Hey there just a quick question

[LyphenThymes]

Hey there and thanks for giving this a look. I've been wanting to get back into the d&d game again and I was looking at buying some dice, can anyone tell me 1) what all dice do I need? 2) what's a % die? And 3) where is a decent place to buy said dice? I've been looking around but I haven't been able to find a sound answer. Again thanks for stopping by and giving this post a look and thank you even more if you happen to be able to answer these for me!

[Jay R]

Get a basic set of seven polyhedral dice (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=polyhedral+7-die+sets&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Apolyhedral+7-die+sets).

Percentile dice are two 10-sided die. One of them is marked 0, 1, 2, ... , 9. The other is marked 00, 10, 20, ..., 90. By rolling them and adding them together, you can get any number from 00 to 99.

[erikun]

1) what all dice do I need?

one 1d4 (four-sided, triangular pyramid)
one or more 1d6 (six-sided, cube, the "standard" die)
one 1d8 (eight-sided, octahedron)
two 1d10 (ten-sided, either two different colors or one labeled 00, 10, 20, etc. to 90)
one 1d12 (twelve-sided, dodecahedron)
one 1d20 (twenty-sided, icosahedron)

A lot of places will sell a "tube" of dice that contains one of each of the above, possibly with a second d10. The 1d6 is fairly common to roll a bunch at once, along with used in other RPG games, so you might consider getting more than one if you want.

The reason for two 1d10 dice is explained below.


2) what's a % die?
d% is the same as a d100: it is a percentile die, giving values between 01 and 100, and meant to generate a percentage chance.

You can find an actual d100 die, in several varieties. However, the easiest way is to just roll 2d10 (two 10-sided die) of different colors and say that one is the 10s spot. So, rolling a 1 on the first die and a 5 on the second, the result is 15. Just be sure to note which is the 10s spot die. If you have a "set" in one color but a single d10 in a different color, then it is easier just to always call that the 10s die.

There are also d10 which have an extra 0 at the end - numbered 00, 10, 20, 30, etc. - which are specifically used as the 10s die for this.


3) where is a decent place to buy said dice?
Most game stores that sell RPG books are also going to sell dice. Most places that sell physical RPG books are also going to sell dice, and you can probably find those dice tubes which have a full set inside.

There's also places online which specifically sell dice. I wouldn't go too crazy for your first set, though. Just get a cheap set and consider something more expensive after you wear them out or want something better.

[2D8HP]

You can also use the old style D20's that went from 0 to 9 twice for percentile dice (D10's just don't feel right to me).


Every standard die other than the d10 has sides that are regular polygons, with all regular polygons being the same size and same polygon. The d10 doesn't, instead having sides where there are actually 2-3 different angles in the polygon (depending on how you construct it). It's not symmetrical in the same way as the other dice.



The original d20s had only single digit numbers - 0 to 90, printed twice each. When you colored in the numbers (yourself), you colored in half of them in one color, and half of them in another color, and then tried to remember which color was high for each player's d20.

The d10, like the d30 and some others that have come out, are Catalan solids, not Platonic solids. A platonic solid is made of identical regular polygons, and all vertices are alike. A Catalan solid is made from non-regular polygons. Each face is identical to each other face, but the vertices are different.




GameScience makes them, though they're a tad expensive (and difficult to locate on the company's new website). They have them in tiny dice ("microhedra") and normal-sized dice.

EDIT: Link. GameScience site, D20s. (http://www.gamesciencedice.com/D20--20-Sided-Dice_c_21.html)

[LyphenThymes]

Awesome! Many thanks to you all for taking the time to answer these questions! I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things and hoping I'll be able to find an active group.

[Velaryon]

There is such a thing as a 100-sided die, but it's not a part of the standard die set, and it's usually easier/more convenient to use the two d10's as others have mentioned. But they're out there if you want one.

[Ravens_cry]

There is such a thing as a 100-sided die, but it's not a part of the standard die set, and it's usually easier/more convenient to use the two d10's as others have mentioned. But they're out there if you want one.
I'd say a d100 makes a better golf ball than a die, truth told.

[Trekkin]

I'd say a d100 makes a better golf ball than a die, truth told.

It does, yes; "zocchihedral" dice, especially the mark I, don't get anywhere close to a uniform distribution.

[Velaryon]

I'd say a d100 makes a better golf ball than a die, truth told.

I've never tried, but I'd be surprised if they hold up to being smacked by a golf club.

If memory serves, it took exactly two blows from a hammer to break a d20, and those are a lot more solid than the d100's that I've seen.

[Bohandas]

3) where is a decent place to buy said dice? I've been looking around but I haven't been able to find a sound answer.

Comicbook shops and some of the higher end toystores

[Bohandas]

I'd say a d100 makes a better golf ball than a die, truth told.


It does, yes; "zocchihedral" dice, especially the mark I, don't get anywhere close to a uniform distribution.


I've never tried, but I'd be surprised if they hold up to being smacked by a golf club.

If memory serves, it took exactly two blows from a hammer to break a d20, and those are a lot more solid than the d100's that I've seen.

Clearly then you'd get a better product by buying an actual golfball and painting the numbers on yourself

[Cipojo]

all of these dice actually can come together in one case to buy for D&D. Me and my friends have all been able to buy this package of dice for a relatively good price. It is basicly a set of (1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, percent die (1d10 that goes up by 10), 1d12, and 1d20) we ended up buying it from a books a million, or bull moose, and you can probably find a good price online. If you don't have the money you can always get an app on your phone (random number generator) that does the same thing. Its not the same as rolling actual dice, but it also works for when you need to somehow roll a weird die like a d100. hope this helps :smallsmile:

[Trekkin]

Clearly then you'd get a better product by buying an actual golfball and painting the numbers on yourself

Except that the golfball will roll much more easily -- which is not what you want in a dice.

The zocchihedron is probably one of the more elegant solutions to the problem of dividing a ball into 100 congruent sections and distorting it so it will always rest with one face up. That's just not a problem we need to have when we can roll multiple d10s.