percentile die

The percentile die (also known as d% or d100) is generally a combination of two ten-sided dice (or d10s), often made distinguishable from each other by colour. One die is rolled to determine the "tens" digit, and one is rolled to determine the "ones" digit. For example, a roll of 3 followed by a roll of 6 will give a total of 36, while a roll of 4 followed by a roll of 0 will give a total of 40. A roll of 0 followed by a 0 is usually counted as 100. It is common to find a pair of d10s sold together as percentile dice - one of the dice will have the numbers 00, 10, 20, 30 and so on up to 90, while the other one will be a standard d10. Another (less common) die is an actual d100 - usually a sphere marked with the numbers 1 to 100. On the inside of the sphere is a ball bearing and, opposite each number, a small pit in the sphere. When rolled, the ball bearing will eventually come to rest inside one of the pits, thus presenting a number from 1 to 100 facing straight up. A well-known form of such a die is the Zocchihedron. Percentile dice are often used in role-playing games to measure a percentile chance or to find a random result on a large table. Percentile dice are the main dice used in the RPGs Rolemaster, RuneQuest, and Stormbringer (aka Elric!).

Percentile Die

See also