DM's Toolbox: Polyhedral Results Using Only D6

Okay, you've grabbed everything for the big game and drive across town to where the group is gathered, only to find that you've left all your dice at home! Don't panic. We here at Portcullis, have you covered. All you'll need are two standard six-sided dice, commonly found in any board game.

Generating numbers 1-2 (1d2)

Roll one six-sided die (1d6)

A result of 1, 2, or 3 = 1

A result of 4, 5, or 6 = 2

Generating numbers 1-3 (1d3)

Roll one six-sided die (1d6)

A result of 1, or 2 = 1

A result of 3, or 4 = 2

A result of 5, or 6 = 3

Generating numbers 1-4 (1d4)

Roll one six-sided die (1d6)

A result of 1, 2, 3, or 4 = 1-4

A result of 5, or 6 = ignore and re-roll

Generating numbers 1-5 (1d5)

Roll one six-sided die (1d6)

A result of 1, 2, 3, 4,or 5 = 1-5

A result of 6 = ignore and re-roll

Generating numbers 1-6 (1d6)

Roll one six-sided die (1d6)

Generating numbers 1-8 (1d8)

Roll two six-sided dice separately (or two dice of different colors at the same time)

First die = 1d4

Second die =1d2

A result of 1 = +0 to first 1d4 result (1-4)

A result of 2 = +4 to first 1d4 result (5-8)

Generating numbers 1-10 (1d10)

Roll two six-sided dice separately (or two dice of different colors at the same time)

First die = 1d5

Second die =1d2

A result of 1 = +0 to first 1d5 result (1-5)

A result of 2 = +5 to first 1d5 result (6-10)

Generating numbers 1-12 (1d12)

Roll two six-sided dice separately (or two dice of different colors at the same time)

First die = 1d6

Second die =1d2

A result of 1 = +0 to first 1d6 result (1-6)

A result of 2 = +6 to first 1d6 result (6-10)

Generating numbers 1-20 (1d20)

Roll two six-sided dice separately (or two dice of different colors at the same time)

First die = 1d5

Second die =1d4

A result of 1 = +0 to first 1d5 result (1-5)

A result of 2 = +5 to first 1d5 result (6-10)

A result of 3 = +10 to first 1d5 result (11-15)

A result of 4 = +15 to first 1d5 result (16-20)

Generating numbers 1-100 (1d100)

Use 1d10 method twice

First 1d10, subtract 1 for 0-9

Multiply by 10 (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50,  60, 70, 80, 90)

Second 1d10 add to first 1d10 result (0-90)

Total 0-99 (0=100)

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A special Thanks goes out to, Joel Priddy, from over on, An Abominable Fancy, for laying this out in InDesign, and turning it into a downloadable PDF (HERE). Joel, also improved the original method of generating 1d100. Outstanding!