A Guide to Dice

I write most often about the higher-level thinking of TRPGs--about how to tell stories and create memorable games--but sometimes players' needs are more basic than that. I've written before about how to get started as a beginning D&D player, but your beginning players may still be struggling with more simple questions, like how to roll and read the dice. After all, one of the things that is new to experienced board game players who haven't played TRPGs is wrapping their minds around which die to use and when. This guide breaks down this component of gameplay for beginners. 

The first step is familiarizing yourself with how we think about dice. The first and most vital information is that a die is referred to by the amount of faces it has; you can also think of this as the die being referred to by the highest number it can roll. Let's start with the smallest die: the d4. 

You can recognize the d4 by its sharp pyramidal shape. This die is used pretty rarely in D&D; it is responsible mostly for rolling low-level damage, as from an unarmed strike or magic missile. Some beginners have a hard time reading this die; in the image above, the number that appears at the top is the selected number, whereas other d4s will list the number along the bottom. If you're not sure which your die is supposed to read, turn it without flipping it, and the number that remains consistent on the top or bottom will be your answer. Let's move to a more common die: the d6.

The d6 is the most recognizable die for most players. It's a simple cube, and it's the same die that most games of chance use. The d6 is used for a number of rolls, especially standard damage for simple melee weapons and early spells. It is also used to select your attribute scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma) at the beginning of making a character. Keep a d6 handy when you're playing a lower-level character since d6 rolls are so common in the early stages of the game. The dice continue to grow, so let's look at the d8. 

The d8 is recognizable as being similar in shape to a top, or two pyramids stuck together at the base. You'll need a d8 for common weapons in the early game, most especially ranged attacks and martial weapons. Aside from damage, the d8 is pretty rarely used, but for some players, every successful attack will be followed by a d8 roll. Be aware that the d8 looks very similar to a d10, so be wary of how rounded its edges are; sharp edges like in the picture above are a d8. Let's move on to the more rounded d10:

The d10 is an exception among the the six types of dice you have as a D&D player. Whereas the other five dice are all ideal platonic solids, the d10 has a more irregular shape. Not all d10s are shaped the same way, but most generally follow the image above. D10s cross up a lot of beginners because there are two of them, but it's actually a fairly simple concept. A d10 can be rolled individually for higher level damage, but it can be paired with a second d10 with double digits on it to form a d100. If you were to roll both simultaneously, you would take the single-digit die as your ones digit and add it to your double-digit die, which would be the tens digits. Rolling a d100 is used sparingly according to the rulebooks--it is mostly for DMs to determine random information--but some DMs use it for player actions that require chance (I use it when players pray to see if their god answers). Overall, you aren't likely to use your d10/d100, but when you do, just keep in mind that a single-digit "0" is actually a 10 and not a 0. Let's move on to the d12: 

The d12 is, aesthetically speaking, my favorite die. Every face of the die is a pentagon and it has a pleasantly sturdy appearance. The d12 is used only very rarely, mostly for high-level damage from special weapons and powerful spells. Beginners can mix up the d12 and the d20 because they both have rounder shapes overall, but you can recognize the d12 by those pentagons (the d20 uses triangles). While you won't use d12s very often until you're a higher-level character, keep it in mind as you level up, as you may end up using it regularly with the right layout. Onto the final (and most important) die: the d20. 

The d20 is, without a doubt, the most commonly used die in the whole of D&D. Other TRPGs switch up the usage of dice; Call of Cthulhu uses primarily d100s and Don't Rest Your Head is only d6s, but D&D is a d20-based system. Let's break the numbers down. A single face on a d20 represents a 5% chance of coming up as a result, which means that there is a 5% chance you will automatically succeed with a natural 20 and a 5% chance of automatically failing with a natural 1. The results in between will be added to your respective bonus and compared to a Difficulty Class (DC) on the DM's part. The d20, with its triangular faces and nearly round profile ("the big one," as many beginners refer to it), will be most of your rolls. You roll a d20 to attack, to perform a skill check, to roll a saving throw, and to determine initiative order. If your DM asks you for anything with the word "attack" or "check" (as in skill checks), you need a d20. But don't get complacent with the d20--your damage will almost never be a d20 (only for very powerful spells). 

These pictures can be helpful, but a lot of players still struggle with learning which die is which. In particular, knowing which die is called for when the DM requests a d20, for instance, is something that takes time. You can give yourself a leg up, though, by laying out your dice with the highest number of each die facing upwards. If you do this, you can simply listen for the die that is being used and grab the die with that number on top. It should look like this: 

With this layout, you can easily grab the die you need without having to search or inspect the dice. If you keep your dice this way, though, you will be denying yourself one of the pleasures of TRPGs: dice stacking. It is a long venerated practice among TRPG players to stack the dice into towers, carefully strategizing which dice will stack on others in a stable manner. It's a game within a game, but until you're comfortably familiar with each die's appearance and can reliably grab the right one, stick with the layout in the picture above. You'll be inaugurated into the dice-stacking world soon enough, and your DM will delight in your joining a time-honored tradition in gaming. 

A very satisfying way to occupy yourself while the game progresses. 

That's basically all you need to know about the dice and how to use them. I recommend using this list as a guide for beginning players, so refer this to anyone who's just starting out and needs a leg up in familiarizing themselves with the dice. This is a major step in learning the game, so take your time to get to know the dice, and you'll be ready to take on any adventure. Look out for a guide to describing magic, a rundown of the accessories you need to play, and how to build a strong party. As always, if there's something I didn't cover here or you would like to see written about here, comment below! Happy gaming!

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