D&D uses seven different polyhedral dice: a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, and d%.
The twenty-sided die, or D20, is the most common die used in Dungeons & Dragons. It is a regular polygon called an icosahedron.
Each face is the shape of an equilateral triangle. They are usually numbered so that opposite faces have opposite numbers; for instance, the 20 will be opposite the 1, the 19 will be opposite the 2, and so on. This helps make rolling more fair and random, and harder to cheat at.
In Dungeons & Dragons, the D20 is used to determine the outcome of most actions you take.
The four-sided die, called a D4, is a regular polyhedron called a tetrahedron. Some players call it a caltrop, because—just like the D&D item used by rogues—it can inflict damage if you accidentally fail your dexterity saving throw and step on it.
The D4 is used for small weapons, like the dagger, and for use in healing spells. A potion of health does 2D4+2 points of healing, for instance.
The D4 is notoriously difficult to pick up, and there's a passionate debate among gamers about whether it's better to have it numbered at the top of the die or at the bottom. (The correct answer, if you were wondering, is at the top.)
The six-sided die, called a D6, is a regular polyhedron called a cube. This should be a familiar shape to you.
Unlike the dice you're used to using in other board games like Risk or Monopoly, for D&D dice the D6es are usually numbered instead of pipped, so they match the other polyhedral dice in the set.
The D6 is used in character creation and for rolling for damage with certain weapons. The maul, which is a heavy melee weapon, deals 2d6 bludgeoning damage. (Ouch!)
Some spells may require you to roll multiple dice; for instance, the Feeblemind spell deals 4d6 psychic damage to a target.
The eight-sided die, called a D8, is a regular polyhedron called an octahedron.
The D8 is typically used for damage with certain weapons, like the longsword.
The twelve-sided die, shaped as a dodecahedron, is used rarely. It's for very heavy weapons and for barbarians. It's about the same size as the D20.
The ten-sided dice, called a D10 or a D%, are a little unusual. Instead of being platonic solids like the other five dice, they are actually in the form of a pentagonal trapezohedron, or deltohedron.
These dice were added to the standard D&D dice set in 1980 and 1990, respectively.
The D10 is used for damage with bigger weapons.
If you roll both of the 10-sided dice together, that's called a percentile roll. One of them acts as the tens place, and the other as the ones place, so you end up getting a number between 0 and 99.
If you roll a 0, either as a D10 or as a percentile roll, that counts as a 10 or a 100, respectively.
To start your adventure, all you need are seven different dice: a four-sided die (D4), a six-sided die (D6), an eight-sided die (D8), a twelve-sided die (D12), a twenty-sided die (D20), and two ten sided dice—one numbered 0-9 (D10), and another numbered 00-90 (D%).
Oftentimes, players will enjoy having multiple D&D dice sets in different colors. This is especially helpful in the game when rolling for advantage, or when multiple dice need to be rolled at once (for example, a rogue doing 4d6 points of sneak attack damage would need to roll one D6 four times, or four D6es just once.)
It depends on what kind of set you're going for. You can get a set of single-color opaque plastic dice for less than $4.
A fancy-colored Chessex dice set usually runs for about $10.
Hand-made resin dice for Dungeons & Dragons usually run somewhere in the neighborhood of $40 to more than $100.
These are more labor-intensive, because they require a lot of sanding by hand. The nice thing about handmade resin dice is that they can contain inclusions, like gold foil or sprinkles, which don't work in regular plastic-injection molded dice.
You can also buy dice made out of metal or wood. These usually cost somewhere between $20 and $50 per set.
Gemstone dice, which are cut out of real natural gemstones and then laser engraved and painted, usually cost somewhere around $60 to $90. These are also labor-intensive, because so much of the work has to be done by hand, and can't be mass-produced.
The best D&D dice on the market are made by Gamescience. Gamescience dice are the best because they are made of polycarbonate, a strong and durable plastic also used for bulletproof glass, and because they have sharp, precision edges due to a lack of tumbling.
Gamescience was the last company to mass-produce polyhedral dice in the United States of America; most other mass-produced dice are manufactured in China, Germany, Denmark, or England.
20-sided dice are used for determining almost every action you take in a game of Dungeons & Dragons.
Every action has a difficulty rating. For instance, to knock down a door, the Dungeon Master might ask a player to make a Strength check, with a DC (or difficulty class) of 15.
The player will roll a D20 and add his strength modifier (which might be, say, +1 or +2.) If the die roll plus the modifier is greater than or equal to the DC, the player has succeeded. Otherwise, he fails.
If a player rolls a 20 on the die (not counting the modifier), that is called a critical hit or critical success. It means automatic success, and in the case of attack rolls, means extra damage.
If the player rolls a 1, that means a critical miss, or an automatic failure. Sometimes in combat, this may be accompanied by some kind of penalty, like dropping his weapon. It's up to the discretion of the DM (Dungeon Master).
A percentile roll is when you roll the two ten-sided dice together, to get a number between 1 and 100.
The tens-place D10 and the hundreds-place D10 are read together.
For example, if you rolled a 30 on the D% and a 7 on the D10, that means you got a 37.
If you roll a 00 and a 0, cheer up— that counts as a hundred.
You can't have too many dice. While you only need a minimum of 7, it's fun to collect dice and have multiple different dice sets in different shapes, colors, and materials, to help give depth to your character and theme to your game. Dice tell a story, and besides that, they're just really cool.
You roll a D4 by holding it in your hand and throwing it on the table, your gaming mat, or your dice tray.
One side of the D4 will rest on the table, and the other 3 sides will be visible.
You can look at the top point of the die to see the number you rolled—it will be at the top of all 3 sides.
A standard 7-die set for Dungeons & Dragons includes a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20, and a d%.
Metal dice for Dungeons & Dragons are heavy and durable. Compared to plastic dice, they are more expensive, but carry with them a certain cachet along with their higher weight and density.
One con of metal dice is that they can dent your wooden table if you roll your dice on it hard; for this reason, most people will recommend that you roll them on a dice tray.
Metal dice come in a variety of different finishes, but most of them are made of a zinc alloy at their core.
Yes! Chessex dice come in an amazing variety of colors. Founded in 1987, Chessex was one of the first companies to make dice in lots of different colors.
The first D&D dice were plain, solid colors, but Chessex dice are made with glitter, transparent and opaque swirls, glow-in-the-dark pigment, and other unique design elements.
In this video, you can see a history of D&D dice, and learn more about what each different shape of dice is used for.
Check it out!