Dice Roller (D6) — Roll 1–100 six-sided dice
Roll settings
Results
Show raw rolls
Rolling Many Dice: What to Expect (Math & Tabletop Tips)
Rolling a large pool of six-sided dice (D6) comes up in board games, tabletop wargames, and RPGs. If you’re rolling 10, 20, or even 100 dice, it’s useful to know the expected totals and how “swingy” the results can be. This guide explains the essentials in plain English so you can plan tactics, sanity-check outcomes, and talk probabilities with your gaming group.
Expected total, variance, and spread
Each D6 has an average (expected value) of 3.5. For n dice, the expected total is 3.5 × n. So 20 dice average 70, 50 dice average 175, and 100 dice average 350. The variability around that average is measured by variance and standard deviation. A single D6 has variance 35/12 ≈ 2.9167, so the sum of n dice has variance n × 35/12 and standard deviation ≈ 1.7078 × √n. With many dice, results cluster tightly near the average (the distribution looks bell-shaped by the Central Limit Theorem).
Example: with 20 D6, the mean is 70 and the standard deviation is about 7.63. Roughly 95% of rolls will land within two standard deviations (about 55–85). With 100 D6, the mean is 350 and the standard deviation is about 17.08, so totals are usually in the 316–384 range.
Min, max, and “feel”
The minimum total for n D6 is n (all ones). The maximum is 6n (all sixes). Hitting either extreme becomes astronomically rare as n grows. Practically, the bigger the pool, the more consistent your totals feel—great for balancing scenarios or testing strategies.
Warhammer 40,000 & other D6 pool systems
In Warhammer 40,000 (and similar D6-based wargames), you often roll large pools for hit, wound, and save checks. If your unit needs “X+” on a D6, the success probability per die is (7 − X) / 6; for example, 4+ is 50%, 3+ is ~66.7%, and 2+ is ~83.3%. With rerolls, the math tweaks slightly:
- Reroll 1s: success ≈
p + (1/6)·p = (7/6)·p
(capped below 1 since p ≤ 5/6). - Reroll all fails: success ≈
p + (1 − p)·p = p·(2 − p)
.
Multiply per-die success by the number of dice to estimate expected successes. For example, 30 shots hitting on 3+ (p ≈ 0.667) yield ~20 hits on average; with “reroll 1s,” that bumps to about 22.2 hits. Your total will vary, but with large pools, it will be close to the expectation most of the time.
Practical tips for big rolls
- Quick sanity checks: total ≈ 3.5 × dice; successes ≈ p × dice.
- Use averages for planning, then let variance guide your risk appetite.
- Batch your rolls: split 100 dice into sets of 20–25—it’s faster and easier to read.
- Record results: copy the raw list from this tool to track tests or share outcomes.
Keywords: roll many D6, multiple dice probability, Warhammer 40k dice math, D6 pool odds, expected value of dice, board game dice calculator, tabletop math (UK/EU).
FAQs
What kind of dice does this roll?
This tool rolls standard six-sided dice (D6).
Can I roll multiple dice at once?
Yes. You can roll between 1 and 100 dice in a single roll and see the total.
Is the dice roll private?
Yes. All rolls are computed locally in your browser; no data leaves your device.
Are the dice fair (uniform)?
Each die result is drawn from a uniform distribution over {1,2,3,4,5,6} using JavaScript’s Math.random()
.