What dice do you need for D&D?

Updated October 27, 2026

A full seven piece set of red dragon eye dice on black glass

If you're new to Dungeons & Dragons, the pile of strange shaped dice can look confusing. It's simpler than it seems. You need one standard set of seven dice, and each die has a clear job.

The seven dice in a standard set

d20 (twenty sides). The star of the game. You roll it for attacks, ability checks and saving throws. A natural 20 is a critical hit, a natural 1 is a critical miss.
d12 (twelve sides). Damage for big weapons like the greataxe, and the hit die for barbarians.
d10 (ten sides). Damage for heavy weapons and many spells, and the hit die for fighters, paladins and rangers.
Percentile d10 (marked 00 to 90). Rolled together with a regular d10 to make a number from 1 to 100, used on some tables and wild magic charts.
d8 (eight sides). Damage for longswords, rapiers and lots of healing spells.
d6 (six sides). Shortswords, fireballs and sneak attacks. You'll often roll a handful at once.
d4 (four sides). Daggers, magic missile and small bonuses. It's shaped like a pyramid, and you read the number at the top or bottom depending on the set.

How percentile dice work

Roll the percentile die (00, 10, 20 and so on) and the regular d10 together. Add them: 30 and 7 makes 37. A 00 and a 0 together count as 100.

How many sets do you need?

One set is enough to play. Many players pick up a second d20 so they can roll advantage and disadvantage in one go, and a few extra d6s help with spells like fireball. Most people end up collecting more because each set feels different, and matching dice to a new character is half the fun.

Choosing your first set

Pick something you'll enjoy looking at every session. Clear resin dice like our dragon eye sets are easy to read and very hard to ignore, while metal dice feel heavy and acrylic dice are light and tough. Our resin vs metal vs acrylic guide compares them, and the class guide suggests a color for each class.