Run creature actions

Turn on creature automation in Game Settings, and a monster's attacks, breath weapons and spells roll from its stat block with one press, with the hits, saves, reactions and damage worked out for you.

For: Game Masters · Plan: Free · 22 minutes · What it's for: Combat tracker

A stat block is the creature's entry in the rules: its armour class (AC), hit points, attacks and special abilities. Without automation you, the Game Master (GM), read the goblin's Scimitar off the stat block, roll a d20 plus 4, compare it with the character's AC, roll 1d6 plus 2 and take the damage off by hand. With Creature actions on, you right-click the goblin, choose Show actions, click Scimitar, pick who it swings at and click Roll: the dice tumble on the board, RollQuest says whether it hit, rolls the damage only on a hit, takes it off the character and posts the result to chat. Players see whether it hit and how much it hurt, not the goblin's roll.

It works for every enemy and NPC (non-player character) that has a stat block from the creature library in a 5e or 5.5e game: those stat blocks carry their actions in a form RollQuest can roll, and a homebrew pack can give its own creatures actions the same way (see Creatures). Any other creature with a stat block, such as one from another game system or one you wrote in the Stat Blocks window, opens the bar with nothing to press: read it from its Stat card and run it by hand. RollQuest never chooses for a monster: it acts when you press, at the targets you pick.

Turn creature automation on

1. Click the cog (Game Settings) on the tool rail, the column of icons down the right-hand edge of the screen.
2. Click Automation.
3. Turn on Creature actions. Turn on Reaction prompts and Creature turns too if you want them (see the table below).
4. Click Save Settings.

All three start off in a new game, and each works on its own. Show actions only appears once Creature actions is saved on.

Switch	What it does once it's on
Creature actions	The creature action bar, below. A creature's saving throws also roll themselves, and every recharge and pool is ready when a battle starts.
Reaction prompts	When an aimed attack hits, a target that has a reaction such as Shield, Uncanny Dodge or Parry is asked whether to use it, before any damage is rolled. A player answers for their character, you answer for your creatures.
Creature turns	At the start of each creature's turn in a battle, its legendary actions refill, its used recharges are rolled, and regeneration heals it. You get one card in chat saying what happened.

To show players a monster's attack rolls as well as the result, see Monster rolls under What players see, below. The settings themselves are on Game settings.

Open a creature's actions

1. Make sure GM View is on. With it off, right-clicking an enemy does nothing (see GM view and player view).
2. Right-click an enemy or NPC that has a stat block (press and hold on a phone or tablet).
3. Choose Show actions, the first item on the menu, with a lightning bolt.

The creature action bar opens at the bottom centre of the screen, above the Shortcut Bar, with the creature's name at the top and its actions underneath. Clicking or selecting a token never opens it. The bar stays on that creature until you close it with ×, choose Show actions on another creature, or the creature leaves the board.

Show actions isn't on the menu when the creature has no stat block (attach one from its Stat block window, see Enemies and the creature library), or when Creature actions is off.

You can also give a creature to a player to run, such as a familiar, a summoned wolf or a charmed ogre: they then get this same bar for it. See Let a player run a creature.

Make an attack

1. Click the attack on the bar, such as Scimitar. The list of actions gives way to the aim row, and the action's name appears after the creature's at the top of the bar.
2. Pick the target: click its row in the list on the bar, or click its token on the board. While you aim, a click on a token targets it instead of selecting it.
3. To roll with advantage or disadvantage, click Adv or Dis at the top of the bar. Normal is the default, and the bar goes back to it after each roll.
4. Click Roll.

What happens next:

1. The attack die rolls at once, on everyone's board (players see question marks on it: see What players see).
2. RollQuest adds the creature's attack bonus and compares the total with the target's AC. A natural 20 always hits and a natural 1 always misses. A toast, the pop-up with the result, says Hit, Miss or Critical hit.
3. On a miss, nothing more is rolled.
4. On a hit, the damage dice roll. A critical hit doubles every damage die.
5. The damage comes off the target, the attack plays on the board (see Animations and sounds), and the result card goes to chat.

A line at the bottom of the bar sums it up for you, such as Scimitar: Attack 17 · Ayla: hit, 5 damage. While a reaction or a save is still to come, it says who RollQuest is waiting for, and updates when they answer.

The next time you press an action on the same creature, the aim starts on the same targets, so a second swing at the same character is two clicks. Click Cancel to stop aiming without rolling.

The dice roll on your screen first, and the numbers come from where they land. With 3D dice turned off on your device, nothing tumbles and the action goes straight through (see Dice settings).

Pick the targets

The target list is the same one a character sheet uses: every creature and character in the scene, each with its picture, its name and whether it's a player, enemy or npc. A picked row is lit; click it again to take it off. The creature that's acting isn't in the list.

• An action that takes one target swaps to the new one when you pick a second.
• An action that takes a few, such as Scorching Ray, says how many above the list, such as Targets, up to 3. Once you have that many, the other rows grey out.
• An action with no limit, such as a breath weapon, takes as many as you pick.
• Click a creature on the board shows while there's room for another target.
• Roll stays greyed out until you've picked at least one.

Hidden tokens are in your list, so a monster can attack a creature the players can't see.

Use an ability with a saving throw

A breath weapon, a frightening roar or a spell such as Fireball asks each target for a saving throw instead of rolling to hit.

1. Click the action, such as Fire Breath.
2. Pick every creature caught in it. RollQuest doesn't measure the area: place an area effect template first if you want to see who's inside.
3. Click Roll.

The damage dice roll straight away, with the cast. Then each target makes its save:

• A player's character: the player gets a save card at the bottom right of their screen, with a countdown. See Spells and casting.
• A creature with a stat block: its save rolls itself on your screen, as soon as it's asked.
• A token with neither: you rule on it from your own save card.

Once every save is in, the damage lands: in full on a failed save and, where the stat block says so, half on a success. A condition, such as Frightened or Prone, goes on each creature that failed.

Make a multiattack

Multiattack runs several attacks one after another, as the stat block prints them, such as a troll's Bite and two Claws.

1. Click Multiattack. Under the button its attacks are listed, such as Bite, Claw, Claw.
2. Check each attack in the aim row: Attack 1, Attack 2 and so on each have a list. Where the stat block lets one attack be swapped for something else, such as a dragon's Scorching Ray, the list offers it marked (replaces this attack). Only one attack can be swapped.
3. Pick the targets. Every attack goes at the same targets, so pick one creature for a sequence of single-target attacks.
4. Click Roll all.

Each attack runs its whole course, hit or miss, any reaction and its damage, before the next one rolls. So a Shield a wizard casts against the first claw also counts against the second. The bar adds a line for each attack. If one is refused, the rest aren't rolled, and the last line says how many weren't, such as Stopped: 1 of 3 attacks not rolled.

A list only offers attacks the creature can make now: an option it has run out of isn't there.

Legendary actions, recharges and other limits

Many monsters can't use everything every turn. The bar keeps count for you, and greys out a button that can't be used yet: hover over it to see why.

• Legendary actions: extra actions a powerful monster takes at the end of other creatures' turns. The top of the bar shows the pool, such as Legendary Actions with three dots and 3/3. Each legendary action says what it costs, such as Costs 2, and spends that many. One that is an attack the creature already has, such as a dragon's Tail Attack, aims like a multiattack of one attack and pays its cost once.
• Recharge: an ability such as a breath weapon that comes back on a roll of a d6, labelled Recharge 5-6 (or Recharge 6). Once used, it's greyed out (Not recharged yet.) until it recharges. With Creature turns on, RollQuest rolls for it at the start of the creature's turn. Otherwise, roll the d6 yourself and click Mark ready under the button when it comes back.
• Shared recharge: a 5e (2014) dragon with two breath weapons, such as a brass dragon's Fire Breath and Sleep Breath, has one recharge for both. Using one greys out the other, and one roll, or one Mark ready, brings both back.
• Uses per day: such as 2/day left. Uses aren't given back at the start of a battle: use Reset uses when the creature has rested.
• Recharges after a rest: once used, it's greyed out (Used: it comes back after a rest.) until you reset it.
• Once per turn: greyed out (Already used this turn.) until the creature's next turn starts, with Creature turns on, or until you reset it.
• Spells: a spellcaster's spells are under Spellcasting, each with its save DC or attack bonus already worked in. A 5e (2014) spellcaster has pools of spell slots, such as Level 3 slots, and each spell says what it costs; a 5.5e one has spells per day.

When a battle starts with Creature actions on, every enemy and NPC in it has its recharges ready, its pools full (legendary actions and spell slots alike) and its once-per-turn marks cleared. Uses per day are kept.

Without Creature turns, legendary actions don't refill by themselves at the start of the creature's turn: use Refill pools on the bar's menu (⋮).

Reset a creature by hand

Click ⋮ at the top of the bar (hover: Reset uses, recharges or pools):

Item	What it does
Reset position	Puts the bar back at the bottom centre. Only there once you've moved it.
Reset uses	Gives back every use per day, such as after a long rest.
Reset recharges	Makes every recharge ready, the ones that come back after a rest included.
Refill pools	Fills every pool: legendary actions and spell slots.
Reset everything	All of the above, and clears the once-per-turn marks and any damage noted against its regeneration (see Creature turns).

Resets apply to this creature only. Each creature on the board keeps its own count, so a cloned goblin starts fresh.

Roll a creature's checks and saves

Click Checks under the actions. The creature's rolls from its stat block appear in three groups, Saves, Abilities and Skills, each with its bonus, such as Perception +4. Click one to roll it. Its passive scores, such as Passive Perception 14, are listed under them.

The roll goes to chat under the creature's name, such as Goblin Warrior: Perception, and the bar shows the total. Adv or Dis applies to it as to an attack. Only you see the result, unless Monster rolls is set to Everyone at the table.

You don't need this for a save a spell asks for: with Creature actions on, those roll themselves.

What the bar leaves to you

The bar does what the stat block's numbers say, and no more:

• It doesn't move the creature, or check reach, range or whether the creature can see its target. You decide whether the goblin can reach.
• It doesn't tick the creature's action pips (A, B) in the initiative tracker: tick them yourself if you use them.
• A rider RollQuest can't apply exactly, such as extra damage "if the attack roll had advantage", is left out and noted. Click More from the stat block to read the notes, which start Not applied:, and apply them by hand.
• An action with nothing to roll, such as a goblin's Nimble Escape or a knight's Leadership, isn't a button. It's under More from the stat block with its printed text, for you to run yourself.
• A reaction, such as Parry, isn't a button either: RollQuest offers it when the creature is hit (see Reactions).

When a press is refused

A button you can't use is greyed out, and hovering over it says why. A press that's refused adds a line to the bar saying why, instead of rolling. The ones you'll meet:

Message	What to do
Pick at least one target first.	Pick a target, then Roll.
Not recharged yet.	Wait for the recharge, or click Mark ready if it came back.
No uses left (2 per day).	Use Reset uses after a rest.
Not enough Legendary Actions left (1 of 3, costs 2).	Pick a cheaper one, or wait for the pool to refill.
Already used this turn.	Wait for the creature's next turn.
Only one attack of the sequence can be replaced.	Put one of the Attack lists back to its own attack.
An action that puts a check to its targets is not automated for creatures: use its printed text.	Run it by hand.
Creature actions are not automated in this game: the GM can turn them on in Game Settings.	Turn Creature actions on and save.
The server did not answer. Try again.	Your connection dropped for a moment: press again.

If the bar says This stat block has no structured actions: run it from its printed text., the creature's stat block has nothing RollQuest can roll, such as a creature from another game system. Its Stat card still works.

Reactions

A reaction is something a creature or character does in answer to something else, such as a wizard casting Shield when a sword is about to hit. With Reaction prompts on, RollQuest pauses an aimed attack that hits, asks whoever can react, and only then rolls the damage.

Who can be asked:

• A player's character with Shield (a prepared spell, which costs a level 1 spell slot from their sheet: +5 to AC) or Uncanny Dodge (a rogue's feature: half the damage), in 5e and 5.5e. Shield's +5 also stays on their AC until the next round of the battle begins, so it counts against the rest of the multiattack.
• A creature with a reaction on its stat block, such as a knight's or a noble's Parry (a bonus to AC against a melee attack) or a mage's Shield.

A target isn't asked when it's incapacitated, or, during a battle, when it has already used its reaction this round. Taking one uses it: its R pip in the initiative tracker goes dim.

Answer for a creature

When an aimed attack hits one of your creatures that can react, a player's or another monster's, a card appears at the bottom right of your screen, headed with what happened, such as Ayla's Longsword hits Noble. Click the reaction, such as Parry (+2 defense), or No reaction. Only you see the creature's options.

A defence bonus re-checks the hit against the higher AC: a natural 20 still hits. The result card says what the reaction did, such as used Parry: miss.

When a player is asked

When your creature's attack hits a character who can react, their player gets a card at the bottom right of their screen, such as Goblin's Scimitar hits you, with their options and a countdown. The card never shows the attack roll. Meanwhile your Waiting on panel (below) shows who you're waiting for. A Shield they take is paid from their own sheet before it counts.

The Waiting on panel

While an action waits for other people's answers, such as players' saving throws or reactions, a Waiting on panel sits above your own save card, at the bottom right. Only you see it.

• Each action has its own block, named with who acted and what they did, with the time left and a bar that drains.
• Under it, a row for each answer still owed: the character, what they're asked (such as DEX save, DC 15, or Reaction), and the player who has to answer.
• A row goes as soon as it's answered.
• Take over (hover: Answer these yourself now, without waiting for the time to run out) moves the rows to your own save card at once. The panel then says they're with you for a few seconds, and goes.

Each player has 45 seconds. When the time runs out, their card says Time's up, the GM will decide, and their rows move to your save card, marked Nobody answered this in time: roll it or rule it., with 45 seconds of your own. Answering a player's reaction for them doesn't spend their spell slot: the card says Answering for the player: the player's slot is not spent. If nobody answers in your time either, a save counts as unanswered and a reaction as not taken.

Creature turns

With Creature turns on, each time an enemy's or NPC's turn begins in a battle (with Begin Combat, Advance Turn, Finish Turn or Set as active), RollQuest does the bookkeeping its stat block asks for:

1. Its legendary actions refill, and its once-per-turn marks clear.
2. Each recharge it has used is rolled, on a d6: on the number it needs, it's ready again. Actions that share a recharge are rolled once.
3. Regeneration heals it, such as a 5.5e troll's 15 hit points (10 in 5e), unless it took damage that stops it since its last turn: acid or fire for a troll. That hit is noted when it lands, from an aimed attack or from Apply Damage.

You get one card in chat, titled Turn start, only when something happened, such as Troll: Regeneration skipped (took fire damage). or Adult Red Dragon: Legendary Actions refilled. Fire Breath recharged (rolled 6). Players don't see it, unless one controls the creature.

Spell slots and uses per day aren't touched at the start of a turn: reset them from the bar.

What players see

Monster rolls, on the Rules tab of Game Settings, decides how much of a monster's roll players see. It starts on Only you.

	Only you	Everyone at the table
The attack die on the board	Tumbles with ? on its faces	Shows its number
The attack's chat card and toast	You only	Everyone
Hit or miss, and the damage	Everyone, on the result card	Everyone
The damage dice, card and toast	Everyone	Everyone
The creature's checks from Checks	You only	Everyone
The creature's saving throws	Follow Saving throws on the resolution card	The same

With Only you, you get a second card, Attack rolls, with each attack's total, its natural die, its formula and the AC it had to beat, such as attack 17 (natural 13) [1d20+4] vs AC 15: hit. A creature a player controls always rolls in the open.

Every die and toast carries the creature's name, not yours.

Animations and sounds

When you're on Pro, every action you roll for a 5e or 5.5e library creature plays on the board for everyone, as a player's attack or spell does with Spell FX: a goblin's scimitar swings, an arrow flies, a red dragon's breath fills a 60-foot cone with fire, a frightening roar marks the creatures it frightens. The animation runs from the creature to its targets once the damage is in. A target the attack missed gets the swing without the blood, and a critical hit lands as a Savage blow.

Attacks and spells, players' and monsters' alike, also play sounds with the animation: the release of a ranged attack or the start of a spell, then an impact that matches the damage type (fire sounds like fire), a heal, or a miss. Each person hears them at their own Sound effects volume.

Move the bar

The bar sits on the board, so drag it off whatever it covers.

• Drag the top of the bar (an empty part of it, not a button) to move it. It can't go off the edge of the screen, and it moves back on if the window shrinks.
• Double-click the top of the bar, or choose Reset position on its ⋮ menu, to put it back at the bottom centre.
• Click the creature's name to fold the bar down to its top row, and again to open it.

It stays where you put it, for every creature you open, until you reload the page. When the bar is in its usual place and a token's macro bar is showing, the creature bar sits above it (see Share, run and fix macros). On a phone it's the width of the screen, and a long list scrolls inside the bar.

The creature action bar, part by part

Part	What it does
Creature's name	Click it to fold the bar to its top row, or open it again. While you aim, the action's name follows it.
Pools	Shown when the creature has any, such as Legendary Actions or Level 1 slots: dots for what's left, and the count, such as 2/3. Hover for Legendary Actions: 2 of 3 left.
Normal, Adv, Dis	Roll mode for the next roll (an attack or a check). RollQuest combines it with the creature's own conditions: a Poisoned goblin rolls with disadvantage by itself, and advantage on top cancels it out. Back to Normal after each roll.
⋮	The reset menu (above).
×	Closes the bar until you choose Show actions again. Greyed out while a roll is on its way.
Section headings	Such as Actions, Bonus Actions, Legendary Actions and Spellcasting, as the stat block prints them. Only when there's more than one.
An action button	Its name, its limits (such as Recharge 5-6, 2/day left, Costs 2 or Once per turn), and a line saying what it does: the attack bonus or the save, then the damage or condition, such as +4 · 1d6+2 slashing, DEX 21 · 17d6 fire, half or WIS 19 · Frightened. A multiattack lists its attacks.
Mark ready	Under a used recharge: it came back. Readies any action that shares the recharge too.
Aim row	Replaces the actions while you aim: Attack 1, Attack 2 for a multiattack, the target list, Cancel, and Roll or Roll all.
Result lines	What each roll did, or why it was refused.
Checks	The creature's saves, ability checks and skills, and its passive scores.
More from the stat block (3)	The actions RollQuest can't roll, and the notes on those it only rolls in part, with their printed text. The number counts them.
Stat card	A read-only copy of the stat block: AC, hit points, speed, ability scores, saves, skills, senses, resistances, immunities and its printed text. To change a stat block, use its Stat block window.
See through its eyes	Switches your view to what this creature can see (hover: Switch your view to what this creature sees); click it again to go back (hover: Back to your own view). See Let a player run a creature.

Other messages you may see on the bar: Reading the stat block… while it loads, and This creature has no actions that can be rolled from its stat block.

Related

Game settings · Enemies and the creature library · Aimed attacks and spells · Running turns and rounds · Secret rolls