Dice are the heartbeat of a tabletop RPG. They're the moment of suspense when nobody, not even the Game Master, knows what happens next. But if you're new to the hobby, the strange shorthand players throw around, "roll 2d6+3," "make it with advantage," "4d6 drop the lowest", can feel like a secret code.
It isn't. Dice notation is simple once someone explains it, and this guide will. By the end you'll read any dice formula at a glance, and you'll know exactly how an online dice roller turns that formula into a result in one click.
A standard set of RPG dice has seven shapes, each with a different number of sides. We name them with the letter d (for "die") followed by the number of sides:
Different games lean on different dice. Many of the biggest systems live and die by the d20. Others, like a lot of Brazilian favorites, run almost entirely on humble d6s. A few horror and investigation games use the d100. Part of learning a system is learning which dice it asks you to grab.
Here's the key that unlocks everything. Dice notation follows one simple pattern:
NdX + M
So:
That's the whole language. Damage from a sword might be 1d8+2. A fireball might be 8d6. A healing potion might restore 2d4+2. Once you see the pattern, every formula in every rulebook becomes readable.
In the most popular family of systems, almost every uncertain action resolves the same way: you roll a single d20, add the relevant modifier, and compare the total to a target number (often called a Difficulty Class, or DC).
Roll equal to or above the target, and you succeed. Roll below, and you don't. Attacking a monster, leaping a chasm, picking a lock, persuading a guard, it's all the same elegant little engine: d20 + modifier vs. a number. Learn that one roll and you understand the backbone of the entire hobby.
You'll often hear players say they're rolling "with advantage." This is one of the most beloved mechanics in modern RPGs, and it's beautifully simple.
It's a clean way to represent good or bad circumstances, fighting from high ground, acting while blinded, without piling on fiddly math. A good dice roller lets you trigger advantage or disadvantage with a single tap and shows you both dice, so the table can see the drama unfold.
When you create a character in many systems, you generate your core stats with a special roll: 4d6, drop the lowest.
Here's how it works. You roll four six-sided dice, then ignore the lowest of the four and add up the remaining three. You do this six times, once for each ability score. The "drop the lowest" trick nudges the results a little higher and makes truly terrible stats rare, giving you a hero who feels capable from the start.
It's a fun ritual, but it involves a lot of rolling and arithmetic, which is exactly the kind of thing a digital roller does instantly and without errors.
As you explore more systems, you'll meet a few extra wrinkles:
You don't need to memorize these. The point is simply to know they exist, and to use a tool that already understands them.
Physical dice are wonderful, the weight, the clatter, the ritual. But online play (and even in-person play) has made digital rolling enormously popular, for good reasons:
Our Advanced Dice Roller handles all of this: type any formula like 2d6+3, roll with advantage, generate a full set of ability scores, and watch the dice tumble with real 3D physics. It keeps a history of every roll, so nothing gets lost in the heat of a session.
Dice notation looks intimidating from the outside and becomes second nature within a session or two. NdX+M is the whole secret: how many dice, which dice, plus a modifier. Add the d20 roll, advantage, and the 4d6 stat ritual, and you can already read almost anything a rulebook throws at you.
So the next time someone says "roll 2d8+4," you'll know exactly what to do, and if you don't have dice on hand, the online dice roller is one click away. Grab it, type your formula, and let the dice decide.