123DiceRoller

Dice Notation, Explained

Dice notation writes a roll as NdS: N dice with S sides. 3d6+2 means roll three six-sided dice, add them up, then add 2.

Dice notation writes a roll as NdS: roll N dice that each have S sides and add them up. 3d6 means three six-sided dice; 1d20+5 means one twenty-sided die plus five. The form has been standard in tabletop role-playing games since the 1970s, and every part of it can be rolled in the roller below.

The basics: NdS

  • 2d6 — two six-sided dice, added together (2 to 12).
  • d20 — the count can be left out when it is one, so this is the same as 1d20.
  • d% — percentile dice, the same as 1d100: a tens die and a units die read together.
  • 1d7, 3d30 — any number of sides from 2 to 1,000 works, even if no physical die has that shape.

The d simply stands for die. Capital letters and spaces are ignored, so 2D6 and 2 d 6 mean the same.

Modifiers and mixed dice

  • 1d20+5 — add a flat number to the total, once (not to each die).
  • 2d6-1 — subtract a flat number.
  • 1d8+1d6+3 — mix dice of different sizes, for example a weapon plus a sneak-attack die plus a bonus.
  • 1d20-1d4 — dice can be subtracted too.

Keep and drop

Many games roll extra dice and count only the best or worst of them:

Keep and drop modifiers
WriteMeansExample
khN or kNKeep the highest N dice2d20kh1 — advantage
klNKeep the lowest N dice2d20kl1 — disadvantage
dlN or dNDrop the lowest N dice4d6dl1 — D&D ability score
dhNDrop the highest N dice3d6dh1 — the two lowest of three

So 4d6dl1 and 4d6kh3 are the same roll, written two ways. As shortcuts, adv and dis (or d20 adv) are read as 2d20kh1 and 2d20kl1. Dropped dice stay on the table and in the results, shown struck through, so you can see what was discarded.

Examples to roll

Common notation, explained
NotationWhat it rollsRangeAverage
1d20+5A d20 attack or check with +56–2515.5
2d6Board-game pair; greatsword damage2–127
3d6Classic ability score; a bell curve3–1810.5
4d6dl1Four d6, drop the lowest3–1812.24
2d20kh1Advantage1–2013.83
8d6Fireball8–4828
1d8+1d6+3Rapier with sneak attack and +35–1711
d%Percentile1–10050.5

Reading it aloud

Players usually say the numbers and the letter: "two dee six" for 2d6, "dee twenty" for d20, "dee percent" or "dee hundred" for d%. A modifier is read as "plus" or "minus": "one dee eight plus three".

Not supported yet

Some games use extra symbols this roller does not read: exploding dice (!), re-rolls (r) and counting successes against a target (>). For success pools, roll the dice here and count the faces that meet your target in the results.

Try any notation

Setting up the table…

Tap the table to roll · tap a die to hold it

Ready to roll

Press Roll, tap the table, or press R.

Modifier +0

Type a roll like 3d6+2, 4d6dl1 or d20 adv. Notation guide

Quick roll

The chance of every total appears here.

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Full probability table

Frequently asked questions

What does 2d6 mean?

Roll two six-sided dice and add the results together. The total ranges from 2 to 12, with 7 the most likely.

What does the "d" stand for in dice notation?

Die. The number before it is how many dice to roll and the number after it is how many sides each die has: 3d8 is three eight-sided dice.

What does 1d20+5 mean?

Roll one twenty-sided die and add 5 to the result, for a total between 6 and 25. The modifier is added once, not per die.

What does 4d6dl1 mean?

Roll four six-sided dice, drop the lowest one and add the other three. It is the classic way to roll a D&D ability score and averages about 12.24.

What does d% mean?

Percentile dice: a number from 1 to 100, usually rolled with two ten-sided dice — one for the tens and one for the units. It is the same as 1d100.

More dice rollers

D4 4 sides D6 6 sides D8 8 sides D10 10 sides D12 12 sides D20 20 sides D100 Percentile
Dice Roller Roll any mix of 3D dice in your browser. Every result is drawn by a cryptographically secure random generator, then thrown across the table with real physics so you can watch it land. Roll a Die Tap Roll to throw one fair six-sided die. Each number from 1 to 6 has exactly the same 1-in-6 chance, every time. Roll 2 Dice Throw a pair of six-sided dice. Seven is the most common total (1 in 6); 2 and 12 are the rarest (1 in 36 each). D&D Dice Roller The full Dungeons & Dragons set — d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and d100 — with advantage, disadvantage, crits and a one-click ability-score roller. Yahtzee Dice Roller Five dice, three rolls a turn. Tap any die to hold it, roll the rest, and the roller tells you which scoring combinations you have. Dice Probability Calculator Type any roll — 3d6, 2d20kh1, 1d20+1d4+5 — to see the exact chance of every total, the average, and the odds of reaching a target.

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