What dice are used in role-playing games?

Depending on the game system, some dice will be used or others. In principle, the best known are the D20 (twenty-sided dice) because they allow you to perform many actions within the game mechanics. In the Dice Calculator module you will be able to make simulations and simple operations with the most used dice. Below we are going to show the most used dice in a list.

List of die types for Role Playing

- 2-sided dice (D2): Some are coin-shaped, others "stick" and others with the famous dual Spericon that allows to make very practical two-sided dice. They are rarely used in role-playing games.

- 3-sided dice (D3): Also called rock, paper or scissors dice. They are somewhat strange dice, with triangular shapes in prism or strange shapes with only 3 faces. They are widely used in an abstract way, dividing by two the traditional D6. With these three-sided dice the result is direct and more comfortable and fun.

- 4-sided dice (D4): Unlike the previous ones, the D4 is a simple tetrahedron, either a tetrahedron truncated at the corners or the traditional one. There are other shapes of these dice such as the double prism, the isosceles tetrahedron or the scalene tetrahedron that gives it a more exotic appearance. It is widely used to represent damage in role-playing games.

- 6-sided die (D6): This is the die used in almost all board games and the best known. There are two types of dice, those marked with numbers and those with dots. In role-playing games they are widely used to simulate the damage of certain weapons and even complete game systems based exclusively on these dice such as Z-Corps, Star Wars: The Role-Playing Game or any other game that uses the OPEN D6 system.

- 7-sided dice (D7): They have a pentagonal or dipyramidal heptagonal elongated shape. They are used mainly for the days of the week.

- 8-sided die (D8): The traditional octahedron that is widely used in role-playing games as it is a more common die. There are some brands that make them using hyperbolic octahedra, octagonal prisms and even perinolas or parachutes (round cones). These are very common to see in role-playing games.

- 10-sided die (D10): also called bipyramidal. It is one of the most used in games based on percentiles. One of them can be used for the units and another for the tens (together they form 0-99). Some games are Aquelarre, BRP, GURPS. Rolling two 10-sided dice is equivalent to rolling one 100-sided die.

- 12-sided dice (D12): Used to represent the months, the zodiac, the time of day, etc. They are also used to simulate damage in role-playing games. Games like Vampire: The Masquerade use this die as the main die in the game mechanics, so along with the D6 and D20 it is one of the most popular.

- 18-sided die (D18): This is a very rare die to see and is not really used in any game. They are faceted spheres or dodecahedra, very similar to the D17 (17-sided dice). Neither is common or popular.

- 20-sided die (D20): This is the most common die, used for many situations and in different difficulties. The number 20 means critical and the 1 means a failure. The most famous game that uses this system is Dungeons & Dragons. It is widely used for the resolution of events in role-playing games and 20-sided dice are known from as far back as Roman and Egyptian times.

- 24-sided dice (D24): Used for the time of day. They are easier to obtain than the D18 dice and have a more practical use. They are Hexahedron Tetrakis and deltoidal Icositetraedron, although there are also truncated spheres. 

- 26-sided dice (D26): They are used for the letters of the Roman alphabet and are not usual in role-playing games. They are tridecagonal deltahedrons or truncated.

- 30-sided dice (D30): Used for the days of the month. They are rhombic triacontahedrons somewhat more commercial than the D26 but rare to see. They are not very common in the game tables and only for special rolls.

- 36-sided die (D36): It is a somewhat strange die and some game masters use it to simulate 2D6 in a single "roll" because it can be adjusted to the statistics of the same. (Very exotic and more practical than it seems).

- 60-sided die (D60): Mostly used to represent the time in minutes or to roll on random generation tables. They are deltoidal hexecontahedra or icosahedra triakis. They are also more commercial than the D36 or D26, being available relatively easily in many brands.

- 100-sided die (D100): It is like a golf ball. It is used for many games such as Aquelarre, BRP, GURPS, but due to its shape players continue to use the method of rolling two 10-sided dice (D10) because it is more practical. It is a usual and commercial die because it attracts attention.

- 120-sided die (D120): Used by game directors to permute rolls. Like the D48, these are rare dice that are rarely used.

How many dice do I need for role-playing games?

Below are some of the most common titles and list how many dice are actually used in each. The number of dice is the amount of dice needed to play, although usually each player brings his own set so as not to share them and to be quicker at game time.

This information comes from the source mrob.com.