Dice Madness! | Dadventurous

A Whose Who Of Dice And When To Roll Them:

For a new player of Dungeons and Dragons, it may seem like there are an overly large amount of different dice. There's your average cube, the kind of dice you see everywhere. But what are all of these other different shapes? You may be confused as to what all these do and whether or not you need them all to play correctly. I am here to help! As you navigate this maze of rolling and, believe it or not, some math, you will learn all of the 7 dice and what they do. We'll go down the numbers, from most sides to least sides. Plus a little advice when picking your dice, hopefully by the end of this article you'll know enough to play and roll well!

The D20: The twenty-sided die will be both your best friend and your worst enemy while adventuring in whatever silly land your DM comes up with. Determining whether or not you hit when you are attacking a vicious ogre, or if you swing successfully across that pesky chasm preventing you from reaching that treasure. You will roll this unless your Dungeon Master (or your sword) says otherwise. This will be both the biggest and most ball-like of your dice.
The D12: Already jumping down eight sides? Wow! Don't ask me why there isn't a D16 or something, because I don't know. Probably the least used dice, this can sometimes be mistaken for a D20 and appears as a bunch of pentagons stuck together.
The D10: This may be one of the more confusing dice, because there is a zero on it. Isn't it supposed to go to ten?! Well, it does, because the zero stands for ten. If you roll it and get that confusing zero; you've gotten the best roll! It appears as two pentagonal pyramids base to base.
The D100: Now, this may seem like I've gone back on my word of going from most sides to least sides. Well, the average D100 is actually just a D10 with an extra zero slapped on to every number. Yep! Even the name has an extra zero. (though there are actual 100-sided dice out there, they probably won't fit in your dice bag.) The D100 presents the same problem as the D10, this time rolling an even more confusing double zero. Just pretend there is a 1 in front of that first zero and you should be fine. It is common to roll both a D100 and a D10 for lists of random things.
The D8: Used purely for damage of weapons and spells, I don't have much to say about this one. This strange dice appears as a 3d diamond shape, or a rhombus.
The D6: This may be the dice you recognize first when looking at a set. Used in all manner of card, dice, and board games out there, it's very likely you have encountered this before! Instead of most D6's, though, a standard edition dungeons and dragons dice will have numbers instead of dots, which makes it easier to tell between those pesky fours and fives.
The D4: Ah, the D4. The strangest looking dice and hardest to pick up. Also the last one on our list. You roll it like any other dice, but it may be confusing at first on how to read the numbers on it. It's a triangle, after all! The fact is, you read it based on whatever number is closest to the upward-facing point. This weird die is mostly used for heals and buffs or small amounts of damage. It appears as a triangular pyramid. I do have a tip for you when using this dice: depending on how sharp the edges of your dice are, be careful not to put an unintended palm or elbow on the upright tip, unless you enjoy pain.

Buying dice: When buying your dice, you want to make sure you grab the ones that are right for you. Pick your favorite color, your birthstone, or one of the cool patterns. If you like small things, or think the size is comically funny, then grab mini dice. Or maybe a giant fluffy d20! There are thousands of different dice out there, and you can choose the best ones for you! Or better yet, buy them all!

Phew! We're through! That was a lot. Hopefully now you understand all of the different dice and what they do, which will make it easier as you adventure. Maybe now you can help friends or family when they're confused, or tell someone who's incredulous what they all do. You've made it out of the maze of dice, and your treasure is knowledge of how to play! I've got to go– my character has another monster to fight (don't forget the D20!)-but I have one parting tip: If anyone ever asks, just say “Yes, I really do need all these dice!”

by:

The Daughter

(an article written for kids by a kid)