Roll a D6: Six Sided Dice Roller
This free d6 roller is for DnD players, Dungeons & Dragons fans and game masters who need fair six sided dice in a hurry. Tap the die to roll, set the number of d6s for a Fireball or Sneak Attack and add a modifier when the rules call for one. The page covers what a d6 does in 5e, why 7 is the most common 2d6 total and how 4d6 drop lowest ties in.
Tap the die to roll 1d6. Space and Enter work too.
Average for 1d6: 3.5 (before you roll)
How to use the d6 roller
Tap to roll. Press the big die to roll the current pool. Space and Enter work too once the page has focus, unless you are typing in a box.
Set the count and modifier. One d6 is the default. Raise the count for the pools you actually cast or swing: 2d6 for a greatsword or maul, 3d6 for a mid-level Sneak Attack or Burning Hands, 8d6 for a 3rd-level Fireball. You can roll up to 20 d6s here.
Read every face. When several dice land, each face is listed under the total. The average for your current notation is shown before you roll, so 8d6 previews as 28.
For typed notation such as 8d6 or 2d6r2 (Great Weapon Fighting), or to mix in other dice, use the main DnD dice roller. For exact odds, open the dice probability calculator.
What a d6 is used for in 5e
The d6 is the familiar cube, and it does more work in Dungeons & Dragons than any die except the d20. Weapon damage on a single d6 includes the shortsword, scimitar, handaxe, javelin, mace, spear (one-handed), quarterstaff (one-handed), shortbow and hand crossbow.
Two d6s are the damage dice for a greatsword and a maul, and they have their own 2d6 roller. Rogues add Sneak Attack as extra d6s on a qualifying hit. Wizards and sorcerers use a d6 as their hit die when they level up or spend hit dice on a short rest.
Spell damage often arrives as a pile of d6s. Fireball is the classic example at 8d6, and Burning Hands starts at 3d6. Because the roller adds the faces for you, those piles stay fast in combat. New to the bag? See what dice you need for DnD.
Why 7 is the most common 2d6 total
One fair d6 has six faces, so each number from 1 to 6 has the same 1 in 6 chance (about 16.67%). Add a second d6 and the totals stop being flat. There are 36 equally likely outcomes. Six of them add to 7 (1+6, 2+5, 3+4, 4+3, 5+2, 6+1), while only one adds to 2 and only one adds to 12.
That is why greatsword and maul damage clusters near 7 and why a big Fireball usually lands near 28 rather than near 8 or 48. Single-die damage such as a shortsword stays flat: every face is still equally likely.
4d6 drop lowest for ability scores
The common random method for ability scores is four d6s, drop the lowest and add the other three. Do that six times, then assign the totals to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma.
You can roll four d6s here and ignore the lowest face, but the stat roller is built for this: it drops the lowest die, shows each modifier and can also use the standard array or 27 point buy. Across all 1,296 ways 4d6 can land, that method averages about 12.24 per score.
Average d6 roll and bigger pools
The average d6 roll on this d6 roller is 3.5. The average of one d6 is 3.5, which is (1 + 6) divided by 2. Multiply by the number of dice to get the average of a pool: 2d6 averages 7, 3d6 averages 10.5 and 8d6 averages 28. Add any modifier after that.
If you want the chance to beat a target total, such as how often 8d6 rolls at least 30, the probability calculator works it out exactly instead of estimating.
More than a d6
Most attacks still start with a d20. Roll to hit there, then come back here for the damage. Other dice in the set have their own pages: the d4 roller, d8 roller, d10 roller, d12 roller and d100 roller. How each roll stays fair is explained on the about page and in the FAQ.
d6 roller FAQ
Is this d6 roller free?
Yes. It is free, with no ads and no sign up. Open the page on any device and roll.
What is the average d6 roll?
The average of one d6 is 3.5. Two d6s average 7, and eight d6s (a 3rd-level Fireball) average 28. Each face of one d6 has an equal 1 in 6 chance, about 16.67%.
What is a d6 used for in 5e?
Six sided dice cover shortsword and scimitar damage, Sneak Attack extra damage, many spell pools such as Fireball (8d6) and Burning Hands (3d6), and the hit die for sorcerers and wizards. They are also the dice used to roll ability scores with 4d6 drop lowest.
What is the most common total on 2d6?
Seven. There are 36 ways two d6s can land, and 6 of those ways add to 7. A 2 or a 12 each comes up only once in 36 rolls.
Can I roll 4d6 drop lowest here?
You can roll four d6s and ignore the lowest face yourself, but the dedicated stat roller drops the lowest die for you and builds a full set of six scores. That is the better tool for character creation.
Is the d6 roll truly random?
Each dice roll draws random numbers from your browser's cryptographic generator. Values that would favor a face are thrown out and drawn again, so all six faces have the same chance.
See the Nat20 Roller FAQ for more on notation, advantage and how rolls stay random.