# 1d3?  Huh!?



## Theroc (May 4, 2009)

Okay, this has been bugging me on and off for awhile.

I have never seen a three sided die in my life, and can't really imagine how you can get less sides than 4 on a die... besides using a 4 sider and making one a 0 and having 1-3 on it.

Yet I see things like  	"Attack bonus +6 melee, damage 1d3+1." on the d20SRD...

If this means use a random number generator to generate a random number between 1 and 3, and then add one to it, wouldn't it end in the same result as if you rolled a 4 sided die?


----------



## MattDroz (May 4, 2009)

Theroc said:


> Okay, this has been bugging me on and off for awhile.
> 
> I have never seen a three sided die in my life, and can't really imagine how you can get less sides than 4 on a die... besides using a 4 sider and making one a 0 and having 1-3 on it.
> 
> ...




Roll a 1d6, divide by 2, round up. (1-2 is 1, 3-4 is 2, 5-6 is 3)

Seriously, this has been around since the _earliest_ days I can remember. Just like the 1d2 is either high/low, even/odd or flip a coin.


----------



## ScionJustice (May 4, 2009)

The average roll for 1d3+1 will be 3, the average roll for 1d4 will be 2.5.  You can use a D6, 1-2 = 1, 3-4=2, 5-6=3.


----------



## risner (May 4, 2009)

Theroc said:


> 1) I have never seen a three sided die in my life,
> 
> 2) then add one to it, wouldn't it end in the same result as if you rolled a 4 sided die?




1) They exist, but most people use d6 halved

2) No


----------



## Herzog (May 4, 2009)

1) you either use a d6 halved, as mentioned, or use a special six-sided die with two 1's, two 2's and two 3's.

2) average will be different.
also, 1d4 has minimum of 1, 1d3+1 has a minimum of 2.


----------



## Theroc (May 4, 2009)

MattDroz said:


> Roll a 1d6, divide by 2, round up. (1-2 is 1, 3-4 is 2, 5-6 is 3)
> 
> Seriously, this has been around since the _earliest_ days I can remember. Just like the 1d2 is either high/low, even/odd or flip a coin.




... Well, it's a good thing I'm very new and haven't played since the _earliest_ days you can remember then, eh?

And thanks for the help everyone, not sure how I didn't realize the average difference, I think I somehow assumed 1d3 could result in zero, which is silly.


----------



## TDRandall (May 4, 2009)

All the previous posts are correct.

But there is also no reason to not use your idea, with one slight modification - roll a d4 and ignore/reroll if it comes up a one.


----------



## Flatus Maximus (May 5, 2009)

risner said:


> 1) They exist, but most people use d6 halved




Do they really?  There is no such thing as a convex regular polyhedron with three sides, so I'm curious....


----------



## rgard (May 5, 2009)

Flatus Maximus said:


> Do they really?  There is no such thing as a convex regular polyhedron with three sides, so I'm curious....




I've seen them.  They are actually 5-sided:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/04ds3.JPG


----------



## Jack Simth (May 5, 2009)

Flatus Maximus said:


> Do they really?  There is no such thing as a convex regular polyhedron with three sides, so I'm curious....



They do one of two basic things:

1) A triangular prism, with the "small ends" pointed or rounded such that the die will never land on them if they're placed on a reasonably level surface in earth-normal gravity.
2) The sides are curved slightly rather than flat, and it comes to points on either end much like the ball in Rugby or Football (mostly the same game, but it's named differently depending on which side of the pond you call home).


----------



## maransreth (May 5, 2009)

I have a blue d3 die - it is a 6 sided die, but with 2 1s, 2 2s and 2 3s. They are opposite each other, so all is fair.

Can't remember where I picked it, have had it for a long time.


----------



## Darklone (May 5, 2009)

Friend of mine has two-sided dice


----------



## Lord Zack (May 6, 2009)

I use a d4, but whenever a four comes up I treat it as the number that isn't on that side (so if the side has one, two and four, I treat results of a four as a three).


----------



## Flatus Maximus (May 6, 2009)

Lord Zack said:


> I use a d4, but whenever a four comes up I treat it as the number that isn't on that side (so if the side has one, two and four, I treat results of a four as a three).




The side facing you, correct?  Very elegant, IMHO, since there is no division, no re-rolling.


----------



## Dyson Logos (May 9, 2009)

Most of the major dice manufacturers make d3s - six sided dice marked 1 to 3 twice.


----------



## Nonlethal Force (May 9, 2009)

Darklone said:


> Friend of mine has two-sided dice




Well, besides the coin, so do I!  A d6 marked with 3 1s and 3 2s.  I've also seen them marked with 3 red circles and 3 blue circles, but this is less productive unless everyone has an understanding of what red and blue means.

For the record, some of the more fun ways that I have seen d2 represented is to take any die and call evens/odds.  Roll the die, and if it comes up even it is equivalent to a 2 and if it comes up odd it is equivalent to a 1.  The nice thing about this is that it avoids the pesky coin flip (or perhaps more appropriately the mid-flip hazards like it bouncing off of the ceiling, the coin isn't caught and rolls away, etc).


----------



## amethal (May 9, 2009)

I use d20s, but reroll results of 4 or above.


----------



## Nedz (May 13, 2009)

A d1 is the most pointless dice I've seen


----------



## fanboy2000 (May 13, 2009)

Nedz said:


> A d1 is the most pointless dice I've seen



My hat of d1 know no limit.

I'm sorry, I had to.





I need help.


----------



## Deset Gled (May 13, 2009)

Nedz said:


> A d1 is the most pointless dice I've seen




I bought a d0 once.  I put it in my pocket to take it home, but when I got there I couldn't find it anywhere.  I figure I must have dropped it somewhere on the sidewalk.  I re-traced my steps, but couldn't seem to find it.

I also have a dPi die, but I stopped using it.  Darned thing literallly takes forever to roll.


----------



## Piratecat (May 13, 2009)

amethal said:


> I use d20s, but reroll results of 4 or above.



I do the same thing with one of those golfball-sized d100s. My players loathe d3 rolls as much as I love 'em. They usually seize the opportunity to go get a snack.


----------



## udalrich (May 13, 2009)

Nedz said:


> A d1 is the most pointless dice I've seen




Not quite, at least in D&D.  

An spell that does 10d1 damage can be empowered (to do 15 damage), while a spell that does 10 damage can't.  An effect that adds 2d1 damage to a weapon isn't multiplied on a crit, while an effect that adds 2 damage is.

But generally, d1's are pretty useless.  (Especially if you have maximize instead of empower.)


----------



## Nedz (May 13, 2009)

A d1 is a perfect sphere - it never stops rolling - but you know what the result is going to be before you start.


----------



## Shin Okada (May 14, 2009)

Nedz said:


> A d1 is the most pointless dice I've seen




One of my friend has a 6-sided dice made of tungsten carbide. As it weigh more than a chunk of led and as hard as ruby, no-one allow him to roll it on one's dining table....


----------



## Thurbane (May 14, 2009)

udalrich said:


> But generally, d1's are pretty useless.  (Especially if you have maximize instead of empower.)



Isn't there some feat or such in Complete Champion (or maybe ToB) that allows you to keep rolling damage if you roll a 1?


----------



## Wereserpent (May 14, 2009)

I have a dinfinity, but the GM never lets me use it.


----------

