On Dice

This post is not about dice games, but rather the dice themselves. I intend to briefly cover the history of dice and then discuss the usual dice found in polyhedral sets for role-playing games. There are many more oddball and specialist dice designs I have not mentioned here, but this post will cover the most common ones.

The standard 6-sided cubes familiar from casino games and board games alike are an ancient design. The Romans used them. The ancient Chinese used them. Dice have been found in archaeological sites in the middle east and Egypt dating back to perhaps 5,000 years ago, where they seem to have been used to add a random element to games and to gamble, just like today. Dice are even thought to have evolved into dominoes and then playing cards somewhere in southeast Asia.

Once made from stone, bone, and wood, they are now usually made by injecting plastic into a mold, immersing the whole die in the paint color desired in the pips, and then tumbling the dice to remove unwanted paint and polish the surfaces and edges. Metal and other materials are used occasionally today, too.

Dice usually have pips on the sides from 1 to 6, although the pattern for these pips around the faces can vary. Wargamers and RPG players often refer to a cube die in shorthand as a "d6," using the letter 'd' for 'die' and '6' for the number of sides it has. Some games occasionall call for a "d3" roll, indicating that a standard d6 is to be rolled and then the result divided by 2, rounding up.

Dice are often manufactured with different numbers and symbols, too. Pictured below is a selection of specialty dice from my collection:

In back is a die with colored circles instead of pips and a die with the card faces 9, 10, jack, queen, king, and ace on its sides. In front is a Munchkin die showing the game logo in place of the one pip and a scatter die that was used in previous editions of Warhammer 40,000 with two target sides and four arrow sides to randomize where things would occur on the table.

Recently, I have seen war games that use dice identified by different colors with different respective numbered and blank sides, or various special symbols. Many other specialty dice exist, and it is fairly common for either the 1 or 6 to be replaced by a logo or icon in otherwise-standard game dice. One can find dice in different shapes and configurations, too:

Pictured above, on the left is a rocket die designed to roll like a cylinder rather than tumble like a cube. On the right is a clear die with a tiny die inside so two dice can be rolled at once. The former was manufactured from poor molds that left tooling marks which remain visible under close examination, although the sprue connection at the back jet nozzle is a clever design for manufacturing, and the set is thematically perfect for space games. The latter is a useless gimmick, but fun to have on hand nonetheless.

Many role-playing games use sets of polyhedral dice to expand the range of options available in various random rolls. A gamer only needs one set, but let's be honest, gamers. You will accumulate more dice. It is a fact of nature. So let these three sets serve as an example to guide your purchases.

At the top is a set from Chessex made from a mottled plastic that resembles stone with red numerals. They look cool, but they are hard to read in dim light. Many games are played in less than ideal lighting conditions.

The second set made from simple off-white plastic contrasts well with the black numerals. These are not as cool, but they are extremely functional. These are also from Chessex.

The bottom set is from Elder Dice and uses H. P. Lovecraft's Elder Sign in place of the highest number on each die. The material has a nice luster and a swirled blend of deep green shades that look a bit like a semiprecious gem. The gold numerals stand out well against the background color, too.

One final thought: for new players or young gamers, consider stealing an idea from My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria and color-code the different dice. Instead of saying, "roll a d8," you can add (or say instead), "Roll the yellow die." You can usually make a set of color-coded dice from the loose dice bin at most game stores if you'd prefer to not buy a branded product.

On to the specialty polyhedral dice!

A d4 is a tetrahedron. Unlike other dice, this is read based on the vertex that points up, since there cannot be a topmost side. Some have the numerals around the vertices, and some mark the sides so the number to be read is at the base. These dice resist rolling, so they are better used by tossing them gently into the air a few inches above the table so they tumble and then fall to give a result when they land.

A d8 is an octahedron. Deadzone from Mantic Games uses a d8 system instead of the common d6 due to the way it changes the range of possible results and allows different odds to be applied to the mechanics of the game.

The d10 is usually not a platonic solid, instead using kite-shaped facets that interlock along a zig-zag perimeter. Sometimes a dodecahedron die with 1-10 shown twice is used instead, though.

2d10, or better yet a d10 and a percentile die, can be used to generate percentage rolls. The above roll would be 53, obviously. The 00 side of a percentile die plus the 0 side of the d10 is usually read as 100. Tables for loot, random encounters, and the like in Dungeons and Dragons andnother RPGs often use a d100 roll.

Percentage dice are used as the basis of some role playing games, like Call of Cthulhu and most editions of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

The d12 is a dodecahedron. In most RPGs, a d12 usually represents a very powerful weapon or ability. I haven't seen it used outside of RPGs, although using 1d12 instead of 2d6 completely changes the odds in board games like Monopoly. Try it some time!

Don't mistake a d12 for the d20 though. It is large-ish and round-ish, but it won't help you much if your goal is to roll high! If the faces are all pentagons, it's a d12. Make sure it's the one you want before you roll!

Here it is. The one die to rule them all. The great icosahedron. The d20!

In Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or other games using similar dice mechanics, this is the single most important die. It is used for skill checks, ability tests, and attack rolls. The sci-fi skirmish game Infinity uses d20s for its mechanics. The fantasy skirmish game Frostgrave does, too. Magic: The Gathering products sometimes include a special d20 called a "spindown die" that has the numbers arranged sequentially so it can be used to track a player's life total.

Like the humble d6, examples of the mighty d20 have even been found in archaeological digs, although their purpose then remains largely unknown today.

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And there you have it! Thanks for bearing with this rather long post about a mundane game accessory. Please comment below if you have any questions or other feedback about this post.