D&D Dice Names: What Each of the 7 Dice Is Used For

What are the names of the 7 D&D dice?

Every D&D die is named with a lowercase "d" followed by its number of sides. A d8 has eight sides, a d12 has twelve, and so on. A standard set has seven dice, and the most important one, the d20, decides whether almost everything your character tries succeeds or fails.

The table below covers all seven. Each name links to an online roller for that die, so you can roll it right away if you don't have a physical set.

The average of any single die is its lowest plus highest result divided by two. That is why a d6 averages 3.5 even though you can never roll a 3.5.

What does each D&D die do?

d4: the small damage and bonus die

The four-sided die looks like a small pyramid. It rolls damage for light weapons like the dagger, each dart of Magic Missile (1d4 + 1), and small bonuses such as the d4 that Bless and Guidance add to a roll. A Potion of Healing restores 2d4 + 2 hit points.

d6: the most common damage die

The familiar cube from board games. In D&D it rolls damage for shortswords, many spells and features that scale up: Fireball deals 8d6 and a Rogue's Sneak Attack grows by 1d6 every two levels. It is also the hit die for Sorcerers and Wizards.

d8: weapons, healing and hit dice

The eight-sided die handles one-handed weapons like the longsword and rapier. Cure Wounds heals with it (1d8 in the 2014 rules, 2d8 in the 2024 rules). Bards, Clerics, Druids, Monks, Rogues and Warlocks all use a d8 hit die.

d10: cantrips and martial hit dice

The d10 has kite-shaped faces and is usually numbered 0 to 9, where the 0 counts as 10. Fire Bolt and Eldritch Blast each deal 1d10 per hit, and Fighters, Paladins and Rangers use it as their hit die.

d12: the big hitter

The twelve-sided die is the least-rolled die in most games. It shows up for the greataxe and as the Barbarian's hit die, which is why Barbarians have the most hit points of any class.

d20: the core die

The d20 is the heart of the game. Whenever the result of an action is uncertain, you roll a d20, add a modifier and compare it to a target number. Rolling a 20 on an attack is a critical hit; rolling a 1 is an automatic miss. You can read more in what is a d20.

Percentile die: rolling 1 to 100

The percentile die is a second ten-sided die marked 00, 10, 20 and so on up to 90. Roll it with a regular d10: the percentile die gives the tens and the d10 gives the ones. A 00 and a 0 together read as 100. It is used for random tables, such as the Wild Magic Surge table for sorcerers. The d100 roller does the reading for you.

How do you read dice notation like 2d6 + 3?

Dice notation combines the dice names into a short formula:

• The first number: how many dice to roll. 2d6 means two six-sided dice.
• The d and the second number: which die. 2d6 uses the d6.
• The modifier: a flat number to add or subtract after rolling. 2d6 + 3 means roll two d6, add them, then add 3.

So a greatsword hit with a +3 Strength modifier is 2d6 + 3, which ranges from 5 to 15 and averages 10. Our guide to dice notation covers more advanced forms like advantage and "drop lowest".

Are there other dice besides the standard 7?

Yes, but 5e rarely needs them as physical dice. Sometimes a rule asks for a d2 or d3. You can get them from the standard set:

• d2: roll any die and treat odd as 1 and even as 2, or flip a coin. Try the d2 roller.
• d3: roll a d6 and halve it, rounding up, so 1–2 is 1, 3–4 is 2 and 5–6 is 3. Or use the d3 roller.

Novelty dice with 7, 14, 16, 24, 30 or even 100 physical sides exist, but the D&D rules are written entirely around the seven dice in the table above.

Why are the dice shaped the way they are?

A die is only fair if every face has the same chance to land on top, which means every face must be identical in shape and size. The d4, d6, d8, d12 and d20 are five shapes called the Platonic solids, where every face is the same regular polygon. The d10 is not a Platonic solid; its ten kite-shaped faces are arranged so they are all identical too. Our polyhedral dice guide explains the geometry in more detail.

Which die should a new player learn first?

Learn the d20 first. You will roll it on almost every turn, and it is the one die that every player and the DM use constantly. After that, learn the damage die for your weapon or main spell, and your class's hit die for healing on short rests. Many players keep their d20 a different color from the rest of the set so they can grab it quickly.

FAQ

What are the 7 D&D dice called?

They are the d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and the percentile die (sometimes called the d%, d00 or tens die). The number after the d is how many sides the die has.

What does the d stand for in D&D dice?

The d simply means die or dice. 1d8 means roll one eight-sided die, and 3d6 means roll three six-sided dice and add them together.

Which D&D die is used the most?

The d20. You roll it for every attack roll, ability check and saving throw, so it comes up far more often than any other die.

Why are there two ten-sided dice in a D&D set?

One is a normal d10 numbered 0 to 9 (the 0 reads as 10). The other is marked 00 to 90 in tens. Rolled together they give a number from 1 to 100.

Related

• Roll a d20
• Polyhedral Dice Explained for New Players
• How Many Dice Are in a D&D Set (and Do You Need Your Own)?
• Dice Notation Guide: What 2d6+3 Means and How to Read Any Roll