View Dice
Pedantically, the plural of die. A die is an object, typically possessing faces, that is rolled in a game to generate a random result. The most common die has six numbered faces, but dice can come in a variety of shapes and sizes. (The number of faces a die has is sometimes referred to as the die type.) For dice with an even number of faces, the general rule is that the sum of the numbers on the opposite faces will be one more than the die’s number of sides. E.G., the opposite faces on a six-sided die will add up to seven.
Dice Notation
Over the years, a shorthand has developed to describe the number and kind of dice a player needs to roll (the “d” notation) and keep (the “k” notation).
A “d” notation preceding a number indicates the number of faces a die should have. D6 indicates a six-sided die. If the “d” is further preceded by a number, this indicates the number of dice that should be rolled. 2D6 indicates two six-sided dice are rolled together. (The lower case “d” is equally valid.)
A “k” notation is always used with two numbers, one preceding the “k”, and one after. The first number indicates the number of dice to be rolled, while the second number indicates the number to be kept. For example, 3k2 means “roll three dice and keep the best two.” Note that the “k” notation does not typically include a die type; the games that use this notation usually only use one die type, and should be obvious in context.
In unusual cases, a comparison of game mechanics might force an author to use both notations, in which case the “d” notation is usually treated as a descriptor of the “k” notation. In other words, it’s added at the end of the “k” notation to explain which die type is being described. Therefore, 4k2d10 describes rolling four ten-sided dice, and keeping the best two.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the result from a “d” notation-described roll is not necessarily the sum of the dice rolled. In some game systems a “keep one” directive is inferred, in much the same way that a die type can be inferred in a “k” notation description. In such a context, “2D6” would mean “roll two six-sided dice, and keep the better die.”