 3.

{{Savage Attacker=[[1d10+4]]}}

Roll for Savage Attacker to see if it can replace any of your standard damage rolls.

This is what the output looks like:

Example output of the Flame Sword Attack Macro in Roll20

Once you have the macro created, that's a lot easier to roll, right?

To create a macro in Roll20:

1. In the right sidebar at the top, click the Collection icon

Step 1: Click the Collection icon in the right sidebar

2. Click the Add button in the right corner

3. Name the macro what you want and paste the full macro above

Step 3: Name your macro and paste the code

4. The macro will appear in the list and there's also a checkbox option to display the macro as a button across the bottom of the screen. When adding or editing the macro, there's also a checkbox that will enable the macro to show up next to your token when you click it.

Feel free to use this macro as a starting point for customizing your own macros.

Pro tip

If like me you are in multiple campaigns, save your macros offline so you can copy and paste them into any Roll20 campaign.

Check back soon for part two of this three-part series on using macros in Roll20. You can also learn more about them on the official Macro Wiki.