Below is a list a RPG Dice based on the table top game they are associated with and we'll show you the best way to buy RPG dice in bulk sets.
Of Dice & Men: From the D6 to the D20
It's well documented that the cutting-edge role-playing game of it's time, Dungeons & Dragons, emerged out of the preceding medieval fantasy tabletop miniature wargame Chainmail. When Gary Gygax first conceptualized the variant rules for Chainmail, which he also co-designed, the game's focus narrowed to individual heroes and their adventures. Be sure to check out our walk-through of dice for Dungeons and Dragons.
All of the game's outcomes were determined by rolling various combination of the widely available six-sided die, the die that's standard in most mass market board games, in fact this is the reason why, to this day, character ability scores are generated with three six-sided dice.
Gygax wanted Dungeons & Dragons' earliest heroes ability scores to have strengths and weaknesses on a bell curve that still invited chance. This resulted in characters who's abilities would range from 3 to 18 in their physical and mental statistics.
As early Dungeons & Dragons was closely tied to miniature wargames, there was a desire for an even greater range of integer generators, at which point dice with 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 faces were brought into the world of role-playing games and are now widely available at various retailers world wide.
Here's a look at a 7 piece RPG dice set.
Why Do We Still Roll Funny-Shaped Dice?
While any laptop, tablet, or phone can replicate the arrays of numbers needed to play various RPGs, the simple fact remains: we gamers enjoy collecting, choosing, and physically rolling polyhedral dice.
We curate themed dice to be used with specific characters, put dice aside when they result in the repeated humiliation of a beloved character, alternate dice that have been consistently rolling well because we know their luck will shortly be running-out, and generally enjoy that feeling that the fate of our characters, or even the world, are literally in our hands as we cast the die upon the gaming table.
Below you'll find a selection of dice and the games that they are used in, but this is by no means an exhaustive list of the myriad of tabletop role-playing games that are available for you to play. If you enjoy a particular fantasy or science-fiction series, past or present, there's likely a game system that can create a semblance of that series if not a role-playing game system specifically designed for it!
The Right RPG Dice for the Right RPG
Mixed Dice Sets (d20, d12, d10, d8, d6, and d4): Many role-playing games use a variety of dice, typically seven to a set, to help determine if an action succeeds or fails and possibly to what degree of success or failure that action was performed.
Dungeons & Dragons being one of the most popular, but games such as Pathfinder, Savage Worlds, Fiasco, and Open Legend use the fullest range of dice, from the equilateral pyramid shaped d4 to the d100, which is typically consists of two 10 sided dice that will generate an integer between 1 and 100.
With the exception of Savage Worlds and Fiasco, the most commonly die rolled is the 20 sided die and then you typically roll other dice under specific circumstances, such as determining the damage of a slashing longsword or the roaring inferno of Fireball spell.
Check out our suggested sets for the above RPG games.
Twenty-Sided Die (D20): Some role-playing systems use only the most iconic of tabletop RPG dice, the twenty-sided die, to resolve actions.
The Cypher System and Mutants & Masterminds both only require one type of die for their game play.
Check out our bulk D20's RPG DICE
Ten-Sided Die (D10):
The World of Darkness series, which features supernatural creatures such as werewolves, vampires, and mages uses a pools of 10 sided dice, the upcoming Monte Cook game, Invisible Sun, and various games published by Chaosium, Palladium, and Fantasy Flight's Warhammer 40k: Dark Heresy use this a pair of such dice in a percentile system as it's primary randomizer.
Six-Sided Die (d6):
While the most common encountered die, the six sided die is the core mechanic of games that rely on a bell curve to determine likelihood of outcomes. Shadowrun, GURPS, games that use the Apocalypse Engine such as Apocalypse World, Dungeon World, and most miniature war games use this die exclusively, and if you enjoy hurling iconic spells of games such as Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder, you could want as many as ten!
Custom Dice: RPG systems systems exist that have custom dice for their rules set and while most allow you to convert standard polyhedral dice for use with a given system, referencing conversion charts during an intense battle or tense court intrigue may be less than desirable.
The FATE system uses fudge dice which only have plus, minus, and blank icons on them, Fantasy Flight's Star Wars and the latest edition of Warhammer Fantasy both have a a series of custom dice symbols to indicate a wide range of outcomes.
Upgrading Your Dice
We can all agree that everyone loves their dice. Gut as you get deeper into RPG games you may want a great dice upgrade. In this event you can look to metal RPG dice.
We carry these in 7 piece sets and allow additional D6 add-ons.
