10-Sided Dice Roller
Roll d10 dice online with customizable count, modifiers, keep highest/lowest, and exploding dice. Perfect for RPGs, percentile rolls, and probability games.
4-Sided Dice Roller
Roll d4 dice online with modifiers, keep highest/lowest, reroll 1s, and preset configurations. Track face frequency and review full roll history.
4-Sided Dice Roller
Added to the total after rolling
Common house rule for ability score generation
Total⧉
7
Sum of kept dice + modifier
Average Roll⧉
7.00
Mean total across all rolls
Minimum⧉
7
Lowest total rolled
Maximum⧉
7
Highest total rolled
Dice Count⧉
3
Total individual dice thrown
Theoretical Avg⧉
7.50
3d4: expected 3 × 2.5 + 0
Roll Results
| Roll # | Individual Dice | Kept | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1, 2, 4 | 1, 2, 4 | 7 |
Face Frequency
| Face | Count | Percentage | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | 0 | 0.0% | |
| 4 | 1 | 33.3% |
d4 Reference Table
| Expression | Min | Max | Avg | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1d4 | 1 | 4 | 2.5 | Dagger damage, Magic Missile |
| 2d4 | 2 | 8 | 5.0 | Burning Hands minimum |
| 3d4 | 3 | 12 | 7.5 | Caltrops, ability generation |
| 4d4 | 4 | 16 | 10.0 | Stat rolling variant |
| 6d4 | 6 | 24 | 15.0 | Large spell damage |
Planning notes, formulas, and examples
About the 4-Sided Dice Roller
The 4-sided die (d4) is the smallest standard polyhedral die, shaped like a tetrahedron. It produces numbers from 1 to 4 with equal 25% probability per face. Despite its small range, the d4 is a staple of tabletop RPGs — it's the damage die for daggers, darts, and the iconic Magic Missile spell in D&D.
Our 4-Sided Dice Roller supports multiple d4s, modifiers, keep-highest/lowest mechanics, and the popular "reroll 1s" house rule used in ability score generation. Run one roll or dozens, then analyze the results with face frequency charts and a detailed reference table for common d4 expressions.
Use it to model dagger damage, d4-based spell effects, or any table that needs a compact four-outcome randomizer. The frequency chart is especially useful when you want to confirm that your results stay close to the expected 25% split per face.
When This Page Helps
Physical d4s are notoriously difficult to read — different manufacturers put numbers at the top, bottom, or along edges, creating confusion. Our digital roller eliminates ambiguity and shows the total with modifiers already calculated.
The frequency analysis and reference table also make This calculator useful for DMs planning encounters with caltrops, spike traps, or low-level spell effects, letting you pre-roll damage or simulate hundreds of outcomes.
How to Use the Inputs
- Set the number of d4 dice to roll or pick a preset like 1d4 or 4d4.
- Add an optional modifier that gets added to the final total.
- Select keep mode if you only want the highest or lowest N results.
- Enable "Reroll 1s" for the popular stat generation variant.
- Choose how many separate rolls to make.
- Click Roll and review individual dice results and totals.
- Check the face frequency chart to see the distribution of results.
Formula used
Each d4 gives a uniform integer 1-4. Expected value: E(d4) = (1+4)/2 = 2.5. Variance: Var(d4) = (4²−1)/12 = 1.25. For N dice: E(Nd4) = 2.5N, Var(Nd4) = 1.25N.Example Calculation
Result: 4d4 keep highest 3 → [1, 2, 3, 4] keep [2, 3, 4] → Total = 9
Rolling 4d4 and keeping the three highest simulates ability score generation with d4s. From rolls [1, 2, 3, 4], we drop the 1 and sum 2 + 3 + 4 = 9.
Tips & Best Practices
- For D&D Magic Missile, each dart deals 1d4+1 — use modifier +1 and roll multiple times.
- In ability score generation, 4d4-keep-3 produces scores of 3-12, similar to but lower than 4d6-keep-3.
- The d4 has the flattest distribution of standard dice — every face has exactly 25% probability.
- Physical d4s come in two reading styles: top-read and bottom-read. Always check which yours uses.
- For Savage Worlds Wild Die resolution, pair this with a d6 roller and take the higher.
- Run 100+ rolls to verify uniform distribution — each face should appear ~25% of the time.
The Tetrahedral Die
The d4 is unique among polyhedral dice in that it's a Platonic solid with the fewest faces. Its tetrahedral shape means it doesn't really "roll" like other dice — it tumbles and settles with one face down. This physical property makes it harder to randomize by hand, which is why digital rollers guarantee better uniformity.
There are two main numbering conventions for physical d4s: some have numbers at the points (read from the top vertex), while others have numbers along the base (read from the bottom edge). This causes confusion at many gaming tables.
d4 in Game Design
Despite its small range of 1-4, the d4 serves critical design purposes. It represents the weakest weapons (daggers, darts, sling bullets) in D&D, making simple weapons feel mechanically distinct from martial ones. The 1d4 hit die for Sorcerers and Wizards in older editions reinforced their physical fragility.
In Savage Worlds, the d4 represents the lowest trait rating, and its relationship to the Wild Die (typically d6) creates an interesting mechanic where unskilled characters sometimes outperform their expected results.
Probability Comparisons
The d4 produces the tightest distribution of any standard die. With a range of only 3 (max 4 minus min 1), results cluster near the mean of 2.5. Compare this to a d12 with range 11 or a d20 with range 19. Multiple d4s converge toward normality quickly — 3d4 already produces a reasonably bell-shaped curve peaking at 7-8.
Sources & Methodology
Last updated:
Frequently Asked Questions
A d4 is a tetrahedron — a four-faced solid where each face is an equilateral triangle. It's the only standard gaming die that doesn't have a top face when resting, so numbers are read from the base or apex.
D4s appear in D&D (dagger damage, Magic Missile, caltrops), Savage Worlds (lowest trait die), Dungeon Crawl Classics, and many other RPGs. They're also used in probability exercises.
With any vertex pointing straight up when at rest, a d4 is essentially a tiny caltrop. The steep angles of the tetrahedron mean there's always a sharp point facing upward.
A common house rule where if you roll a 1, you reroll that die once. This raises the expected value from 2.5 to about 2.875 per die and feels more heroic for stat generation.
Keeping the best 3 of 4d4 averages about 8.46 versus 7.5 for a straight 3d4, roughly a +1 bonus. The minimum also shifts from 3 to 3 (same), but you're much less likely to get low totals.
The average is 2.5. If a dagger deals 1d4 damage per hit, you average 2.5 damage before any modifiers are applied.
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