re-roll

Treat a directory as a collection of "random-encounter" tables for use as a DM, GM, or Whatever-M for any tabletop game. Supports directories of arbitrary depth, as well as a very minimalist formatting code.

Install

First, ensure your python version is greater than or equal to version 3.9.9, then run:

python -m pip install re-roll

Windows Install

Same as above. However, if you get this output when trying to run re-roll:

're-roll' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

then you need to add your Python Scripts directory to your system environment PATH variable.

You can find tutorials on how to do this online. Say you're running Python3.10 on your machine. Your Scripts directory is probably located in:

C:\Users\<your-user>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\Scripts

You can check your Python version with the command:

python -v

Sometimes, your system is directed to the wrong version of Python when trying to use Python from the command line. While you are editing your System Environment Variables, ensure that the path pointing to your Python install is pointing to the most recent version that is installed on your machine.

Usage

Navigate to a directory containing an arbitrary number of subfolders, each containing any number of .txt files with the description of a random encounter within.

Then use the:

re-roll roll

command to choose a random text file from within the directory.

For example, given the following directory structure:

• 5e
  • wilderness
    • wolves.txt
    • bandits.txt
    • druids.txt
  • urban
    • robbers.txt
    • sewer-ghouls.txt
    • thieves.txt

running re-roll from within 5e will choose a text file from either wilderness or urban, while running re-roll roll within either subdirectories will only choose files within their selected folders.

Example output from running the program from within the above subdirectory:

wilderness(1d2=1)>bandits.txt (1d3=2)

The players encounter a group of 1d4+2 bandits blocking the path.
They demand the players surrender all of their valuables...

Running the program with no arguments selects the current working directory (that is, the directory you are running the program) from as the top-level directory to traverse.

You can provide another directory with the -d or --dir command line argument. For example:

re-roll roll --dir ./wilderness

would only roll from the wilderness directory, provided of course that you are in the 5e directory (since the '.' denotes 'current working directory')

Formatting Output

This program features a very simple parser that can format the output of your random encounters. This can be useful to highlight important text like dice rolls or monster names. This feature is only supported by consoles that suport ANSI formatting escape sequences.

Text encased in a set of {curly brackets} becomes italicized, while text encased in [square brackets] is emboldened.

You can disable this feature by running the program with the --no_escape option.

List Mode

Run the re-roll list module to list all possible tables to roll from (i.e. all subfolders in the given, or current working directory).

For example, running:

re-roll list

in the above example would output:

wilderness urban

Providing a directory with the -d or --dir option also modified which dir is listed.

For your convenience, some outputting options have been bundled with the list module. Use the help module as specified below to learn more.

Specify a Table by Name

Using the names outputted by the -l or --list options, you can use the -t or --table option to to roll from a specific table.

This is quicker than using the --dir option.

For example, compare:

re-roll -t ghosts

to:

re-roll {roll/list} --dir ./monsters/by-source/tob-ii/by-cr/cr4/undead/ghosts

Quiet Mode

Normally, the output includes all the subfolders that were selected, as well as the number that was rolled to select them.

Sometiems you just don't want to include that superfluous detail. Use the --quiet option to only output the selected encounter.

The Help Module

Each module has a seperate help menu. You can access help menus as usual (by using re-roll {module} -h, or you can use the help module. For example, to get help on the list module, you would type:

re-roll help list