What are the standard dice types?
In many tabletop role-playing games, the familiar polyhedral dice are identified by the number of faces they have: d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and d20. The notation is compact: the letter d means die, and the number tells you the number of faces used by that die in the rule system being described.
These dice are common in tabletop gaming, but “standard” is context-dependent. A game may use only some of them, add specialty dice, or use a completely different randomizer. DICEWIKI uses “standard dice” as a practical category for the widely recognized set above, not as a claim that every game or manufacturer follows one physical standard.
Quick reference
- d4: 4 faces; small ranges and minor effects.
- d6: 6 faces; general-purpose rolls and the familiar cube.
- d8: 8 faces; mid-range effects and damage expressions.
- d10: 10 faces; ten-outcome rolls and percentile pairs.
- d12: 12 faces; larger single-die ranges.
- d20: 20 faces; single-die checks in systems that use a d20 core mechanic.
These typical uses are guidance, not universal rules. A product’s shape does not determine what a game must do with it.
d4 and d6
A d4 has four faces and offers a small range of results. Many physical d4s have a pyramid-like form, although exact designs vary. A d6 has six faces and is usually the cube most people picture when they hear “die.” D6s can use pips, numerals, symbols, or custom markings, so the face marking—not only the shape—matters when identifying a product.
d8, d10, d12, and d20
A d8 has eight faces and is often included in polyhedral sets. A d10 has ten faces and may be numbered 0–9 or 1–10, depending on the product and rules context. Two d10s can be used together as percentile dice when one is assigned to the tens digit and the other to the ones digit.
A d12 has twelve faces and gives a single roll a larger range than a d6, d8, or d10. A d20 has twenty faces. In D&D’s rules, the d20 is central to the game’s D20 Test mechanic; that is a rule-system-specific use, not a universal meaning of every d20 sold or used elsewhere.
Percentile dice and specialty dice
Percentile dice usually means a pair of d10s used to generate a result from 1 to 100. Some products have tens markings such as 00, 10, 20, and so on, while others use two ordinary d10s. The exact reading convention belongs to the rules or tool that uses the dice. Beyond the common set, DICEWIKI may catalogue symbol dice, fate-style dice, numbered dice with custom ranges, oversized dice, electronic dice, and non-polyhedral randomizers.
How to choose a reference category
When adding a die to the database, record its physical type, marking system, rules notation, product identity, and evidence separately. This prevents treating a game convention such as “d20 roll” as if it were a universal description of the physical product.
Related DICEWIKI pages
- What is a die?
- Dice notation explained
- Dice probability basics
- Browse dice products
- Browse dice brands
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