D12 Dice

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) dice are an essential part of tabletop gameplay. Your adventure is shaped by the dice, for better or worse. Simply put, the dice bring the magic of D&D to life. You build your character with the best skills and stats, but the rest is up to the luck of the dice.

If you’re new to D&D or other tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Pathfinder, we’d like to introduce you to the D12. It’s a favorite of barbarians, two-handed weapon fighters, and anyone who accidentally confuses it for their d20.

Browse dice in our customizable sets can be ordered individually.

An Overview of D12 Dice

A complete D&D dice set comes with 7 types of dice – the d4, d6, d8, d10, d%, d12, and d20. Dice from d4 through d12 are mostly used for weapon attacks, damage, spells, determining health, and healing, so the greater the numerical value, the more powerful your action is. There are many variables to this during actual gameplay, but this is the basic concept.

What is A D12?

A d12 is a 12-sided die. It’s mostly used in games like Dungeons and Dragons when you want your attacks to do between one and 12 points of damage or healing, and sometimes in cases where you’re deciding between 12 different outcomes. A d12 is a dodecahedron, and each side has about an 8.3% chance of being rolled. Each side of the d12 is shaped pentagonal.

When Will You Get to Roll a D12?

• When you hit with a large weapon like a greataxe or lance, you may roll a d12 to determine your damage.

• When you level up as a barbarian class, you’ll roll a d12 to determine how many hit points your character gains.

If you’re a dungeon master, you can also use the d12 dice as a random generator for hours, months, or other measurements divisible by 12.

Can’t I Just Roll a d6 Twice?

No, you can’t. The reason comes down to math. When you roll a six-sided die twice (2d6), the chance of rolling a total of 7 is 16.66%, but the chance of rolling a 2 or a 12 is 2.77%. Rolling multiple dice skews the probability in favor of 1 higher than the middle number. It’s also impossible to roll a 1 with 2d6.

Some weapons and effects like greatswords and the Scorching Ray spell use this roll to make results toward the middle more likely than results at the extreme highs or lows. But if you want to simulate an equal probability across the entire spectrum, you’ve got to roll just one 12-sided die (1d12). The game designers have thought this through, and it’s why every set of D&D gaming dice needs a d12.

Dice Maintenance

You’ll want to keep your 12 sided dice, and your entire collection in good condition. Cleaning your dice is recommended by some, and rolling on a padded surface will also help prevent your d12 dice set from incurring scratches and scuffs during play. After all, we want the dice to do damage, not take any!

Shop for New Dice

Here at Dice Envy, every complete set includes a d12 die. With many options to choose from, you can find the d12 dice set that best matches your personal style. Maybe you want a wooden set for a more forest-like atmosphere. Or perhaps you’re feeling like a metallic set to give your adventure an intense feeling. Either way you go, you can count on high-quality dice that’ll bring your gaming experience to a new playing field.