One of the most recognizable features of a Dungeons and Dragons game is dice being rolled around a table, and it’s true that in D&D dice make up a core part of the gameplay.
Dice are used to decide the outcomes of different actions, to give players a sense of risk and reward, and to give a method of representing the randomness of the universe in your game.
How many dice do you need for D&D?
The official number or ‘set’ of dice that you need to play D&D, whether a player or DM, is a 7-dice set.
This set contains 7 uniquely shaped dice, each of which has its unique number of sides/numbers and is used for different elements of the game.
These Dice are the D4, D6, D8, D10, D12, and D20, with the number dictating how many sides each dice has.
Some sets also include what’s called a “percentile” dice, which is a D10 but marked with double digits like 20 or 30 that is used in conjunction with another normal D10 when rolling a number between 1 and 100.
To start playing D&D you only need one 7-dice set, but many people prefer to either have more than one set, or multiples of certain dice so they can roll multiple at once.
For example, damage rolls on attacks frequently need multiple dice such as 3D6 or 2D8; so it's easier and usually more fun to roll all these at the same time rather than rolling one die over and over again.
History of D&D Dice
When originally designing Dungeons and Dragons Gary Gygax searched for the most appropriate dice to use.
Adapting from a game that used 2D6 as its core dice, Gygax felt that the middle numbers of 6, 7, and 8 were occurring far too frequently, and wanted to add more chaos and randomness into the game.
Gygax had a collection of weird dice from around the world and settled on the D20 as the main game dice due to its wide range of possible rolls combined with an easy numerical understanding of chance with each number being 5% e.g.
If the DM states you’re magical crossbow misfires 10% of the time, that’s a roll of 2 or less.
The ‘shapes’ of the 7 dice set are all polyhedra except the D10 – D4 = Tetrahedron, D6=Hexahedron, D8=Octahedron, D12=Dodecahedron, D20=Icosahedron.
Polyhedra are shapes that have all their sides made from the same shape and join at the same number of sides at each vertex.
They were identified in ancient Greece by Theaetetus, a friend of Socrates and Plato.
Several polyhedral dice have been uncovered dating back to ancient Egypt and Roman periods. The icosahedron is the most common dice found.
D20
The D20 is the staple DnD dice and the main die you will roll when you play a game of Dungeons and Dragons.
Each face of the die is a triangle and with 20 sides it has the widest range of all the dice in a typical dice set (excluding the D100).
Its more circular shape also means it rolls the furthest of any dice and is hence the most fun.
What is the name of a 20-sided dice?
Icosahedron
What is a D20 used for?
Everything! The D20 is used to decide the outcome of any player action, whether that’s an attack roll, ability/skill check, or saving throw.
In real terms, this means it decides whether your crossbow aim is good enough to hit the goblin 50ft away; or whether your player character dies from a mortal knife wound or manages to live another day.
This is the dice most responsible for deciding the fate of your adventuring party. It’s also the only dice that you can roll Critical Successes or Critical Fails on.
Roll a 20 and the damage you will deal on an attack such is doubled, perhaps your crossbow bolt goes straight through the eye of the goblin; roll a 1 though, and maybe that wild crossbow bolt finds the leg of one of your fellow adventurers.
D12
What is the name of a 12-sided dice?
Dodecahedron
What is a D12 used for?
Most commonly the D12 is used for damage rolls of some of the largest martial melee weapons available to players, the great axe and the lance; as well as some higher-level spell damage.
If you play a Barbarian this may be your go-to as a D12 is also the Barbarian Hit Dice, and everyone knows how much a Barbarian loves a great axe.
Some players prefer to use weapons that deal 2d6 as opposed to 1d12 damage for more consistent damage rolls.
The d12 is for those who enjoy more risk in their turns and can stomach a few 1s for those clutch huge damage turns.
If you’re not a barbarian, however, there’s a chance you may never need to use the D12 as it is the dice with the least number of uses.
D10
The D10 is the newest of all the standard dice and unlike the others, it is not a regular polyhedron. The numbers on the dice range from 0-9 with the 0 interpreted as 10 which can confuse some new players.
What is the name of a 10-sided dice?
Pentagonal Trapezohedron
What is a D10 used for?
Like the D12, the D10 is most commonly used for damage rolls from martial weapons such as the Glaive or Halberd, or spells such as Hellish Rebuke or Inflict Wounds.
Percentile Dice
In the standard 7 dice set, you get two 10-sided dice; one is the standard d10 with numbers ranging from 0-9, and the other is what’s called a percentile dice.
A percentile dice contains numbers ranging from 00 to 90 going up in tens. The reason for this is that there are certain items or spells in D&D that require you to roll a number between 1 and 100.
To get this number you roll both your D10 and your percentile dice together and combine the two numbers.
This does get a little confusing because, unlike the D10, the numbers “00” actually represent 0 – so a roll off a 00 on your percentile dice and an 8 on your D10 would equal a final number of 8. Unless you roll all 0’s in which case you treat that as a final number of 100.
So it's effectively a method of rolling 1-100, (getting a 0 is impossible).
What is a Percentile dice used for?
The most likely thing you will come across percentile rolls for are the Wild Magic feature for Sorcerer, the Divine Intervention spells for Clerics or several magic items that can produce a wide range of random effects.
DM’s also use Percentile dice to roll for random encounters or for what treasures their players find by using treasure tables.
FAQS
Does everyone in a D&D session need their own set of dice?
It is generally expected that everyone in a DnD session brings at least one set of dice. It’s common to ask to borrow other players' dice when rolling multiple damage dice such as 3D6, but everyone should have one of each dice.
What is a "dirty 20" in D&D?
When you hear the phrase “dirty 20” that means the player has rolled a non-natural 20, or a 20 that is a result of their modifiers and hence is not a critical hit. So if a Rogue rolls to hit a troll with a short sword and rolls a 15 with +5 to attack, then they have rolled a dirty 20 and hence do not double their damage dice as they would with a natural 20 critical hit.
How to roll dice better?
- Buy a worthy set of dice
- Don’t be afraid to use a dice jail
- Don’t walk under any ladders or break any mirrors
- Pray to your deity
- Shout “This is going to be terrible!” as loud as you can before rolling