Level One Tips: Polyhedral Dice Details for New RPG Players

What are all these crazy dice?

Polyhedral dice are an essential tool for most tabletop role-playing games, adding an element of chance and excitement to every adventure. These unique dice are not the traditional six-sided cubes we're accustomed to from standard board games. In fact, polyhedral dice come in a variety of specific shapes, each designated for specific purposes within an RPG (role-playing game).

Common uses for the 7 dice set

The most common polyhedral dice set used in tabletop gaming is the seven-dice set, which includes a d4 (four-sided), d6 (six-sided), d8 (eight-sided), d10 (ten-sided), d12 (twelve-sided), d20 (twenty-sided), and a percentile d10 (a ten-sided die numbered from 00 to 90). Each serves a different function in gameplay, allowing players to determine outcomes based on the roll of the dice.

The d4, for example, is perfect for determining small amounts of damage, like from a dagger or other minor actions in the game like healing. The d6 is often used for basic actions like weapon or spell damage. The d8 is commonly used for damage rolls, while the d10 can be used for a variety of purposes, including determining percentages or larger amounts of damage.

Moving up in size, the d12 is often used for more significant damage rolls or other random outcomes. The d20 is a crucial die in many role-playing games, used for attacking and determining the success or failure of crucial actions, like landing a critical hit or fumble in combat or making a saving throw against a spell. Lastly, the percentile d10 is used for generating random numbers between 1 and 100, often used in conjunction with the regular d10 for various game mechanics.

Treasures for Dice Goblins

Polyhedral dice are not only functional but also aesthetically pleasing. They come in a wide array of colors and designs, making them a popular collector's item for tabletop gaming enthusiasts, who are often called “Dice Goblins.” Some sets are made of high-quality materials like metal or gemstone, adding a touch of luxury to the gaming experience. Others can be infused with items, a liquid core, or hand made of resin. 

The appeal of polyhedral dice goes beyond their practical use in games. They have become a symbol of camaraderie among players, often exchanged as gifts or tokens of appreciation within gaming communities. Hoarded like treasure, dice collections are a thing of pride among role players, some of whom have specific dice for each character they play.

Essential Tools for Roleplaying

Polyhedral dice are more than just random number generators in tabletop games. They are versatile tools that enhance the gaming experience, allowing players to immerse themselves in a world of fantasy and adventure. With their unique shapes, colors, and functions, polyhedral dice have become an iconic symbol of tabletop gaming culture, bringing players together in the shared joy of rolling the dice and letting fate decide their destiny.

Names of the geometric shapes of each polyhedral die

D4 (Tetrahedron): A four-faced shape.

D6 (Cube or Hexahedron): A six-faced shape.

D8 (Octahedron): An eight-faced shape.

D10 (Pentagonal Trapezohedron): A ten-faced shape.

D12 (Dodecahedron): A twelve-faced shape.

D20 (Icosahedron): A twenty-faced shape.

Various sets of Polyhedral Dice on display at Dungeon Crate