Roll a d4

What a d4 is for

Damage from daggers and darts, and the smallest healing dice in the game.

The d4 problem

The d4 is the only die in the set that does not roll. It is a tetrahedron, which means it has no face to land on, so it tips over and stops almost immediately, and you read the number at the apex or along the bottom edge depending on how it was printed. That is why a d4 thrown hard tends to stop dead where a d20 keeps going, and why the two printing conventions catch people out when they borrow someone else's set.

It is also the flattest die in practice. A range of 1 to 4 with an average of 2.5 means the difference between a good roll and a bad one is three points, which is why d4 damage almost always comes with a modifier attached: the bonus does more work than the die. A dagger in the hands of a character with +4 dexterity deals between 5 and 8, so the die is contributing less than a third of the outcome. Compare that with a greataxe, where the d12 swings twelve points and the modifier barely matters.

The upside is consistency. If you need a small number that is almost never disastrous, the d4 is the die that gives it to you.

Hitting a target number

What a flat d4 beats, and how much two-dice advantage moves it.

How to use this roller

Tap the die or press the roll button. To roll several at once, change How many, and the chart above redraws to the distribution you are actually rolling. To add a bonus, put it in Modifier: entering 3 turns a d4 into 1d4+3. Negative numbers work for penalties. The keyboard shortcut is R. After a roll, Copy link gives you a URL that shows exactly that result to whoever opens it.

Nothing is stored on a server and no account is needed. The page works offline once loaded, which matters if the venue has poor signal.

Common questions about the d4

What are the odds of rolling a 4 on a d4?

The odds of rolling a 4 on a d4 are exactly 25.0%, or 1 in 4. Every face on a fair d4 is equally likely, so a 4 is no rarer than any other number.

How do you read a d4?

On most d4s you read the number that sits upright at the top point. Each face carries three numbers, one near each corner, and the one at the top is the same on all three faces you can see, which is how you know it is the result. Some older and novelty d4s print the numbers along the bottom edges instead, and on those you read the number along the base. Check which kind you have before the first roll.

What can you roll instead of a d4?

Roll a d8 and halve it, rounding up: 1 or 2 counts as 1, 3 or 4 as 2, 5 or 6 as 3, and 7 or 8 as 4. Each result keeps exactly a 25% chance. A d6 works too if you reroll any 5 or 6. Halving a d6 or a d10 does not work, because the faces do not divide evenly into four groups.

What is the average roll on a d4?

The average roll on a d4 is 2.5. That is the midpoint of 1 and 4, and the average of any die is always (sides + 1) divided by 2. Over many rolls your results converge on it, but any single roll tells you nothing.

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