What Dice Are Used in Dungeons & Dragons?

Dungeons & Dragons relies on a standard set of seven polyhedral dice, each serving distinct mechanical purposes that drive the game's blend of strategy, chance, and storytelling. Understanding what each die does is fundamental to playing any edition of D&D.

The Standard Seven-Dice Set

• d4 (four-sided): The pyramid-shaped die, typically used for small weapon damage (like daggers), minor healing spells, and certain class features. Its unique shape means it doesn't roll well—it's usually tossed and read from the bottom number.
• d6 (six-sided): The familiar cube, most common in gaming overall. In D&D, it's used for ability score generation during character creation, many weapon damage rolls, sneak attack damage, and countless other mechanics. Players often want multiple d6s.
• d8 (eight-sided): Used for medium weapon damage (longswords, battleaxes), many class features like the bard's Bardic Inspiration, and various spell effects.
• d10 (ten-sided): Comes in two forms: 0-9 and 00-90 (percentile). Used for larger weapon damage (greatswords, mauls) and, when paired, for percentile rolls (d100) which determine random outcomes on tables or certain class abilities.
• d12 (twelve-sided): Reserved for heavy weapon damage (greataxes) and some high-level class features like the barbarian's Hit Die.
• d20 (twenty-sided): The iconic die of D&D, central to the d20 System. Used for attack rolls, ability checks, saving throws, and initiative—essentially any action with a chance of success or failure.

Practical Considerations

A standard starter set includes one of each die, but experienced players typically acquire multiples of d6s and d10s for convenience—rolling 8d6 for a fireball spell or 3d10 for a high-level smite is much faster with a handful of matching dice. Dice materials range from basic acrylic to premium metal, gemstone, or wood, but the math remains the same regardless of aesthetics.