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Dice

2023-02-05T06:51:12Z

2A01:261:4E7:4700:81B4:C6ED:7CD5:AA27:

[[Image:dice.jpg|thumb|I COULD JUST DIVE INTO THEM!]]
[[Image:Uglydie.jpg|thumb|SO FUCKING UGLY. But he has a fetching [[hat]].]]
[[Dice]] (singular: '''die''') are high-impact polyhedra. In [[role-playing games]] and tabletop [[wargame]]s, they are used as randomizers to inject an element of chance into the game. Non-gamers often only know about the six-sided die (hereafter referred to as the d6) thanks to the ubiquity of games like [[Monopoly]] and [[Yahtzee]]. Which dice are used tends to vary by system. [[Dungeons and Dragons]], for instance, makes use of all types. On the other hand, [[White Wolf]] games and Classic Traveller use only ten- and six-sided dice, respectively. On the other hand, some games don't use dice at all! These tend to be relatively new games like [[Nobilis]] or [[Amber]], or board games that use instead use the abomination known as a spinner (at first a result of war rationing, later used for non-numerical results).

Bear in mind, if you're not familiar with how statistics work, one d12 does not have the same probability distribution as two d6s (same goes for any combination of die). A single die of good quality will have the same percentage chance for any side to roll, whereas using multiple die will result in a probability distribution resembling a bell curve (in the two d6's case, seven will be the most common roll, followed by sixs and eights, then fives and nines, and so on). Keep this in mind when you're doing homebrew rules. Likewise, it's important to remember that dice can't roll 0, so the average is 0.5 higher than half the highest number (3.5 for a d6), not simply half.

If you do not have dice for whatever reason, consider <strike>[[chits]]</strike> getting some fucking dice. Or, since you clearly have a device with an internet connection if you're reading this, use one of the countless virtual dice rollers available online.

Dice are considered by most people to be impartial arbiters of [[statistics|random chance]]. [[Fa/tg/uy]]s (and craps players) know better. Dice are controlled or at least influenced by the unseen force of Dice Mojo. It is believed that Dice Mojo can be influenced by players through manifold rituals, including:

*Placing a die with the desired number upward, that it 'gets used to' that position and tends to return to it.
*Placing a die with the desired number downward, that the die is tricked into thinking it has already made a bad roll and will produce a good outcome on the subsequent roll.
*Rolling a die until a string of good rolls are achieved, tapping into a streak of 'good mojo' or 'rolling out' bad outcomes.
*Various chants, prayers, threats, and curses made toward the die in order to entice or coerce it into [[Natural 20|producing favorable rolls.]]
*Being careful not to drop dice or just roll them to pass the time till next turn, as when rolling a twenty, the critical ratio may be "used up" for the day.
*Building dice towers as tribute to Dice Gods that they may bless one's dice with good Mojo.

The one true method (at least for those without specialized tools) for finding if a die is cursed or lucky dice however is putting it in a cup of very salty water and seeing which side floats to the top. Clear dice are less vulnerable to these imperfections since their see through nature means manufactures can't get away with substantial air pockets.

=Dice on /tg/=
Once upon a time some admin thought that it would be a good idea to give /tg/ a dice rolling mechanism. In practice it's mostly ignored, or it serves similar purpose as "first person to get doubles" threads, although some enterprising fa/tg/uys have found good uses for them, and it used to be that good fun could be had at the expense of newfags that didn't know how to work the die-roller properly. Because your results don't become visible until you post your comment (and yet for some reason, appear on top of it rather than at its bottom), threads utilizing the feature can be a bit bloated. If you give /tg/ a random table to roll on, then each person responding will have to post once to roll, and once again to remark on their results. That said, it works well for things like the [[Template:40k-Faction-Creation-Tables|40k faction generation tables]].

'''TG dice''' is what fa/tg/uys call the strange phenomenon whereby /tg/'s random number generator tends to be anything but. The reason for this is that /tg/'s dice aren't truly random. Like most RNGs it's actually a pseudo-random generator tied to 4chan's server clock. The effect usually isn't that dramatic, but fatguys love to blame it for their shit rolls anyhow.

{{clear}}

=Types of Dice=
==d0==
Nobody knows what a 0-sided dice looks like, and they are useless anyway because they always land on a 42 for some reason.

==d1==
[[Image:Mobius dice.jpg|thumb|100px]]
Rolling this visually elusive die involves armed, digited humanoids gesturing with one arm while extending only a single centralmost digit of its hand and informing the party what's gonna happen. The few one sided dice that exist are either just a ball with the number 1 written on them, or a mobius ring.

It is the damage die for unarmed strikes in 5e, assuming you don't have a feat or class that upgrades them.

==d2==
[[Image:D2.gif|thumb|200px|left|A d2. Careful not to spend it all in one place.]]
[[Image:Actual d2.jpg|thumb|200px|A more literal version that definitevely costs more than the penny you could be using instead, it can double as a less hazardous d4 however]]

A d2 isn't a die - it's a coin.

You flip the fucking thing. Heads count as 1, Tails count as 2.

You can, alternately, roll any other die - counting odds as 1 and evens as 2.

===In Various Works===
d2s are used with disturbing frequency in both CCGs and RPGs. They are used in most two player card games, with the notable exception of [[Yu-Gi-Oh]] using rock paper scissors as the preferred method, to determine who gets the first turn. Since this requires players have a coin to play ''anyways'', most TCGs have some oddball cards that use coin flips for random effects. They rarely show up in serious matches because the vast majority of these would be crap even if you ''could'' ensure the outcome. The [[Pokemon]] TCG bucked the trend of this being unusual and (especially early on) has such effects be common.

The RPG ''Bean!'' is a d2-based game, and it's actually pretty good.

Loaded d2s, known as double sided coins, are extremely popular in fiction. This is probably because they're the easiest die to recognize as/prove is loaded, and the most consistent.

===Also Currency===
The d2 are the only dice you can put in a vending machine and spend for candy. With string and a sufficient dexterity score, you don't even have to "spend" the d2 at all (This only works on 50 year old or so vending machines).
{{clear}}

==d3==
Not much to say about it.
[[Image:D3.jpg|thumb|right|The D3...]]
[[Warhammer 40k]] uses D3's <s>every once in awhile</s> [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics(8E)| all the time]] - [[Manticore Rocket Launcher|Manticores]], & other cases such as +D3 attacks, 2 + D3 objectives, etc. Most of the time, they don't actually use a D3 - they just roll a [[d6]], at which points three schools of thought engage in a holy war:
* A few subtract 3 from any result that's 4 or higher. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 2.
* The others divide the result by two, rounding up. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 3.
*<strike>Lazy people just assign the value of 1 to the first 2 numbers, and so on. For example, a 4 would be a 2.</strike> This method and the method above will yield the same results.

>rolls d6, getting a 3

>divides by 2, rounding up to get 2

>assigns 1-2 to 1, 3-4 to 2, 5-6 to 3

>2 == 2

>CP rerolls, this time getting a 5

>5/2 rounding up = 3

>assigning values yields 3

>3 == 3

The 40k rulebook explicitly proselytizes the second option, which means the former is [[heresy]]. Other games don't really care as much.

Actual d3s come in two major flavours: The weird triangular nublette things seen to the right, which are largely used by people who think having weird dice makes you interesting, and d6es which had 1, 2 and 3 written on them twice, used by people who like to build things out of dice.

Since you can readily simulate a d3 result easily enough without obtaining extra dice why in the hell would you bother?

<s>Because I have OCD, that’s why!</s> Because collecting is fun, and [[Dungeons & Dragons|DnD]] already has enough math.
{{clear}}

==d4==
[[image:D4.jpg|thumb|right|This fucker will hurt more than any lego.]]
A tetrahedral [[dice|die]] that has the second-sharpest points of any die (only the [[d8]] is sharper), and, appropriately enough, has four sides. Used by Wizards, small weapons, and low-caliber firearms in d20 modern. At least it gets more love than the [[d12]], which probably falls asleep every night in a pool of tears and melted butter.

There are two ways to print the numbers on a D4. On one, the numbers are arranged on the corners of each face, and so the number at the top (it will always be three of the same number) is what you actually rolled. On the other kind, the numbers are arranged in the middle of each side of the face, and so the number on the bottom (again, it will always be three of the same number) tells you what you rolled. Oldfags will insist the "numbers on the bottom" d4 is the one true way, despite the fact that they need the full power of their coke-bottle glasses to see the numbers. [[Skub|Don't argue]] with 'em, just keep using the d4s that you and everyone at the table can read.

===Fucking Caltrops===
Whilst the d4 isn't as sharp as a d8, it has one major bit of natural defense - no matter what way it lands, it will have a point face-up. Because it's the smallest die, care needs to be used - if one escapes its dice-box and into the wild, it will wait, with its [[Bear Lore|natural weapon]] ready, for the exact moment someone walks into its vicinity barefoot to strike, whereupon it will inflict some surprisingly-vicious puncture wounds.

Somewhat related, in D&D Caltrops inflict 1d4 damage. [[Just as planned|Coincidence]]?
{{clear}}

==d6==
''Not the same thing as the [[D6 System]] by [[West End Games]].''

[[Image:Cube_template.gif|thumb|do-it-yourself kit]]
If you don't know what a d6 is, holy shit are you in the wrong place.
Go back to playing [[Monopoly]] in your blissful ignorance that it uses two of them.

A d6 with indented pips and rounded corners has a significantly higher chance of rolling a one than anything else. Do not trust them. Unless you're rolling Morale tests, in which case start praying for a one...now.

Fun Fact: Do you own a regular #2 pencil? If so, congratulations, [[Barrel dice|you have a d6]].

See [[Cubes]] for more details.

===Delta-6===
A die-rolling method for numbers from 0-5 with a particular curve.

Roll two d6, and subtract the smaller from the larger.

The curve looks like this:
{|style="border:1px solid black;" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3
! roll !! odds % !!  
|-
| 0 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 1 || 5/18 27.8% || <tt>##########</tt>
|-
| 2 || 2/9 22.2% || <tt>########</tt>
|-
| 3 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 4 || 1/9 11.1% || <tt>####</tt>
|-
| 5 || 1/18 5.5% || <tt>##</tt>
|}
{{clear}}

==d7==
[[Image:D7 1.jpg|thumb|left|The bizarre d7. This wasn't even on this page until 2020.]]
[[File:D7 2.jpg|thumb|right|This thing costs £4.95 ($6.38)]]
It exists. Use for whatever reason you could possibly need a d7 for.

In seriousness, there are very limited uses for this die. Maybe you could use it to randomly select a day or some shit. They're also advertised for use in seven-player backgammon games.
{{clear}}

==d8==
The eight-sided die is an octohedron: one of the symmetrical polyhedra known as the "Platonic solids."
[[Image:Buncha_d8s.jpg|thumb|right|A wild herd of d8s]]

Despite being a "Platonic" solid, it looks like two pyramids caught in the beautiful act of reproduction. Long live the dice race.

A d8 was always used for hit points for [[Dungeons & Dragons]] monsters, and in Advanced D&D it was used for those classes that have more hit points but weren't supposed to be as butch as Fighters or Paladins.

Eight-sided dice also have the most variations with weird not-numbers stuff on them, like compass directions, random weather, letters. They're also used as below-bargain-basement minifigs because one point is always off the table, like a big nose, or turret.

When you played Dragon Dice, the d8s were the terrain, which could change under your feet without moving your army, somehow.

James Ernest came up with a game "Dogfight" that uses d8s for their numbers, for being pointy and for turning in circles when you try to roll them like wheels... then he remembered that people put weird shit on d8s and he came up with a new game called "DiceLand," which is a beautiful game.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]] fucking *loves* themselves some d8s. Their games make you wonder if all their parents were killed in a horrible cube-shaped accident.

Also the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Fifth Angel]] is a huge floating d8.
{{clear}}

==d10==
[[Image:Ten-sided die.png|right|100px]]

It's a [[die]]. With ten sides. Pretty simple concept.

It's in the shape of a pentagonal trapezohedron. You can stand it on its point and spin it like a top. You should not do this, however, as it is the universal sign of boredom and is considered faux pas in most gaming circles.

The tenth side usually bears only a zero, but you should still read it as "ten" because you want your result to be 1-10, not 0-9.

===Rolling d100 Using Two d10s===
[[Image:D10_bronze_thorns.jpg|thumb|Your d10 dice are not this good-looking. But they are probably easier to read from across the table.]]

[[Dark Heresy|Some Systems]] require you to roll d100s frequently. There's a better way of doing it than rolling a golf ball with 100 sides.

Get out two d10s. Use one die to denote the singles digit and another die to denote the tens digit. Some d10s have two digits per side (see above) to make differentiating your digits easier, but you can roll d100 with any two d10, provided you specify beforehand which die is the tens and which the ones.

Reading it off is simple. Did you roll a '''20''' and a '''4'''? That's a '''24'''. A '''90''' and a '''1'''? '''91'''. A '''00''' and a '''5'''? Just a '''5'''.

The only possibly ambiguous result is two zeroes: a '''00''' and a '''0'''. Obviously you rolled a '''100'''. Why? Because the alternative is a '''0''' which you can never roll with any other die. That, and the system assumes a roll from '''1''' to '''100''', not '''0''' to '''99'''.

Mathematically, each digit is determined in an independent manner. There are exactly 10*10=100 two-digit combinations, all equally likely. You now have a uniform distribution of 100 different results, as desired.
{{clear}}

==d12==
[[Image:D12_Cries.jpg|thumb|right]]
The [[d12]] is the loneliest die. It is used for barbarian hit dice and greataxe damage in [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The fact that [[Orcs]] (and [[Half-Orcs]]) are both the most common barbarians and the most common wielders of greataxes, it is suspected that Gruumsh is the head of a conspiracy aiming to eliminate the [[d10]] in favor of the [[d12]], in order to "purify" dice sets so that they consist only of true platonic solids.

Observant smar/tg/uys will notice that d12 are the hitdice used for undead and dragons instead of the usual [[d8]]s.

[[d12]] is the highest stats can ordinarily go in [[Savage Worlds]] or [[Ironclaw]]. [[BBEG]]s and [[DMPC]] [[Mary Sues]] can have [[d20]], but it's hella rare.

[[d12]] shows up in [[Cthulhu]]-themed games, like Pokethulhu or [[Cthulhu Dice]], probably because [[d12]] is just as beautiful and graceful as the mighty Cthulhu.

One of the few places where the [[d12]] is not lonely, and is in fact used a great deal, is the [[Dragonmech]] campaign setting. Its chief use there is for damage rolls with mech weaponry.

[[Alternity]] was very friendly to the [[d12]], choosing to throw the [[d10]] under the bus instead because it wasn't far enough away from the [[d8]] to work as a difficulty step.

[[Pathfinder Second Edition|Pathfinder 2e]] makes good use of these. Since 2d6 weapons don't exist in this system, more weapons use the d12.

If you’re on a budget, the [[d12]] is your best friend, capable of functioning as a [[d3]], [[d4]], [[d6]], and even a [[d10]] or [[d8]] in a pinch. Not that useful, but it can still come in handy.
{{clear}}

==d16==
[[File:d16.jpg|thumb]]
Used basically just in [[Blood Bowl]] to randomly select a player on a team (which has a max of 16 players). Originally introduced by the [http://www.thenaf.net/the-naf/history/ NAF] in 2013 (when G-Dubs refused to license their block dice anymore), [[GW]] wised up in their 2016 edition of the game and added it to their product line, replacing the old method of drawing a [[chits|chit]] from a cup.
{{clear}}

==d20==
[[Image:Green_d20.jpg|thumb|'''BOW DOWN BEFORE YOUR GOD''']]
Your best friend and worst enemy.

Before [[TSR]]/[[Wizards of the Coast]] tried to trademark "d20", every gamer knew what the fuck an icosahedron is, and why "natural 20" is a gift from God.

'''The Truth About 20-Sided Dice:'''

There are a limited number of “twenties” in any given d20. That is, no matter how many times you roll a d20, you cannot roll another twenty once the supply has run out. These twenties can only be replenished by rolling a corresponding one with the same die. Thus every gamer is duty-bound to protect their supply of good rolls. If a friend rolls a twenty using your die, not only have they stolen your good roll, but they have doomed you to the extra one required to replenish the twenty.

Some players get excited when they roll several twenties in a row, concluding the dice are “hot”. Don’t make this blunder! This is like driving your car for 400 miles without gassing up, and then concluding that your car is a perpetual motion machine. After a few good rolls, pass the die off to an unwitting companion and let them charge it up for you.

Statisticians have known about this behavior for years. They call it “the probability seesaw”. Unlike the bell-shaped curve, in the seesaw system the odds of rolling high or low is directly proportional to what has been rolled in the past. They usually pretend this isn’t true. If a statistician hands you a die insisting that “any given roll has the same odds of rolling a one or a twenty”, it means he’s handing you a depleted die in the hopes of taking advantage of you. Don’t fall for it!

Now the secret is yours. Please put this knowledge to good use*.

<nowiki>*By “good use” I mean, “take advantage of other players”.</nowiki>

{|
|-
|valign=center| The '''[[d20 System]]''' for role playing came later. 
Like eighteen centuries later. 
Don't believe me? Check this out:
|[[Image:2nd_century_Roman_d20.jpg|center|thumb|200px|2nd century Rome, bitches]]
|}
{{clear}}

==d30==
[[Image:D30_olympic.jpg|thumb|right]]

Only ever used for those critical-hit tables when you rolled a natural [[D20|20]].
Or if your DM was rolling damage and felt like being a dick.

But man, would it leave a bruise when your little sister threw it at your head.
{{clear}}

==d34==
[[Image:D34.jpg|thumb|right|[[Extra Heresy|WHY?!]]]]

Yes, they exist. Apparently if you roll 3 of them and subtract 2 from the total, you get a normal distribution from 1-100, assuming that's your idea of a good time.
{{clear}}

==d50==
[[Image:D50_Alan_Davies.jpg|thumb]]
[[Rage|Fifty goddamn sides!!!!]]

For when you want to do 2-100 points of damage with a vaguely normal distribution.

... yeah, I don't know either

It also doubles as a golf ball.
{{clear}}

==d100==
[[File:Zocchihedron2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Golfball.jpg]]
Take that, d50's!

They're useful when you really want to take 5 minutes to find out if you hit something in [[Dark Heresy]]. In other words, better just use a pair of [[D10]]'s like a normal human being.

Apparently it took about 6 years to make this die. I guess this means that it takes 6 years to put the numbers 1-100 on a fucking golf ball.

===Usage===
It may seem awesome when you see it, but as soon as you get one (and whoever's selling it to you is also aware of how unspeakably lame it is, and will probably even tell you) you will find that it has two major flaws: it takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around and if you aren't blessed with a perfectly level playing surface you will never find out exactly what you've rolled (and when there are six other numbers right next to the 100 and 1, that's a pretty big problem). Oh, and to top it off, it isn't even very balanced, so it's effectively a loaded die.

On the other hand, if you hate your friends, show up to your next meeting and sweep all the d10s off the table, then drop your d100 right in the middle with a theatrical gesture and watch as everyone is mesmerized by its incessant rolling (see: takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around). Take this opportunity to pocket the d10s, run away and never come back.

[[FATAL]] seemed to expect you to use this (but then again FATAL expects you to play FATAL so you can't expect much).

Seriously, though, let the cat play with it so they'll keep away from the other dice.
{{clear}}

==d120==
This is the most number of sides that a die can have while being 'mathematically fair die' (that doesn't have the dual problems of rolling forever and being prohibitively hard to read). The d120 stops rolling after a reasonable time (with the condition that this only applies if you don't roll with 'too much force'). It is also a bit tricky to read (but still perfectly possible). The company that sells the die points out that it can act as any of the standard 7 dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d10 of 10s, d12, and d20). And thanks to the chart they released for free, you don't even have to do the math yourself [http://thedicelab.com/d120tables.html]. Of course for the d100 roll you'll have to roll the d120 twice, roll 2 d120, or use a die other than the d120 (although you could still use the d120, e.g. a d10 and a d120). [http://nerdist.com/this-d120-is-the-largest-mathematically-fair-die-possible/]

==Barrel Dice==
[[Image:Barrel Dice.gif|right|thumb|Do a Barrel Roll!]]
Those weird-ass dice you find on that one dusty shelf behind the counter of your game store. Rather than platonic shapes with numbers on each side, it's a prism shape rounded at the ends, with numbers on the long sides. While not particularly popular, they're an excellent option for [[d4]]s, since they don't feel like the torture of a thousand hells to step on. Supposedly, they roll more evenly without as much bias and are harder to "throw", but the larger ones have the same problem as [[d50]]s. Hell, a barrel d50 would never ever stop rolling.

If you're super poor and can only afford the pencils and paper for your pencil-and-paper RPGs, your can use your pencils as barrel [[d6]]s.

==Other dice==
There's other dice as well that are produced for... Reasons. While a d3s, d7s, or d100s at least have a use, there is no real use for a d13 or d25. Most of these are just d10s with more sides (so really just a spinning top), though some are more rounded d12s, which make them favor one side above others most of the time. If you can find a use for it, good on you. Otherwise they are just novelties to gawk at and never roll. That said, certain types of dice were found in tombs, like the d14 and d18 found in Chinese tombs.

==Crayola Dice==
{{Oldschool}}
[[Image:Crayolad20.JPG|left]]
[[Image:Crayoladice.JPG|thumb|This set actually had a d10. That was pretty weird at the time.]]
Are you old enough to remember when dice didn't have inked or painted numbers? With the old D&D games, you got soft plastic powder blue dice and a soft white and red crayon. In order to see the numbers you had to fill in the etched spots with the wax.

There were no d10's either. The d20 was labeled 0-9 twice (fit 2 digits on a die face? IMPOSSIBLE!) so you colored one half of the numbers white and the other half red. It acted as your D10, and if you needed a d20, you declared one color to be +10 before you rolled.

These dice were made out of pretty soft plastic, and after 25 years, most of mine don't even stop rolling anymore. No more corners.

This has been a bout of nostalgia.

==Narrative Dice==
Made popular by Fantasy Flight Games, these dice look like typical dice at first glance but then one notices a severe lack of numbers and instead each die having blank sides, sides with one symbol or another, or sides with two symbols. They also tend to be more expensive than your typical bog standard set due to this.

Where they shine, though, is that they can give you not only success or failure like typical numbered dice, but other symbols grant advantage or threat. The whole thing with these is to pick up enough "good" dice and the amount of "bad" dice your GM allots you, roll them all, the cancel out the opposing symbols on both axes described above which can net you much more variety in possible outcomes. Things like "I failed to hit but now my allies have advantage," or "I hit but got a lot of threat so now the enemies can do some crazy shit" are possible.

{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
premiumdice.jpg|Premium Dice!
premiumdice2.png|Premium Dice cont.
Big_Gay_Purple_d4.png‎|A d4 in the wild, natural weapon readied. As you can see by the notch on the left edge, this one has already claimed a victim.
Caltrop.jpg|Now that's just sick and wrong.
I hope you step on a d4.png
Go_outside_die.jpg|Try and MAKE me go outside. Fuck off, d12.
anna_louge_dice.jpg|Even camwhores know that the d20 is sexy, and each face has an exactly 5% chance of appearing.
DToM.jpg|It is said if not for the trusty D4 the Union would never have one its independance from Britain and the reason no one can beat Russia. As Russia's savage wilds are famous for its saber toothed white furred D4's to defend the motherland.
DiceShamingPoster.png
Gate Keeping Dice.png|There are people who hate dice, those people are wrong.
PennyArcade_papvp2_8.jpg|We're Number One
Tgdice.png
Gameof1s.png
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Chits]] - The nega-dice of yesteryear.
*[[Dice pool]]
*[[Exploding die]]
*[[Fudge dice]]
*[[D6 System]]
*[[D20 system]]

==External Links==
[http://www.dicecollector.com/JM/ Dice Collector gallery of all the dice; all of them]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQIir5xxWc Lou Zocchi trying to get you to buy his dice.]

[[Category:Game Mechanics]][[Category:Dice]]

Ryuutama

2023-02-05T04:15:45Z

2A01:261:4E7:4700:81B4:C6ED:7CD5:AA27: Added the supplement stuff as well as a mention of Fabula Ultima

[[File:Ryuutama cover.jpg|thumb|right|Mana series, Etrian Odyssey and basically the comfy cute adventuring in tabletop format]]
Ryuutama (Japanese for "dragon egg") is a tabletop game designed by Atsuhiro Okada first released there in 2007, and translated from Japanese to English 8 years later, in 2015 via a kickstarter campaign by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitowsky.

This game maintains a lighthearted and feelgood tone, like a Hayao Miyazaki film. Unlike most other roleplaying games, Ryuutama revolves around travel and exploration, as you journey not in the shoes of heroes, but of NPCs, like farmers, hunters and merchants. There is very little fluff, leaving a lot of space for GMs to create their own. The basic premise of the story is that everyone has a sudden urge to adventure, and every time a party starts to adventure, it is recorded by 1 of 4 types of "Ryuujin", half dragon, half human spirits that record the story of the journey. Each type of Ryuujin represents a different style of story, one for war, one for tragedy, etcetera. The Ryuujin feed the stories to one of the 4 seasonal dragons, which keeps the world existent.

==The world==
As previously stated, Ryuutama's setting is purposedly left mostly blank to be created by the GM and the players. In fact it features a world generation system to give ideas and guidelines about what things may be in there, but the core concept and backstory can be summarized as thus:

The World was created by 4 chief dragons, each one of them representing the four seasons. Afterwards they gave life to other 20 dragons of the earth and skies to create the chaotic weather and since then nature has been governed by these dragons. There's an ancient custom all throughout the world known as the "journey". At some point in everyone's life, no matter if man or woman or no matter the age, people embark in long arduous journeys for all kinds of reasons. Be it simply wanting to see the sights, to wanting making a fortune, to search for ancient artifacts or to carry out revenge its something that calls to everyone at least once in their lives. These people are known as travelers and they get together in small groups to journey across the lands under the protection of a Ryuujin, who has the duty of looking over them from a distance and record their travels in the form of journals that are used to feed and grow the weather dragons, since they get nourishment from stories. Everytime a maturing weather dragon is fed a journal with the tales of travelers the world becomes a much richer place

Aside from that its all blank and it encourages the entire player group to work together to make the world and rest of the setting as shown in the following sheet in the rulebook:
[[File:Ryuutama World Building sheet.jpg|frameless|center]]

==The characters==
The players assume the role of low power characters that are more in line with usual NPCs than of typical TTRPG heroes. The main activity they'll be doing will be travelling from one town to another doing different adventures and sometimes getting in fights fending off monsters that roam the land.

===Classes===
Each travaller can be one of the seven following classes. The only difference between classes is that each gain three unique skills to be able to do certain tasks, but they are all fairly flexible in what role they can fill in the party, reinforced even more by the fact that at level 5 players have the option to gain a second class with all its skills or to make all the skills of their class stronger.

====Minstrel====
[[File:Ryuutama Minstrel.jpg|left]]
A traveler among travelers, minstrels trek from town to town while showing off their skill in song or dance. The Minstrel has various skills that can support the party in a variety of situations.

Skill: Well-traveled; Knowledge of Tradition; Music
 
====Merchant====
[[File:Ryuutama Merchant.jpg|left]]
Traveling tradespeople who exchange goods from various locales for gold and jewels. Merchants have skills that allow them to buy goods for cheap and sell them for a higher price. They are also good at negotiation using conversational skills.

Skill: Well-spoken; Animal Owner; Trader
 

====Hunter====
[[File:Ryuutama Hunter.jpg|left]]
Workers who make their living amidst nature, using wisdom and technology to shoot down their prey. Hunters are able to find food in any land or climate while en route to their destination. They can even eat monsters.

Skill: Animal Tracking; Trapping; Hunting
 
====Healer====
[[File:Ryuutama Healer.jpg|left]]
Medics who earn respect from everyone by curing illness and healing injuries with herbs. You’ll want to make sure you have a Healer with you if you are traveling through potentially dangerous lands.

Skill: Healing; First-Aid; Herb Gathering
 
====Artisan====
[[File:Ryuutama Artisan.jpg|left]]
Craftsmen who make useful things, beautiful things, delicious things, and other varieties of items. Artisans are able to fix things that break along the way to their destination. They can also create the everyday objects they need.

Skill: Trapping; Crafting; Repair
 
====Farmer====
[[File:Ryuutama Farmer.jpg|left]]
Workers who lives in harmony with the providence of nature. In order to procure their food, they’ve got to set their hand to a number of different tasks, giving them practice with a single skill from another class.

Skill: Robust; Animal Owner; Side-job
 
====Noble====
[[File:Ryuutama Noble.jpg|left]]
A member of a noble house, they are accomplished in both the literary and military arts, and have been instructed in correct etiquette. However, nobles are not quite suited to outdoor life and are not very good at traveling.

Skill: Etiquette; Trivia; Weapon Grace
 
====Navigator====
The first of the two supplement books added a new class called the Navigator, and an optional variant called Navigator (Pilot). The first was released in the free 2014 New Year supplement, while the second had a fan translation. Both classes deal with supplement 1's vehicle rules, the first applying it to water, while the Pilot only applies it to airships or other flying vehicles, suffering a -4 penalty to Navigation checks on the other. They both can however do it on land vehicles, and both gain a bonus to direction checks that is not penalized regardless if on land, water, or air.

Skills (Navigator): Navigation; Grog drinker; Repair

Skills (Pilot): Navigation; Shipwise; Repair
 
====Koneko Goblins====
The second supplement released the Konekogoblin race as a playable option, which were also released in the free 2014 New Year PDF. Unlike races in most RPGs, this one gives you predetermined stats, being STR of 4 and DEX of 8, and allowing you to distribute a 4 and 6 between INT and SPI. You may notice that they start with slightly lower scores, but in turn they gain three skills. They still choose a Class and Type as well. This has further been used in Zeldatama, a Ryuutama hack set in the Legend of Zelda universe, allowing you to play Gorons, Hylians, and other Zelda races, though other hacks have made races give bonuses to stats and skills instead.

Skills: Jar Cap; Seasonal; Cat's Eye

===Types===
Players then have to choose one of three Types that determinate mostly how they act during combat but carry benefits outside of it. They can choose to either be an Attack Type, who gets extra health and deals extra damage, a Technical Type who gets extra initiative and carrying capacity or a Magic Type who gets extra mental points and access to spells. Magic is too fairly simple and low power level, with effects being usually handful support to help with the many checks that will happen during travel. As with classes, characters are able to get an extra Type at level 6, or to make the effects of their type twice as strong, like learning double the amount of spells per level.

===Roles===
Finally, the players must be assigned one of 4 different roles that give them extra responsability, as taken directly from the book these are:

LEADER: The person that keeps the party together. The leader has the last word on any discussion concerning the party. The leader also keeps track of initiative and turn order during battle.

MAPPER: The person that makes sure that the party is heading in the right direction toward the destination. They are responsible for the Direction Check part of the Traveling Check phase and keeping the Map Sheet up to date. A character with high {INT} is recommended.

QUARTERMASTER: This person keeps track of the party’s food and water, as well as takes responsibility for buying the necessary items for the trip. Keeping food and water in barrels and trunks is much easier than each PC holding their own. This person will be responsible for the Ration Sheet. A character with a pack animal is recommended.

DIARY KEEPER: The person who keeps a detailed diary of events that happen in the game, as through the viewpoint of their character. It might also be a good idea to have the diary written by all members of a party, switching off once every day or every few days, to get an interesting diary at the end of the journey.

==The Game Master==
The GM takes on the role of an actual character of the story, the aforementioned Ryuujin, the human-dragon who records the tales and exploits of the party of travellers to then feed them to the dragons to make the world grow. While it is indeed an important character the game encourages the master to intervene as little as possible or to just not show at all, but even then this character must be built and its race and the artifact it carries determinates the mood and kind of adventures the party will have. This ryuujin levels up with the party and unlocks abilities that give small bonuses to the party or save them from rough spots (basically an in game limited amount of excuses for DM fiat), but once again it is expected that the master does not rely much on these.

While you may notice that the race and artifact really have little to no mechanical effects, Ryuutama is a game that values way more style over substance. As such choosing the artifact the ryuujin carries doesn't matter much and can be changed from campaign to campaign, and even its encouraged for the master to come up with other artifacts to indicate other types of playstyles or campaigns.

===Midori ryuu: the verdant dragon===
[[File:Ryuutama Midori.png|frameless]]

''Tales of journeys, pilgrimages, adventure, exploration, and hope are the domain of the Green Ryuujin. While their abilities might be thought of as plain, they are very versatile, and thus a great default choice for a novice GM.''

The "vanilla" option. As the description states this ryuujin indicates a regular type of campaign, with the artifacts being a Encyclopedia that signals that the game will be played following the rules as closely, a sextant that indicates that the game will have some homebrewed rules or a torch that makes it so all characters gain double experience for faster pace

Example homebrew artifact: Binoculars that indicate that all players are part of a merchant or adventurers guild

===Ao ryuu: the azure dragon===
[[File:Ryuutama azure.png|frameless|left]]

''Tales of romance, friendship, heartwarming episodes, human drama, family, and animals all fall under the purview of the Blue Ryuujin. They have powers to strengthen the bonds between travelers and to reward kindness.''

The social option, the campaigns under a blue ryuujin are centered around social encounters and not a lot of action, something more relaxed and narrative. The artifacts are a crystal that pretty much makes it so that characters can't die (rising so much the amount of critical damage needed to be taken in order to perish to make it a non factor), a ring that signals that all characters will be relatives or fellow students and friends; and the third artifact is the ryuujin himself becoming a mascot character to accompany the party like one of those annoying and cute anime critters

Example homebrew artifact: Shackles that indicates that the game will have other races besides humans.

===Kurenai ryuu: the crimson dragon===
[[File:Ryuutama crimson.png|frameless|left]]

''Tales of battle, war, growth and experience, monster-hunting, and dungeon exploration are the domain of the Red Ryuujin. They have powers which aids the travelers in battle, as well as increase the chaos on the battlefield.''

The action packed ryuujin, made for campaigns filled with combat encounters and battles. Considered one of the two hardcore options because, despite its cute and comfy aesthetics and simple mechanics Ryuutama is a very lethal game and fights are quite hard and dangerous by virtue of the travellers being low powered characters. Its artifacts are a greatsword that makes fights have lots of elements and be more complicated, a longspear that indicates that all characters are members of an army and are travelling to fulfill a mission and a longbow that adds an optional rule to make characters able to dodge attacks for extra depth.

Example homebrew artifact: A breastplate that introduces more options of weapons and armors to the game

===Kuro ryuu: the black dragon===
[[File:Ryuutama black.png|frameless|left]]

''Tales of conspiracy, betrayal, assassination, tragedy, corruption, suspense, and the solving of mysteries all fall within the realm of stories the Black Ryuujin controls. They have the power to grand dark pasts to the travelers, and to twist hearts with dread.''

The edgy ryuujin, because after all things like made in abyss exist, and cute things can be tragic too. The other hardcore option, obviously, but it is important to note that while the dark ryuujin can certainly make things harder for the players they still have a desire to protect the travellers and continue writting their tales, so they are far from pseudo-villains. Its artifacts are a chalice that indicates that all characters must have a dark past, a dagger that makes it so once per session an NPC will inevitably die and a mirror that adds an optional rule for fear and terror.

Example homebrew artifact: A birdcage that indicates that all player characters have comitted a crime.
[[Category:Roleplaying]]

==Combined with Fabula Ultima==
Fabula Ultima is an RPG released in 2022 that uses the same system as Ryuutama. However, rather than being travel focused, it is focused on combat, with classes resembling Final Fantasy classes, going as far as the Blue Mage's ability to steal monster powers with one of them.
At least two separate fa/tg/uys have been working on combining these two games into the "best RPG", one simply combining them while the other did a lot more brewing.

Dice

2023-02-05T03:15:10Z

2A01:261:4E7:4700:81B4:C6ED:7CD5:AA27: Added mention of other dice

[[Image:dice.jpg|thumb|I COULD JUST DIVE INTO THEM!]]
[[Image:Uglydie.jpg|thumb|SO FUCKING UGLY. But he has a fetching [[hat]].]]
[[Dice]] (singular: '''die''') are high-impact polyhedra. In [[role-playing games]] and tabletop [[wargame]]s, they are used as randomizers to inject an element of chance into the game. Non-gamers often only know about the six-sided die (hereafter referred to as the d6) thanks to the ubiquity of games like [[Monopoly]] and [[Yahtzee]]. Which dice are used tends to vary by system. [[Dungeons and Dragons]], for instance, makes use of all types. On the other hand, [[White Wolf]] games and Classic Traveller use only ten- and six-sided dice, respectively. On the other hand, some games don't use dice at all! These tend to be relatively new games like [[Nobilis]] or [[Amber]], or board games that use instead use the abomination known as a spinner (at first a result of war rationing, later used for non-numerical results).

Bear in mind, if you're not familiar with how statistics work, one d12 does not have the same probability distribution as two d6s (same goes for any combination of die). A single die of good quality will have the same percentage chance for any side to roll, whereas using multiple die will result in a probability distribution resembling a bell curve (in the two d6's case, seven will be the most common roll, followed by sixs and eights, then fives and nines, and so on). Keep this in mind when you're doing homebrew rules. Likewise, it's important to remember that dice can't roll 0, so the average is 0.5 higher than half the highest number (3.5 for a d6), not simply half.

If you do not have dice for whatever reason, consider <strike>[[chits]]</strike> getting some fucking dice. Or, since you clearly have a device with an internet connection if you're reading this, use one of the countless virtual dice rollers available online.

Dice are considered by most people to be impartial arbiters of [[statistics|random chance]]. [[Fa/tg/uy]]s (and craps players) know better. Dice are controlled or at least influenced by the unseen force of Dice Mojo. It is believed that Dice Mojo can be influenced by players through manifold rituals, including:

*Placing a die with the desired number upward, that it 'gets used to' that position and tends to return to it.
*Placing a die with the desired number downward, that the die is tricked into thinking it has already made a bad roll and will produce a good outcome on the subsequent roll.
*Rolling a die until a string of good rolls are achieved, tapping into a streak of 'good mojo' or 'rolling out' bad outcomes.
*Various chants, prayers, threats, and curses made toward the die in order to entice or coerce it into [[Natural 20|producing favorable rolls.]]
*Being careful not to drop dice or just roll them to pass the time till next turn, as when rolling a twenty, the critical ratio may be "used up" for the day.
*Building dice towers as tribute to Dice Gods that they may bless one's dice with good Mojo.

The one true method (at least for those without specialized tools) for finding if a die is cursed or lucky dice however is putting it in a cup of very salty water and seeing which side floats to the top. Clear dice are less vulnerable to these imperfections since their see through nature means manufactures can't get away with substantial air pockets.

=Dice on /tg/=
Once upon a time some admin thought that it would be a good idea to give /tg/ a dice rolling mechanism. In practice it's mostly ignored, or it serves similar purpose as "first person to get doubles" threads, although some enterprising fa/tg/uys have found good uses for them, and it used to be that good fun could be had at the expense of newfags that didn't know how to work the die-roller properly. Because your results don't become visible until you post your comment (and yet for some reason, appear on top of it rather than at its bottom), threads utilizing the feature can be a bit bloated. If you give /tg/ a random table to roll on, then each person responding will have to post once to roll, and once again to remark on their results. That said, it works well for things like the [[Template:40k-Faction-Creation-Tables|40k faction generation tables]].

'''TG dice''' is what fa/tg/uys call the strange phenomenon whereby /tg/'s random number generator tends to be anything but. The reason for this is that /tg/'s dice aren't truly random. Like most RNGs it's actually a pseudo-random generator tied to 4chan's server clock. The effect usually isn't that dramatic, but fatguys love to blame it for their shit rolls anyhow.

{{clear}}

=Types of Dice=
==d0==
Nobody knows what a 0-sided dice looks like, and they are useless anyway because they always land on a 42 for some reason.

==d1==
[[Image:Mobius dice.jpg|thumb|100px]]
Rolling this visually elusive die involves armed, digited humanoids gesturing with one arm while extending only a single centralmost digit of its hand and informing the party what's gonna happen. The few one sided dice that exist are either just a ball with the number 1 written on them, or a mobius ring.

It is the damage die for unarmed strikes in 5e, assuming you don't have a feat or class that upgrades them.

==d2==
[[Image:D2.gif|thumb|200px|left|A d2. Careful not to spend it all in one place.]]
[[Image:Actual d2.jpg|thumb|200px|A more literal version that definitevely costs more than the penny you could be using instead, it can double as a less hazardous d4 however]]

A d2 isn't a die - it's a coin.

You flip the fucking thing. Heads count as 1, Tails count as 2.

You can, alternately, roll any other die - counting odds as 1 and evens as 2.

===In Various Works===
d2s are used with disturbing frequency in both CCGs and RPGs. They are used in most two player card games, with the notable exception of [[Yu-Gi-Oh]] using rock paper scissors as the preferred method, to determine who gets the first turn. Since this requires players have a coin to play ''anyways'', most TCGs have some oddball cards that use coin flips for random effects. They rarely show up in serious matches because the vast majority of these would be crap even if you ''could'' ensure the outcome. The [[Pokemon]] TCG bucked the trend of this being unusual and (especially early on) has such effects be common.

The RPG ''Bean!'' is a d2-based game, and it's actually pretty good.

Loaded d2s, known as double sided coins, are extremely popular in fiction. This is probably because they're the easiest die to recognize as/prove is loaded, and the most consistent.

===Also Currency===
The d2 are the only dice you can put in a vending machine and spend for candy. With string and a sufficient dexterity score, you don't even have to "spend" the d2 at all (This only works on 50 year old or so vending machines).
{{clear}}

==d3==
Not much to say about it.
[[Image:D3.jpg|thumb|right|The D3...]]
[[Warhammer 40k]] uses D3's <s>every once in awhile</s> [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics(8E)| all the time]] - [[Manticore Rocket Launcher|Manticores]], & other cases such as +D3 attacks, 2 + D3 objectives, etc. Most of the time, they don't actually use a D3 - they just roll a [[d6]], at which points three schools of thought engage in a holy war:
* A few subtract 3 from any result that's 4 or higher. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 2.
* The others divide the result by two, rounding up. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 3.
*<strike>Lazy people just assign the value of 1 to the first 2 numbers, and so on. For example, a 4 would be a 2.</strike> This method and the method above will yield the same results.

>rolls d6, getting a 3

>divides by 2, rounding up to get 2

>assigns 1-2 to 1, 3-4 to 2, 5-6 to 3

>2 == 2

>CP rerolls, this time getting a 5

>5/2 rounding up = 3

>assigning values yields 3

>3 == 3

The 40k rulebook explicitly proselytizes the second option, which means the former is [[heresy]]. Other games don't really care as much.

Actual d3s come in two major flavours: The weird triangular nublette things seen to the right, which are largely used by people who think having weird dice makes you interesting, and d6es which had 1, 2 and 3 written on them twice, used by people who like to build things out of dice.

Since you can readily simulate a d3 result easily enough without obtaining extra dice why in the hell would you bother?

<s>Because I have OCD, that’s why!</s> Because collecting is fun, and [[Dungeons & Dragons|DnD]] already has enough math.
{{clear}}

==d4==
[[image:D4.jpg|thumb|right|This fucker will hurt more than any lego.]]
A tetrahedral [[dice|die]] that has the second-sharpest points of any die (only the [[d8]] is sharper), and, appropriately enough, has four sides. Used by Wizards, small weapons, and low-caliber firearms in d20 modern. At least it gets more love than the [[d12]], which probably falls asleep every night in a pool of tears and melted butter.

There are two ways to print the numbers on a D4. On one, the numbers are arranged on the corners of each face, and so the number at the top (it will always be three of the same number) is what you actually rolled. On the other kind, the numbers are arranged in the middle of each side of the face, and so the number on the bottom (again, it will always be three of the same number) tells you what you rolled. Oldfags will insist the "numbers on the bottom" d4 is the one true way, despite the fact that they need the full power of their coke-bottle glasses to see the numbers. [[Skub|Don't argue]] with 'em, just keep using the d4s that you and everyone at the table can read.

===Fucking Caltrops===
Whilst the d4 isn't as sharp as a d8, it has one major bit of natural defense - no matter what way it lands, it will have a point face-up. Because it's the smallest die, care needs to be used - if one escapes its dice-box and into the wild, it will wait, with its [[Bear Lore|natural weapon]] ready, for the exact moment someone walks into its vicinity barefoot to strike, whereupon it will inflict some surprisingly-vicious puncture wounds.

Somewhat related, in D&D Caltrops inflict 1d4 damage. [[Just as planned|Coincidence]]?
{{clear}}

==d6==
''Not the same thing as the [[D6 System]] by [[West End Games]].''

[[Image:Cube_template.gif|thumb|do-it-yourself kit]]
If you don't know what a d6 is, holy shit are you in the wrong place.
Go back to playing [[Monopoly]] in your blissful ignorance that it uses two of them.

A d6 with indented pips and rounded corners has a significantly higher chance of rolling a one than anything else. Do not trust them. Unless you're rolling Morale tests, in which case start praying for a one...now.

Fun Fact: Do you own a regular #2 pencil? If so, congratulations, [[Barrel dice|you have a d6]].

See [[Cubes]] for more details.

===Delta-6===
A die-rolling method for numbers from 0-5 with a particular curve.

Roll two d6, and subtract the smaller from the larger.

The curve looks like this:
{|style="border:1px solid black;" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3
! roll !! odds % !!  
|-
| 0 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 1 || 5/18 27.8% || <tt>##########</tt>
|-
| 2 || 2/9 22.2% || <tt>########</tt>
|-
| 3 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 4 || 1/9 11.1% || <tt>####</tt>
|-
| 5 || 1/18 5.5% || <tt>##</tt>
|}
{{clear}}

==d7==
[[Image:D7 1.jpg|thumb|left|The bizarre d7. This wasn't even on this page until 2020.]]
[[File:D7 2.jpg|thumb|right|This thing costs £4.95 ($6.38)]]
It exists. Use for whatever reason you could possibly need a d7 for.

In seriousness, there are very limited uses for this die. Maybe you could use it to randomly select a day or some shit. They're also advertised for use in seven-player backgammon games.
{{clear}}

==d8==
The eight-sided die is an octohedron: one of the symmetrical polyhedra known as the "Platonic solids."
[[Image:Buncha_d8s.jpg|thumb|right|A wild herd of d8s]]

Despite being a "Platonic" solid, it looks like two pyramids caught in the beautiful act of reproduction. Long live the dice race.

A d8 was always used for hit points for [[Dungeons & Dragons]] monsters, and in Advanced D&D it was used for those classes that have more hit points but weren't supposed to be as butch as Fighters or Paladins.

Eight-sided dice also have the most variations with weird not-numbers stuff on them, like compass directions, random weather, letters. They're also used as below-bargain-basement minifigs because one point is always off the table, like a big nose, or turret.

When you played Dragon Dice, the d8s were the terrain, which could change under your feet without moving your army, somehow.

James Ernest came up with a game "Dogfight" that uses d8s for their numbers, for being pointy and for turning in circles when you try to roll them like wheels... then he remembered that people put weird shit on d8s and he came up with a new game called "DiceLand," which is a beautiful game.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]] fucking *loves* themselves some d8s. Their games make you wonder if all their parents were killed in a horrible cube-shaped accident.

Also the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Fifth Angel]] is a huge floating d8.
{{clear}}

==d10==
[[Image:Ten-sided die.png|right|100px]]

It's a [[die]]. With ten sides. Pretty simple concept.

It's in the shape of a pentagonal trapezohedron. You can stand it on its point and spin it like a top. You should not do this, however, as it is the universal sign of boredom and is considered faux pas in most gaming circles.

The tenth side usually bears only a zero, but you should still read it as "ten" because you want your result to be 1-10, not 0-9.

===Rolling d100 Using Two d10s===
[[Image:D10_bronze_thorns.jpg|thumb|Your d10 dice are not this good-looking. But they are probably easier to read from across the table.]]

[[Dark Heresy|Some Systems]] require you to roll d100s frequently. There's a better way of doing it than rolling a golf ball with 100 sides.

Get out two d10s. Use one die to denote the singles digit and another die to denote the tens digit. Some d10s have two digits per side (see above) to make differentiating your digits easier, but you can roll d100 with any two d10, provided you specify beforehand which die is the tens and which the ones.

Reading it off is simple. Did you roll a '''20''' and a '''4'''? That's a '''24'''. A '''90''' and a '''1'''? '''91'''. A '''00''' and a '''5'''? Just a '''5'''.

The only possibly ambiguous result is two zeroes: a '''00''' and a '''0'''. Obviously you rolled a '''100'''. Why? Because the alternative is a '''0''' which you can never roll with any other die. That, and the system assumes a roll from '''1''' to '''100''', not '''0''' to '''99'''.

Mathematically, each digit is determined in an independent manner. There are exactly 10*10=100 two-digit combinations, all equally likely. You now have a uniform distribution of 100 different results, as desired.
{{clear}}

==d12==
[[Image:D12_Cries.jpg|thumb|right]]
The [[d12]] is the loneliest die. It is used for barbarian hit dice and greataxe damage in [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The fact that [[Orcs]] (and [[Half-Orcs]]) are both the most common barbarians and the most common wielders of greataxes, it is suspected that Gruumsh is the head of a conspiracy aiming to eliminate the [[d10]] in favor of the [[d12]], in order to "purify" dice sets so that they consist only of true platonic solids.

Observant smar/tg/uys will notice that d12 are the hitdice used for undead and dragons instead of the usual [[d8]]s.

[[d12]] is the highest stats can ordinarily go in [[Savage Worlds]] or [[Ironclaw]]. [[BBEG]]s and [[DMPC]] [[Mary Sues]] can have [[d20]], but it's hella rare.

[[d12]] shows up in [[Cthulhu]]-themed games, like Pokethulhu or [[Cthulhu Dice]], probably because [[d12]] is just as beautiful and graceful as the mighty Cthulhu.

One of the few places where the [[d12]] is not lonely, and is in fact used a great deal, is the [[Dragonmech]] campaign setting. Its chief use there is for damage rolls with mech weaponry.

[[Alternity]] was very friendly to the [[d12]], choosing to throw the [[d10]] under the bus instead because it wasn't far enough away from the [[d8]] to work as a difficulty step.

[[Pathfinder Second Edition|Pathfinder 2e]] makes good use of these. Since 2d6 weapons don't exist in this system, more weapons use the d12.

If you’re on a budget, the [[d12]] is your best friend, capable of functioning as a [[d3]], [[d4]], [[d6]], and even a [[d10]] or [[d8]] in a pinch. Not that useful, but it can still come in handy.
{{clear}}

==d16==
[[File:d16.jpg|thumb]]
Used basically just in [[Blood Bowl]] to randomly select a player on a team (which has a max of 16 players). Originally introduced by the [http://www.thenaf.net/the-naf/history/ NAF] in 2013 (when G-Dubs refused to license their block dice anymore), [[GW]] wised up in their 2016 edition of the game and added it to their product line, replacing the old method of drawing a [[chits|chit]] from a cup.
{{clear}}

==d20==
[[Image:Green_d20.jpg|thumb|'''BOW DOWN BEFORE YOUR GOD''']]
Your best friend and worst enemy.

Before [[TSR]]/[[Wizards of the Coast]] tried to trademark "d20", every gamer knew what the fuck an icosahedron is, and why "natural 20" is a gift from God.

'''The Truth About 20-Sided Dice:'''

There are a limited number of “twenties” in any given d20. That is, no matter how many times you roll a d20, you cannot roll another twenty once the supply has run out. These twenties can only be replenished by rolling a corresponding one with the same die. Thus every gamer is duty-bound to protect their supply of good rolls. If a friend rolls a twenty using your die, not only have they stolen your good roll, but they have doomed you to the extra one required to replenish the twenty.

Some players get excited when they roll several twenties in a row, concluding the dice are “hot”. Don’t make this blunder! This is like driving your car for 400 miles without gassing up, and then concluding that your car is a perpetual motion machine. After a few good rolls, pass the die off to an unwitting companion and let them charge it up for you.

Statisticians have known about this behavior for years. They call it “the probability seesaw”. Unlike the bell-shaped curve, in the seesaw system the odds of rolling high or low is directly proportional to what has been rolled in the past. They usually pretend this isn’t true. If a statistician hands you a die insisting that “any given roll has the same odds of rolling a one or a twenty”, it means he’s handing you a depleted die in the hopes of taking advantage of you. Don’t fall for it!

Now the secret is yours. Please put this knowledge to good use*.

<nowiki>*By “good use” I mean, “take advantage of other players”.</nowiki>

{|
|-
|valign=center| The '''[[d20 System]]''' for role playing came later. 
Like eighteen centuries later. 
Don't believe me? Check this out:
|[[Image:2nd_century_Roman_d20.jpg|center|thumb|200px|2nd century Rome, bitches]]
|}
{{clear}}

==d30==
[[Image:D30_olympic.jpg|thumb|right]]

Only ever used for those critical-hit tables when you rolled a natural [[D20|20]].
Or if your DM was rolling damage and felt like being a dick.

But man, would it leave a bruise when your little sister threw it at your head.
{{clear}}

==d34==
[[Image:D34.jpg|thumb|right|[[Extra Heresy|WHY?!]]]]

Yes, they exist. Apparently if you roll 3 of them and subtract 2 from the total, you get a normal distribution from 1-100, assuming that's your idea of a good time.
{{clear}}

==d50==
[[Image:D50_Alan_Davies.jpg|thumb]]
[[Rage|Fifty goddamn sides!!!!]]

For when you want to do 2-100 points of damage with a vaguely normal distribution.

... yeah, I don't know either

It also doubles as a golf ball.
{{clear}}

==d100==
[[File:Zocchihedron2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Golfball.jpg]]
Take that, d50's!

They're useful when you really want to take 5 minutes to find out if you hit something in [[Dark Heresy]]. In other words, better just use a pair of [[D10]]'s like a normal human being.

Apparently it took about 6 years to make this die. I guess this means that it takes 6 years to put the numbers 1-100 on a fucking golf ball.

===Usage===
It may seem awesome when you see it, but as soon as you get one (and whoever's selling it to you is also aware of how unspeakably lame it is, and will probably even tell you) you will find that it has two major flaws: it takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around and if you aren't blessed with a perfectly level playing surface you will never find out exactly what you've rolled (and when there are six other numbers right next to the 100 and 1, that's a pretty big problem). Oh, and to top it off, it isn't even very balanced, so it's effectively a loaded die.

On the other hand, if you hate your friends, show up to your next meeting and sweep all the d10s off the table, then drop your d100 right in the middle with a theatrical gesture and watch as everyone is mesmerized by its incessant rolling (see: takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around). Take this opportunity to pocket the d10s, run away and never come back.

[[FATAL]] seemed to expect you to use this (but then again FATAL expects you to play FATAL so you can't expect much).

Seriously, though, let the cat play with it so they'll keep away from the other dice.
{{clear}}

==d120==
This is the most number of sides that a die can have while being 'mathematically fair die' (that doesn't have the dual problems of rolling forever and being prohibitively hard to read). The d120 stops rolling after a reasonable time (with the condition that this only applies if you don't roll with 'too much force'). It is also a bit tricky to read (but still perfectly possible). The company that sells the die points out that it can act as any of the standard 7 dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d10 of 10s, d12, and d20). And thanks to the chart they released for free, you don't even have to do the math yourself [http://thedicelab.com/d120tables.html]. Of course for the d100 roll you'll have to roll the d120 twice, roll 2 d120, or use a die other than the d120 (although you could still use the d120, e.g. a d10 and a d120). [http://nerdist.com/this-d120-is-the-largest-mathematically-fair-die-possible/]

==Barrel Dice==
[[Image:Barrel Dice.gif|right|thumb|Do a Barrel Roll!]]
Those weird-ass dice you find on that one dusty shelf behind the counter of your game store. Rather than platonic shapes with numbers on each side, it's a prism shape rounded at the ends, with numbers on the long sides. While not particularly popular, they're an excellent option for [[d4]]s, since they don't feel like the torture of a thousand hells to step on. Supposedly, they roll more evenly without as much bias and are harder to "throw", but the larger ones have the same problem as [[d50]]s. Hell, a barrel d50 would never ever stop rolling.

If you're super poor and can only afford the pencils and paper for your pencil-and-paper RPGs, your can use your pencils as barrel [[d6]]s.

==Other dice==
There's other dice as well that are produced for... Reasons. While a d3s, d7s, or d100s at least have a use, there is no real use for a d13 or d25. Most of these are just d10s with more sides (so really just a spinning top), though some are more rounded d12s, which make them favor one side above others most of the time. If you can find a use for it, good on you. Otherwise they are just novelties to gawk at and never roll.

==Crayola Dice==
{{Oldschool}}
[[Image:Crayolad20.JPG|left]]
[[Image:Crayoladice.JPG|thumb|This set actually had a d10. That was pretty weird at the time.]]
Are you old enough to remember when dice didn't have inked or painted numbers? With the old D&D games, you got soft plastic powder blue dice and a soft white and red crayon. In order to see the numbers you had to fill in the etched spots with the wax.

There were no d10's either. The d20 was labeled 0-9 twice (fit 2 digits on a die face? IMPOSSIBLE!) so you colored one half of the numbers white and the other half red. It acted as your D10, and if you needed a d20, you declared one color to be +10 before you rolled.

These dice were made out of pretty soft plastic, and after 25 years, most of mine don't even stop rolling anymore. No more corners.

This has been a bout of nostalgia.

==Narrative Dice==
Made popular by Fantasy Flight Games, these dice look like typical dice at first glance but then one notices a severe lack of numbers and instead each die having blank sides, sides with one symbol or another, or sides with two symbols. They also tend to be more expensive than your typical bog standard set due to this.

Where they shine, though, is that they can give you not only success or failure like typical numbered dice, but other symbols grant advantage or threat. The whole thing with these is to pick up enough "good" dice and the amount of "bad" dice your GM allots you, roll them all, the cancel out the opposing symbols on both axes described above which can net you much more variety in possible outcomes. Things like "I failed to hit but now my allies have advantage," or "I hit but got a lot of threat so now the enemies can do some crazy shit" are possible.

{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
premiumdice.jpg|Premium Dice!
premiumdice2.png|Premium Dice cont.
Big_Gay_Purple_d4.png‎|A d4 in the wild, natural weapon readied. As you can see by the notch on the left edge, this one has already claimed a victim.
Caltrop.jpg|Now that's just sick and wrong.
I hope you step on a d4.png
Go_outside_die.jpg|Try and MAKE me go outside. Fuck off, d12.
anna_louge_dice.jpg|Even camwhores know that the d20 is sexy, and each face has an exactly 5% chance of appearing.
DToM.jpg|It is said if not for the trusty D4 the Union would never have one its independance from Britain and the reason no one can beat Russia. As Russia's savage wilds are famous for its saber toothed white furred D4's to defend the motherland.
DiceShamingPoster.png
Gate Keeping Dice.png|There are people who hate dice, those people are wrong.
PennyArcade_papvp2_8.jpg|We're Number One
Tgdice.png
Gameof1s.png
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Chits]] - The nega-dice of yesteryear.
*[[Dice pool]]
*[[Exploding die]]
*[[Fudge dice]]
*[[D6 System]]
*[[D20 system]]

==External Links==
[http://www.dicecollector.com/JM/ Dice Collector gallery of all the dice; all of them]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQIir5xxWc Lou Zocchi trying to get you to buy his dice.]

[[Category:Game Mechanics]][[Category:Dice]]

Dice

2023-02-05T02:59:54Z

2A01:261:4E7:4700:81B4:C6ED:7CD5:AA27: /* d12 */

[[Image:dice.jpg|thumb|I COULD JUST DIVE INTO THEM!]]
[[Image:Uglydie.jpg|thumb|SO FUCKING UGLY. But he has a fetching [[hat]].]]
[[Dice]] (singular: '''die''') are high-impact polyhedra. In [[role-playing games]] and tabletop [[wargame]]s, they are used as randomizers to inject an element of chance into the game. Non-gamers often only know about the six-sided die (hereafter referred to as the d6) thanks to the ubiquity of games like [[Monopoly]] and [[Yahtzee]]. Which dice are used tends to vary by system. [[Dungeons and Dragons]], for instance, makes use of all types. On the other hand, [[White Wolf]] games and Classic Traveller use only ten- and six-sided dice, respectively. On the other hand, some games don't use dice at all! These tend to be relatively new games like [[Nobilis]] or [[Amber]], or board games that use instead use the abomination known as a spinner (at first a result of war rationing, later used for non-numerical results).

Bear in mind, if you're not familiar with how statistics work, one d12 does not have the same probability distribution as two d6s (same goes for any combination of die). A single die of good quality will have the same percentage chance for any side to roll, whereas using multiple die will result in a probability distribution resembling a bell curve (in the two d6's case, seven will be the most common roll, followed by sixs and eights, then fives and nines, and so on). Keep this in mind when you're doing homebrew rules. Likewise, it's important to remember that dice can't roll 0, so the average is 0.5 higher than half the highest number (3.5 for a d6), not simply half.

If you do not have dice for whatever reason, consider <strike>[[chits]]</strike> getting some fucking dice. Or, since you clearly have a device with an internet connection if you're reading this, use one of the countless virtual dice rollers available online.

Dice are considered by most people to be impartial arbiters of [[statistics|random chance]]. [[Fa/tg/uy]]s (and craps players) know better. Dice are controlled or at least influenced by the unseen force of Dice Mojo. It is believed that Dice Mojo can be influenced by players through manifold rituals, including:

*Placing a die with the desired number upward, that it 'gets used to' that position and tends to return to it.
*Placing a die with the desired number downward, that the die is tricked into thinking it has already made a bad roll and will produce a good outcome on the subsequent roll.
*Rolling a die until a string of good rolls are achieved, tapping into a streak of 'good mojo' or 'rolling out' bad outcomes.
*Various chants, prayers, threats, and curses made toward the die in order to entice or coerce it into [[Natural 20|producing favorable rolls.]]
*Being careful not to drop dice or just roll them to pass the time till next turn, as when rolling a twenty, the critical ratio may be "used up" for the day.
*Building dice towers as tribute to Dice Gods that they may bless one's dice with good Mojo.

The one true method (at least for those without specialized tools) for finding if a die is cursed or lucky dice however is putting it in a cup of very salty water and seeing which side floats to the top. Clear dice are less vulnerable to these imperfections since their see through nature means manufactures can't get away with substantial air pockets.

=Dice on /tg/=
Once upon a time some admin thought that it would be a good idea to give /tg/ a dice rolling mechanism. In practice it's mostly ignored, or it serves similar purpose as "first person to get doubles" threads, although some enterprising fa/tg/uys have found good uses for them, and it used to be that good fun could be had at the expense of newfags that didn't know how to work the die-roller properly. Because your results don't become visible until you post your comment (and yet for some reason, appear on top of it rather than at its bottom), threads utilizing the feature can be a bit bloated. If you give /tg/ a random table to roll on, then each person responding will have to post once to roll, and once again to remark on their results. That said, it works well for things like the [[Template:40k-Faction-Creation-Tables|40k faction generation tables]].

'''TG dice''' is what fa/tg/uys call the strange phenomenon whereby /tg/'s random number generator tends to be anything but. The reason for this is that /tg/'s dice aren't truly random. Like most RNGs it's actually a pseudo-random generator tied to 4chan's server clock. The effect usually isn't that dramatic, but fatguys love to blame it for their shit rolls anyhow.

{{clear}}

=Types of Dice=
==d0==
Nobody knows what a 0-sided dice looks like, and they are useless anyway because they always land on a 42 for some reason.

==d1==
[[Image:Mobius dice.jpg|thumb|100px]]
Rolling this visually elusive die involves armed, digited humanoids gesturing with one arm while extending only a single centralmost digit of its hand and informing the party what's gonna happen. The few one sided dice that exist are either just a ball with the number 1 written on them, or a mobius ring.

It is the damage die for unarmed strikes in 5e, assuming you don't have a feat or class that upgrades them.

==d2==
[[Image:D2.gif|thumb|200px|left|A d2. Careful not to spend it all in one place.]]
[[Image:Actual d2.jpg|thumb|200px|A more literal version that definitevely costs more than the penny you could be using instead, it can double as a less hazardous d4 however]]

A d2 isn't a die - it's a coin.

You flip the fucking thing. Heads count as 1, Tails count as 2.

You can, alternately, roll any other die - counting odds as 1 and evens as 2.

===In Various Works===
d2s are used with disturbing frequency in both CCGs and RPGs. They are used in most two player card games, with the notable exception of [[Yu-Gi-Oh]] using rock paper scissors as the preferred method, to determine who gets the first turn. Since this requires players have a coin to play ''anyways'', most TCGs have some oddball cards that use coin flips for random effects. They rarely show up in serious matches because the vast majority of these would be crap even if you ''could'' ensure the outcome. The [[Pokemon]] TCG bucked the trend of this being unusual and (especially early on) has such effects be common.

The RPG ''Bean!'' is a d2-based game, and it's actually pretty good.

Loaded d2s, known as double sided coins, are extremely popular in fiction. This is probably because they're the easiest die to recognize as/prove is loaded, and the most consistent.

===Also Currency===
The d2 are the only dice you can put in a vending machine and spend for candy. With string and a sufficient dexterity score, you don't even have to "spend" the d2 at all (This only works on 50 year old or so vending machines).
{{clear}}

==d3==
Not much to say about it.
[[Image:D3.jpg|thumb|right|The D3...]]
[[Warhammer 40k]] uses D3's <s>every once in awhile</s> [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics(8E)| all the time]] - [[Manticore Rocket Launcher|Manticores]], & other cases such as +D3 attacks, 2 + D3 objectives, etc. Most of the time, they don't actually use a D3 - they just roll a [[d6]], at which points three schools of thought engage in a holy war:
* A few subtract 3 from any result that's 4 or higher. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 2.
* The others divide the result by two, rounding up. So, for example, a 5 becomes a 3.
*<strike>Lazy people just assign the value of 1 to the first 2 numbers, and so on. For example, a 4 would be a 2.</strike> This method and the method above will yield the same results.

>rolls d6, getting a 3

>divides by 2, rounding up to get 2

>assigns 1-2 to 1, 3-4 to 2, 5-6 to 3

>2 == 2

>CP rerolls, this time getting a 5

>5/2 rounding up = 3

>assigning values yields 3

>3 == 3

The 40k rulebook explicitly proselytizes the second option, which means the former is [[heresy]]. Other games don't really care as much.

Actual d3s come in two major flavours: The weird triangular nublette things seen to the right, which are largely used by people who think having weird dice makes you interesting, and d6es which had 1, 2 and 3 written on them twice, used by people who like to build things out of dice.

Since you can readily simulate a d3 result easily enough without obtaining extra dice why in the hell would you bother?

<s>Because I have OCD, that’s why!</s> Because collecting is fun, and [[Dungeons & Dragons|DnD]] already has enough math.
{{clear}}

==d4==
[[image:D4.jpg|thumb|right|This fucker will hurt more than any lego.]]
A tetrahedral [[dice|die]] that has the second-sharpest points of any die (only the [[d8]] is sharper), and, appropriately enough, has four sides. Used by Wizards, small weapons, and low-caliber firearms in d20 modern. At least it gets more love than the [[d12]], which probably falls asleep every night in a pool of tears and melted butter.

There are two ways to print the numbers on a D4. On one, the numbers are arranged on the corners of each face, and so the number at the top (it will always be three of the same number) is what you actually rolled. On the other kind, the numbers are arranged in the middle of each side of the face, and so the number on the bottom (again, it will always be three of the same number) tells you what you rolled. Oldfags will insist the "numbers on the bottom" d4 is the one true way, despite the fact that they need the full power of their coke-bottle glasses to see the numbers. [[Skub|Don't argue]] with 'em, just keep using the d4s that you and everyone at the table can read.

===Fucking Caltrops===
Whilst the d4 isn't as sharp as a d8, it has one major bit of natural defense - no matter what way it lands, it will have a point face-up. Because it's the smallest die, care needs to be used - if one escapes its dice-box and into the wild, it will wait, with its [[Bear Lore|natural weapon]] ready, for the exact moment someone walks into its vicinity barefoot to strike, whereupon it will inflict some surprisingly-vicious puncture wounds.

Somewhat related, in D&D Caltrops inflict 1d4 damage. [[Just as planned|Coincidence]]?
{{clear}}

==d6==
''Not the same thing as the [[D6 System]] by [[West End Games]].''

[[Image:Cube_template.gif|thumb|do-it-yourself kit]]
If you don't know what a d6 is, holy shit are you in the wrong place.
Go back to playing [[Monopoly]] in your blissful ignorance that it uses two of them.

A d6 with indented pips and rounded corners has a significantly higher chance of rolling a one than anything else. Do not trust them. Unless you're rolling Morale tests, in which case start praying for a one...now.

Fun Fact: Do you own a regular #2 pencil? If so, congratulations, [[Barrel dice|you have a d6]].

See [[Cubes]] for more details.

===Delta-6===
A die-rolling method for numbers from 0-5 with a particular curve.

Roll two d6, and subtract the smaller from the larger.

The curve looks like this:
{|style="border:1px solid black;" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3
! roll !! odds % !!  
|-
| 0 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 1 || 5/18 27.8% || <tt>##########</tt>
|-
| 2 || 2/9 22.2% || <tt>########</tt>
|-
| 3 || 1/6 16.7% || <tt>######</tt>
|-
| 4 || 1/9 11.1% || <tt>####</tt>
|-
| 5 || 1/18 5.5% || <tt>##</tt>
|}
{{clear}}

==d7==
[[Image:D7 1.jpg|thumb|left|The bizarre d7. This wasn't even on this page until 2020.]]
[[File:D7 2.jpg|thumb|right|This thing costs £4.95 ($6.38)]]
It exists. Use for whatever reason you could possibly need a d7 for.

In seriousness, there are very limited uses for this die. Maybe you could use it to randomly select a day or some shit. They're also advertised for use in seven-player backgammon games.
{{clear}}

==d8==
The eight-sided die is an octohedron: one of the symmetrical polyhedra known as the "Platonic solids."
[[Image:Buncha_d8s.jpg|thumb|right|A wild herd of d8s]]

Despite being a "Platonic" solid, it looks like two pyramids caught in the beautiful act of reproduction. Long live the dice race.

A d8 was always used for hit points for [[Dungeons & Dragons]] monsters, and in Advanced D&D it was used for those classes that have more hit points but weren't supposed to be as butch as Fighters or Paladins.

Eight-sided dice also have the most variations with weird not-numbers stuff on them, like compass directions, random weather, letters. They're also used as below-bargain-basement minifigs because one point is always off the table, like a big nose, or turret.

When you played Dragon Dice, the d8s were the terrain, which could change under your feet without moving your army, somehow.

James Ernest came up with a game "Dogfight" that uses d8s for their numbers, for being pointy and for turning in circles when you try to roll them like wheels... then he remembered that people put weird shit on d8s and he came up with a new game called "DiceLand," which is a beautiful game.

[[Fantasy Flight Games]] fucking *loves* themselves some d8s. Their games make you wonder if all their parents were killed in a horrible cube-shaped accident.

Also the [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Fifth Angel]] is a huge floating d8.
{{clear}}

==d10==
[[Image:Ten-sided die.png|right|100px]]

It's a [[die]]. With ten sides. Pretty simple concept.

It's in the shape of a pentagonal trapezohedron. You can stand it on its point and spin it like a top. You should not do this, however, as it is the universal sign of boredom and is considered faux pas in most gaming circles.

The tenth side usually bears only a zero, but you should still read it as "ten" because you want your result to be 1-10, not 0-9.

===Rolling d100 Using Two d10s===
[[Image:D10_bronze_thorns.jpg|thumb|Your d10 dice are not this good-looking. But they are probably easier to read from across the table.]]

[[Dark Heresy|Some Systems]] require you to roll d100s frequently. There's a better way of doing it than rolling a golf ball with 100 sides.

Get out two d10s. Use one die to denote the singles digit and another die to denote the tens digit. Some d10s have two digits per side (see above) to make differentiating your digits easier, but you can roll d100 with any two d10, provided you specify beforehand which die is the tens and which the ones.

Reading it off is simple. Did you roll a '''20''' and a '''4'''? That's a '''24'''. A '''90''' and a '''1'''? '''91'''. A '''00''' and a '''5'''? Just a '''5'''.

The only possibly ambiguous result is two zeroes: a '''00''' and a '''0'''. Obviously you rolled a '''100'''. Why? Because the alternative is a '''0''' which you can never roll with any other die. That, and the system assumes a roll from '''1''' to '''100''', not '''0''' to '''99'''.

Mathematically, each digit is determined in an independent manner. There are exactly 10*10=100 two-digit combinations, all equally likely. You now have a uniform distribution of 100 different results, as desired.
{{clear}}

==d12==
[[Image:D12_Cries.jpg|thumb|right]]
The [[d12]] is the loneliest die. It is used for barbarian hit dice and greataxe damage in [[Dungeons & Dragons]]. The fact that [[Orcs]] (and [[Half-Orcs]]) are both the most common barbarians and the most common wielders of greataxes, it is suspected that Gruumsh is the head of a conspiracy aiming to eliminate the [[d10]] in favor of the [[d12]], in order to "purify" dice sets so that they consist only of true platonic solids.

Observant smar/tg/uys will notice that d12 are the hitdice used for undead and dragons instead of the usual [[d8]]s.

[[d12]] is the highest stats can ordinarily go in [[Savage Worlds]] or [[Ironclaw]]. [[BBEG]]s and [[DMPC]] [[Mary Sues]] can have [[d20]], but it's hella rare.

[[d12]] shows up in [[Cthulhu]]-themed games, like Pokethulhu or [[Cthulhu Dice]], probably because [[d12]] is just as beautiful and graceful as the mighty Cthulhu.

One of the few places where the [[d12]] is not lonely, and is in fact used a great deal, is the [[Dragonmech]] campaign setting. Its chief use there is for damage rolls with mech weaponry.

[[Alternity]] was very friendly to the [[d12]], choosing to throw the [[d10]] under the bus instead because it wasn't far enough away from the [[d8]] to work as a difficulty step.

[[Pathfinder Second Edition|Pathfinder 2e]] makes good use of these. Since 2d6 weapons don't exist in this system, more weapons use the d12.

If you’re on a budget, the [[d12]] is your best friend, capable of functioning as a [[d3]], [[d4]], [[d6]], and even a [[d10]] or [[d8]] in a pinch. Not that useful, but it can still come in handy.
{{clear}}

==d16==
[[File:d16.jpg|thumb]]
Used basically just in [[Blood Bowl]] to randomly select a player on a team (which has a max of 16 players). Originally introduced by the [http://www.thenaf.net/the-naf/history/ NAF] in 2013 (when G-Dubs refused to license their block dice anymore), [[GW]] wised up in their 2016 edition of the game and added it to their product line, replacing the old method of drawing a [[chits|chit]] from a cup.
{{clear}}

==d20==
[[Image:Green_d20.jpg|thumb|'''BOW DOWN BEFORE YOUR GOD''']]
Your best friend and worst enemy.

Before [[TSR]]/[[Wizards of the Coast]] tried to trademark "d20", every gamer knew what the fuck an icosahedron is, and why "natural 20" is a gift from God.

'''The Truth About 20-Sided Dice:'''

There are a limited number of “twenties” in any given d20. That is, no matter how many times you roll a d20, you cannot roll another twenty once the supply has run out. These twenties can only be replenished by rolling a corresponding one with the same die. Thus every gamer is duty-bound to protect their supply of good rolls. If a friend rolls a twenty using your die, not only have they stolen your good roll, but they have doomed you to the extra one required to replenish the twenty.

Some players get excited when they roll several twenties in a row, concluding the dice are “hot”. Don’t make this blunder! This is like driving your car for 400 miles without gassing up, and then concluding that your car is a perpetual motion machine. After a few good rolls, pass the die off to an unwitting companion and let them charge it up for you.

Statisticians have known about this behavior for years. They call it “the probability seesaw”. Unlike the bell-shaped curve, in the seesaw system the odds of rolling high or low is directly proportional to what has been rolled in the past. They usually pretend this isn’t true. If a statistician hands you a die insisting that “any given roll has the same odds of rolling a one or a twenty”, it means he’s handing you a depleted die in the hopes of taking advantage of you. Don’t fall for it!

Now the secret is yours. Please put this knowledge to good use*.

<nowiki>*By “good use” I mean, “take advantage of other players”.</nowiki>

{|
|-
|valign=center| The '''[[d20 System]]''' for role playing came later. 
Like eighteen centuries later. 
Don't believe me? Check this out:
|[[Image:2nd_century_Roman_d20.jpg|center|thumb|200px|2nd century Rome, bitches]]
|}
{{clear}}

==d30==
[[Image:D30_olympic.jpg|thumb|right]]

Only ever used for those critical-hit tables when you rolled a natural [[D20|20]].
Or if your DM was rolling damage and felt like being a dick.

But man, would it leave a bruise when your little sister threw it at your head.
{{clear}}

==d34==
[[Image:D34.jpg|thumb|right|[[Extra Heresy|WHY?!]]]]

Yes, they exist. Apparently if you roll 3 of them and subtract 2 from the total, you get a normal distribution from 1-100, assuming that's your idea of a good time.
{{clear}}

==d50==
[[Image:D50_Alan_Davies.jpg|thumb]]
[[Rage|Fifty goddamn sides!!!!]]

For when you want to do 2-100 points of damage with a vaguely normal distribution.

... yeah, I don't know either

It also doubles as a golf ball.
{{clear}}

==d100==
[[File:Zocchihedron2.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Golfball.jpg]]
Take that, d50's!

They're useful when you really want to take 5 minutes to find out if you hit something in [[Dark Heresy]]. In other words, better just use a pair of [[D10]]'s like a normal human being.

Apparently it took about 6 years to make this die. I guess this means that it takes 6 years to put the numbers 1-100 on a fucking golf ball.

===Usage===
It may seem awesome when you see it, but as soon as you get one (and whoever's selling it to you is also aware of how unspeakably lame it is, and will probably even tell you) you will find that it has two major flaws: it takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around and if you aren't blessed with a perfectly level playing surface you will never find out exactly what you've rolled (and when there are six other numbers right next to the 100 and 1, that's a pretty big problem). Oh, and to top it off, it isn't even very balanced, so it's effectively a loaded die.

On the other hand, if you hate your friends, show up to your next meeting and sweep all the d10s off the table, then drop your d100 right in the middle with a theatrical gesture and watch as everyone is mesmerized by its incessant rolling (see: takes about a minute to stop fucking rolling around). Take this opportunity to pocket the d10s, run away and never come back.

[[FATAL]] seemed to expect you to use this (but then again FATAL expects you to play FATAL so you can't expect much).

Seriously, though, let the cat play with it so they'll keep away from the other dice.
{{clear}}

==d120==
This is the most number of sides that a die can have while being 'mathematically fair die' (that doesn't have the dual problems of rolling forever and being prohibitively hard to read). The d120 stops rolling after a reasonable time (with the condition that this only applies if you don't roll with 'too much force'). It is also a bit tricky to read (but still perfectly possible). The company that sells the die points out that it can act as any of the standard 7 dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d10 of 10s, d12, and d20). And thanks to the chart they released for free, you don't even have to do the math yourself [http://thedicelab.com/d120tables.html]. Of course for the d100 roll you'll have to roll the d120 twice, roll 2 d120, or use a die other than the d120 (although you could still use the d120, e.g. a d10 and a d120). [http://nerdist.com/this-d120-is-the-largest-mathematically-fair-die-possible/]

==Barrel Dice==
[[Image:Barrel Dice.gif|right|thumb|Do a Barrel Roll!]]
Those weird-ass dice you find on that one dusty shelf behind the counter of your game store. Rather than platonic shapes with numbers on each side, it's a prism shape rounded at the ends, with numbers on the long sides. While not particularly popular, they're an excellent option for [[d4]]s, since they don't feel like the torture of a thousand hells to step on. Supposedly, they roll more evenly without as much bias and are harder to "throw", but the larger ones have the same problem as [[d50]]s. Hell, a barrel d50 would never ever stop rolling.

If you're super poor and can only afford the pencils and paper for your pencil-and-paper RPGs, your can use your pencils as barrel [[d6]]s.

==Crayola Dice==
{{Oldschool}}
[[Image:Crayolad20.JPG|left]]
[[Image:Crayoladice.JPG|thumb|This set actually had a d10. That was pretty weird at the time.]]
Are you old enough to remember when dice didn't have inked or painted numbers? With the old D&D games, you got soft plastic powder blue dice and a soft white and red crayon. In order to see the numbers you had to fill in the etched spots with the wax.

There were no d10's either. The d20 was labeled 0-9 twice (fit 2 digits on a die face? IMPOSSIBLE!) so you colored one half of the numbers white and the other half red. It acted as your D10, and if you needed a d20, you declared one color to be +10 before you rolled.

These dice were made out of pretty soft plastic, and after 25 years, most of mine don't even stop rolling anymore. No more corners.

This has been a bout of nostalgia.

==Narrative Dice==
Made popular by Fantasy Flight Games, these dice look like typical dice at first glance but then one notices a severe lack of numbers and instead each die having blank sides, sides with one symbol or another, or sides with two symbols. They also tend to be more expensive than your typical bog standard set due to this.

Where they shine, though, is that they can give you not only success or failure like typical numbered dice, but other symbols grant advantage or threat. The whole thing with these is to pick up enough "good" dice and the amount of "bad" dice your GM allots you, roll them all, the cancel out the opposing symbols on both axes described above which can net you much more variety in possible outcomes. Things like "I failed to hit but now my allies have advantage," or "I hit but got a lot of threat so now the enemies can do some crazy shit" are possible.

{{clear}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
premiumdice.jpg|Premium Dice!
premiumdice2.png|Premium Dice cont.
Big_Gay_Purple_d4.png‎|A d4 in the wild, natural weapon readied. As you can see by the notch on the left edge, this one has already claimed a victim.
Caltrop.jpg|Now that's just sick and wrong.
I hope you step on a d4.png
Go_outside_die.jpg|Try and MAKE me go outside. Fuck off, d12.
anna_louge_dice.jpg|Even camwhores know that the d20 is sexy, and each face has an exactly 5% chance of appearing.
DToM.jpg|It is said if not for the trusty D4 the Union would never have one its independance from Britain and the reason no one can beat Russia. As Russia's savage wilds are famous for its saber toothed white furred D4's to defend the motherland.
DiceShamingPoster.png
Gate Keeping Dice.png|There are people who hate dice, those people are wrong.
PennyArcade_papvp2_8.jpg|We're Number One
Tgdice.png
Gameof1s.png
</gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Chits]] - The nega-dice of yesteryear.
*[[Dice pool]]
*[[Exploding die]]
*[[Fudge dice]]
*[[D6 System]]
*[[D20 system]]

==External Links==
[http://www.dicecollector.com/JM/ Dice Collector gallery of all the dice; all of them]

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQIir5xxWc Lou Zocchi trying to get you to buy his dice.]

[[Category:Game Mechanics]][[Category:Dice]]