It’s hard to imagine Dungeons & Dragons without dice. Dice are the lifeblood of the game. In many ways, the d20 has itself become a symbol for tabletop roleplaying games as a whole even if many systems don’t use them. Almost every D&D player has a set of dice. Actually, almost every D&D player has multiple sets of dice because once people learn you’re into it, that’s basically all they give you for holidays and birthdays. It’s sort of like how my sister is into horses, so every year we get her shirts that say something like ‘The End is Neigh’.
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But in all those dice, players often have a favorite set. Whether it be something a little pricey, custom-designed, or just plain useful, nearly everyone who enjoys D&D has a preference. After all, if you’re going to pretend to be somebody, you might as well roll dice that speak to who you truly are on the inside. In fact, what dice you use in D&D can say an awful lot about you as a human being as well as your many flaws and deeply hidden desires. It can reveal a truth deeper than any mystic or pain greater than trying to hit an appropriate word count to get paid.
And while different dice themselves have subtypes and varying features, you can pretty much tell everything you need to know about a person based on the dice they keep in a little cloth Crown Royale bag they stole from their friend’s dad’s liquor cabinet.
Acrylic
Ah, the classic acrylic dice. The dice you get with any D&D beginners boxed set. They’re also the least expensive dice, making them great for people who are simply curious about the game or just play it occasionally. And while they mostly don’t have the intricate designs of other dice on this list, their purity reflects your own soul. You’re not here to show off, you’re here to have an adventure.
If you’re going to imagine you’re a dwarf warlord, you can also imagine your dice are fancier. You’re someone who lives for the game and the game alone. You leave it all on the table. Also, you’re probably the cheapest person in the group and refuse to pitch in for pizza and soda because you “didn’t have any, so why should you have to contribute.” On the other hand, if each one of your acrylic dice are a different color, you’re possibly a murderer.
Wood
Wooden dice are a wonderful way to embrace the fun fantasy spirit of Dungeons & Dragons while also matching your grandfather’s station wagon. Anyway, you love playing an elf and you really want everyone to know you love playing an elf. If you could be an elf, you would be one tomorrow. You’d love to look down on humanity from your tree villages and sneer at the dwarves in their mountains, wouldn’t you?
Oh, there’s an intricate design on the d4? Great. Wow. That’ll add some drama to those dagger rolls. Also, while your lithe archer readies their bow, keep in mind that everyone else at the table is wondering about the weight distribution of those dice. The lady on Etsy said that they were perfectly weighted, but you sure seem to be getting a lot of 20s. Concerning.
Resin
Resin dice are excellent for adding a little bit of style, color, and even extra materials to the look of your dice. So let’s be real honest, you want people to ask about your resin dice. You wouldn’t have brought them otherwise. You need people to notice. You desire it. You yearn for those cubes to get attention. Nothing would fill the empty hole in your life more than someone going, “Oh my God, are those little gears inside your dice?” or “Whoa! Little Christmas trees are in there! That’s so much fun this time of year!”
The thing is? What’s crazy? We’re actually impressed. None of us want to admit it, but those resin dice are pretty cool. So congrats. You won at Dungeons & Dragons & Impressing People With Your Dice. We now all look up to you. That’s what you want to hear, right?
Using metal dice feels like holding a sword in combat. They feel heavy in your hand. These are dice that decide the fate of entire worlds and carry that weight with them. To you, Dungeons & Dragons is important and you genuinely value your role within the group. But you know what you don’t value? The Dungeon Master’s kitchen table, because – buddy – you are scratching it to hell.
Even a cat couldn’t do the damage you do when rolling multiple d6s. Sure, you could try to do a little gentle toss, but then it just looks like you’re cheating and trying to land everything on a 20. You can’t defeat a mindslayer, but at least you can defeat Ikea. You have no respect for anyone but yourself and, ironically, we respect you more for it.
Silicone
Two types of people own silicone dice. I will describe both.
One: Uhhhhh, you like to think you’re a little different than everyone else! Kinda kooky! Don’t gotta be crazy to work here but it helps! You’re just a bit too silly for the average bear! That’s why you have bouncy fun dice! Look at how goofy they are! They bend! They stretch! They’re like little toys! Why even play D&D at all when you could just bounce these suckers off each other and giggle.
Two: It’s actually your table everyone else is scratching and you’re just trying not to add to the problem since it’s become an issue with your spouse.
Either way, when one of these dice falls off the table and bounces away, it’s gone forever, man.
Glass
Glass dice are a great, inexpensive way to recreate the look of glittering gems. You’re someone who enjoys a little magic and imagination. To you, it’s fun to think of your dice as imbued with a special power, themselves almost an enchanted door into another world. You want everyone to actually use their imagination in the game and will become extremely annoyed when that one guy in your group breaks the fourth wall every few minutes.
In most games you get relegated to support roles because you’re more focused on stopping people at the table from arguing than you are stopping a dragon from killing everyone at the table. You bring more food and booze to the game than anyone else, but nobody will ever thank you. But you know that one day they’ll all pay.
Gemstone
Ooo la la! Look who bypassed glass and went straight to actual gemstones! So fancy! So luxurious! Do we have a Rockefeller playing today? Are we hosting a Planescape campaign at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty? Should I have worn a tuxedo and cufflinks to the game, your majesty? Let me lay down my coat before you step onto a puddle!
No, don’t walk! Let us carry you to the board game shop in a litter like royalty! You paid $200 for emerald dice, you’re much too precious to ever feel the slings and arrows of this world! God, we can’t wait to see your face when those dice get chipped.
Novelty
Oh, screw you, you worthless piece of garbage. You have a d20 the size of a grapefruit? You have a giant stuffed d6? You think making a saving throw is a joke? Ha ha ha ha! He he he! Stop it! It’s getting ridiculous! You’re in your 30s now! If you don’t want to take this game seriously, we can find someone else to play a gnome bard who plays a cute little gnome flute. You’re not a fan, you’re a hoarder. Your children are giving that stuffed d6 to Goodwill the moment you die and it’ll be one of the biggest reliefs of their life.
Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game that first took the world by storm in the 1970s, and continues to enchant millions of players today. With a seemingly endless number of campaigns for you to play, and spin-off media from video games to blockbuster movies, you’ll never get bored of D&D.