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VTT Integration

Many spells and abilities have VTT text boxes attached to them. These are here so a character can be set up faster and so recurring effects do not need to be typed out at the table.

These macros are written for the Table Top Defined character sheet and Roll20-compatible macro syntax. Roll20 is a trademark of Roll20, LLC. Table Top Defined is not affiliated with or endorsed by Roll20.

Description Macros

Text boxes labeled VTT Macro Description, VTT Description Macro, or similar names are meant to go in the description area of the spell or ability.

For spells, put this text in the spell's description block. For abilities, put this text in the ability's description block. These are the main text boxes that will be clicked when the spell or ability is used.

Number of Dice

Some entries include a VTT Number of Dice formula. If the character sheet has a number-of-dice field for that spell or ability, put the formula there.

If the entry does not have a number-of-dice formula, leave that field blank unless the spell or ability says otherwise.

Side Macros

Side macros are for things that happen after the main spell or ability is already up. These are usually per-turn effects, retaliation damage, triggered saves, or spending a resource created by the original spell or ability.

Side macros should usually be added as token actions on the character using the spell or ability. This lets the player select their token and click the side macro on later turns.

Roll20-Compatible Token Actions

To add a side macro as a token action in Roll20:

  1. Open the character from the Journal.
  2. Open Advanced Tools / Attributes & Abilities.
  3. In the Abilities section, add a new ability.
  4. Name the ability after the side macro, such as Emerald Parallax Lens.
  5. Paste the side macro text into the ability's macro box.
  6. Enable the option to show it as a token action.
  7. Select the character's token. The button should appear with the token action buttons.

This is the best place for side macros that use fields like @{character_name}, @{pma}, @{spell_prof}, @{cl}, or @{hd}. Those fields are read from the character sheet that owns the ability.

Macro Bar

General macros can also be placed in the macro bar. This can be useful for things the Definition Master uses often, but character-specific side macros are usually cleaner as token actions.

To add a macro to the Roll20 macro bar:

  1. Open the Collections tab in the right sidebar.
  2. Add a new macro.
  3. Name the macro.
  4. Paste the macro text into the action box.
  5. Enable the option to show it in the macro bar.

If a macro is placed in the macro bar instead of on the character, character sheet fields may need to be rewritten to use a selected token or a named character. For example, a token action can use @{character_name}, while a macro bar button may need @{selected|character_name}.

For this reason, most side macros should be token actions unless the macro has been rewritten for selected-token use.

Automatic Skill Bonuses

The web and Roll20 character sheets have separate Definition, Synergy, and Misc. columns in the skill table. Definition and Synergy values are calculated automatically and included in the skill total.

Definition Bonuses

Enter the Definition's name in the primary or repeating secondary Definition title. Matching ignores capitalization and extra whitespace. Recognized Definitions apply their skill bonuses and update them when HD changes, when a skill specialty is renamed, or when a Definition is changed or removed.

Bonuses of the same type use the highest value. Competence and circumstance bonuses can stack with each other. Pilferer's hidden-door Investigate bonus and Cover Identity's Beguile and Disguise bonuses are circumstance bonuses; the other automated Definition skill bonuses are competence bonuses.

Most scaling skill bonuses start at +1 and increase by +1 for every four HD. Nimble and Silver Tongue grant +1 per four HD, with no starting +1. Pilferer's conditional Investigate bonus starts at +1 and increases by +1 per three HD. Tradesman's selected Profession bonus is a flat +3.

  • Knowledge Hungry: choose two Knowledge rows in the Definition entry.
  • Craftsman: choose one Craft row and one Profession row.
  • Tradesman: choose the Profession row associated with that Definition. Separate instances can select different professions.
  • Named specialties: bonuses such as Apothecary's Craft (Alchemy) and Historian's Knowledge (History) match the specialty name entered in the skill table.

The row numbers in selectors refer to the order of that skill's rows in the table.

Conditional Definition Bonuses

Conditional bonuses start inactive. Use Apply conditional skill bonus in the Definition entry when its condition applies, and turn it off afterward.

  • Hunter: activate against the relevant favored enemy. Enter the number of five-HD increases allocated to that enemy; the sheet calculates +2 plus +2 per allocated increase, capped by the increases available at the character's HD.
  • Pilferer: activate for the hidden-door Investigate check.
  • Cover Identity: activate for Beguile and Disguise checks concerning that identity.
  • Bounty Hunter: choose the skill used to track, restrain, or gather information about the target, then activate for that check.
  • Hermit: choose the skill for the declared once-per-day bonus and activate for that roll. Track the daily use yourself.
  • Oracle: choose the skill and bonus amount for Uncanny Foresight, then activate for that roll. Pay the HP cost yourself.

These controls apply skill bonuses only. Other benefits, such as Hunter's weapon damage, Defiant's maneuver bonuses, and bonuses to saves or AC, are handled separately. Hunter's weapon damage and Defiant's maneuver bonuses are competence bonuses. The Wizard Definitions' caster-level increases and Wizard's Associate's Illusion DC increase are direct increases rather than typed bonuses.

Manual Definition Bonuses

Expand Manual Definition bonuses below the skill table for custom Definitions or conditions you prefer to handle manually. Each row has a competence field followed by a circumstance field. These values compete with automatic bonuses of the same type, rather than adding another bonus of that type.

When an older sheet is opened, existing manually entered Definition values are preserved as manual competence bonuses. Clear values that duplicate a bonus now calculated automatically, so an old value does not remain after its Definition is removed. Use Misc. for other adjustments, accounting for their bonus types yourself.

Skill Synergies and Jack of all Trades

Flat skill synergies apply automatically when the source skill has at least six invested skill points. Distinct synergy sources stack. Conditional skill synergies are called out and applied during the relevant roll; they have no activation controls.

A Definition titled Jack of all Trades adds +2 once per skill with at least one active synergy, regardless of how many synergy sources affect that skill. Each time the Definition is taken adds another +2 per eligible skill. The bonus does not grow with the number of synergy sources and applies once per skill for each time taken.

Troubleshooting

If a macro prints an attribute name instead of a value, the token may not be connected to the character sheet, or the macro may be stored somewhere that cannot read that character's fields.

If a roll template does not display correctly, make sure the game is using the Table Top Defined character sheet or another sheet that supports the same roll template.