DiceCollector.com - WHAT KINDS OF DICE: POLYHEDRAL DICE : ten-sided DICE

TEN-SIDED POLYHEDRAL DICE

A TEN-SIDED die is commonly called a d10
The d10 was not part of the original polyhedral dice ... they were released several years later
There are two types of d10's :
     The first is is numbered 0-9 ... or less commonly 1-10 (sometimes called a 'True d10')
     The second is numbered 00 .. 10  etc through 90 (I call these %10's)

Type 1 (Generate numbers 1-10)
========================

In this type of d10 ... if numbered 0-9 ... the 0 is treated as a 10 ... the main reason that the majority of d10's were numbered 0-9 was so that a pair could be used to generate a percentile roll (1-100) ... The method used to achieve a percentile roll with these dice was typically to have two different colors of die and choose one to be the 'high' die (10's digit)

A less common variant of this was numbered 1-10 Dice : D10 OPAQUE ROUNDED SOLID FAMILY LEARNING 04

EXAMPLES:
     Using a pair of d10s one red and one blue with the blue die being called 'high' before the
     roll ... the red die rolls a 7 and the blue die rolls a 9 ... the percentile roll would be a 97

     If both dice roll a 0 then the percentile roll is a 100


Type 2 (Generate the '10's digit for percentile dice)
=====================================

The second type of d10 ... the %10 ... was released a couple of years after the first type and it eliminated the need to have a 'high' die for percentile rolls

There are two different ways to read this combination for percentile rolls ... Both combine a Type 1 (d10) and a Type 2 (%10) die

Method 1 (treat the 0 on the d10 as a 0)

%10      d10   Result
===============
00         1-9       1-9
10         0-9    10-19
             ...
90         0-9    90-99
00          0        100

This is the traditional accepted method

EXAMPLES:

      If the d10 rolls a 7 and the %10 rolls a 90 the percentile roll is a 97

      If the d10 rolls a 0 and the %10 rolls a 00 the percentile roll is a 100



Method 2 (treat the 0 on the d10 as a 10)

%10      d10   Result
===============
00          1-0     1-10
10          1-0    11-20
                ...
90          1-0   90-100

EXAMPLES:

      If the d10 rolls a 7 and the %10 rolls a 90 the percentile roll is a 97 <same as method 1>

      If the d10 rolls a 0 and the %10 rolls a 00 the percentile roll is a 10

      If the d10 rolls a 0 and the %10 rolls a 90 the percentile roll is a 100


This method is just adding the roll on the d10 to the roll value on the %10 ... so in this method ... 100 = 90 (%10) + 0 (d10)

This method is not well accepted and as a result of its existance ... gets pulled out every so often by gamers

I prefer ... if someone chooses to use two d10 for percentile and that they choose 2 dice of differing colors and 'call high' ... as there can be no argument



Prior to the release of the d10 ... percentile roles were done by rolling 2 twenty sided dice that were numbered 0-9 twice ... they were used in the same manner as the first type of d10 (pick a high die) ... This is the method that I personally use ... using use 2 original Gamescience or Armory d20's (shows how old I am)


WHEN WOULD A D10 BE USED?

Dungeons and Dragons:
A d10 is used to generate hit points (life points) for the primary combatants such as fighters, paladins and rangers ... They are also used for generating damage for heavy weapons such as halberd or heavy crossbows

           EXAMPLES
     Click on thumbnail for
            larger photos
Dice : D10 OPAQUE SHARP SOLIDDue to the d10 (PENTAGONAL TRAPEZOHEDRON)
being released later than the other polys ...
both sharp edged translucent and opaque were available from the very beginning

This shape was patented and released to the public in 1983

The %10 was did not come until later
Dice : D10 CLEAR SHARP SOLID BLUNTS
 A bit later these odd d10's were released
It seems to be a sharp edged truncated PENTAGONAL TRAPEZOHEDRON
Dice : D10 OPAQUE ROUNDED SOLID JUMBO
Dice : D10 CLEAR ROUNDED SOLID 1
 Next came the rounded or 'European' style PENTAGONAL TRAPEZOHEDRON
Dice : D10 OPAQUE ROUNDED SOLID 2 A bit later these odd d10's were released
It seems to be a rounded truncated PENTAGONAL TRAPEZOHEDRON
Dice : D10 OPAQUE ROUNDED SOLID YELLOW
Dice : D10 CLEAR ROUNDED SOLID CHESSEX
 The %10 was released soon after the release of the rounded style

The %10 eliminated the need to have a high die for percentile rolls

Sharp edged %10s did not come until later
Dice : D10 OPAQUE ROUNDED SOLID KOPLOW DECIMAL 01 Some time later KOPLOW released this amazing set of d10's

They can generate random numbers from .001 to 9999 
Dice : MINT74 CRYSTAL CASTE OTHERWORLDS SPINDLE BLUE DARK The most radical change to the d10 came when CRYSTAL CASTE
Introduced their Crystal d10

There was no %10 with this style of die
Dice : D10 OPAQUE SHARP IRIDESCENT CHESSEX MENAGERIE 01 The latest release in the d10 style comes from CHESSEX
in the form of sharp edged %10's



Here are many more examples of these types of dice
Glitter ... Swirl ... Two Tone ... Iridescent
they are all here


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