Dice Feelings: Why d20 Drama Hits Different Than 2d6

If you’ve played both D&D 5e (d20 system) and Powered by the Apocalypse games (2d6), you’ve felt it: dice have personalities.

A d20 is a wild friend who shows up at your door at 2 AM with either concert tickets or a police scanner. A 2d6 is your reliable coworker who brings coffee and occasionally surprises you with excellent lunch recommendations.

But why? What makes one die feel chaotic and another feel steady? And more importantly: what does that do to your game?

The Math That Makes You Feel

Let’s start with the numbers, then we’ll talk about what they mean for your heart rate.

The d20: Flat and Chaotic

When you roll a single d20:

Every outcome (1-20) has exactly 5% probability
Rolling a 1 is just as likely as rolling a 20
Rolling a 12 is just as likely as rolling a 3

This is called a uniform distribution. Picture a perfectly level plateau: every number sits at the same height, equally possible.

Want to see it in action? Try rolling a d20 on dnddiceroller.com twenty times. Notice how unpredictable each result feels.

What this feels like:

Anything can happen on any roll
Natural 20s come out of nowhere
Critical failures ruin perfect plans
No roll feels “safe”
Massive tension on every important check

2d6: The Bell Curve of Reliability

When you roll 2d6 and add them:

You can get results from 2-12
But 7 appears 16.7% of the time (most common)
2 or 12 each appear only 2.8% of the time
Results cluster around 6-8 (~44% combined)

This is a normal distribution (bell curve). Picture a hill: most results pile up in the middle, with rare extremes.

Test the difference yourself: Roll 2d6 on dnddiceroller.com twenty times. Notice how 6, 7, and 8 keep appearing.

What this feels like:

Most rolls are “pretty okay”
Extremes are rare and memorable
You can expect certain outcomes
Modifiers matter more
Competent characters feel competent

Why Your Brain Treats Them Differently

Here’s where it gets interesting: humans are terrible at understanding probability, but excellent at feeling it.

The d20: Hope and Despair

Because every number has equal weight, the d20 creates a psychological cocktail:

Hope: “I might roll a 20!”
Every roll carries the same chance of perfection. That +2 modifier doesn’t feel like much when you could just… roll better.

Despair: “I might roll a 1!”
Even with +10 to your roll, there’s always that 5% chance you faceplant. Your barbarian with 20 Strength can still fail to open a stuck door.

This is why d20 systems feel dramatic and swingy. Your character’s skill matters, but luck matters just as much.

2d6: Earned Competence

Because results cluster in the middle, 2d6 creates different feelings:

Reliability: “I’ll probably roll 6-8”
You can predict roughly what you’ll get. Planning feels possible. Preparation pays off.

Modifier Impact: “My +2 matters!”
On a d20, going from +3 to +5 is a 10% improvement. On 2d6, going from +1 to +3 can shift you from “often fails” to “usually succeeds” against the same difficulty.

This is why 2d6 systems feel grounded and skill-focused. Your character’s expertise is reliable, and extraordinary results (2, 12) feel earned or catastrophic.

What This Means For Your Game

Different dice create different experiences. Neither is “better”—they’re tools for different feelings.

d20 is Best For:

Epic, Unpredictable Adventure

Unlikely heroes defeating impossible odds
“How did we survive that?” moments
Every battle could go either way
Comeback victories from terrible situations

Tactical Depth Through Advantage

Advantage/disadvantage dramatically shifts odds
Positioning and buffs create meaningful swings
Control and support feel impactful

Character Growth Over Mastery

Higher modifiers feel good (+5 to +10 as you level)
But you never feel perfectly safe
Keeps tension high even at max level

2d6 is Best For:

Grounded, Character-Driven Stories

Competent characters doing dangerous work
Professional adventurers who know their craft
Desperate people making hard choices
Stories where the complications are the point

Meaningful Choices Over Lucky Breaks

Moves and modifiers matter more than dice
Preparation and positioning reward smart play
Rare extremes feel like story moments

Partial Success Mechanics

The 7-9 range (“yes, but…”) happens constantly
Creates rich complications without failure
DM has tools to keep story moving forward

The Hidden Third Option: Dice Pools

Worth mentioning: some games use dice pools (roll multiple dice, count successes).

Examples: Shadowrun (d6 pools), World of Darkness (d10 pools), Blades in the Dark (d6 pools, take highest).

Dice pools feel:

More dramatic than 2d6 (multiple rolls = more chances)
More reliable than d20 (averages smooth out)
Scaling (more dice = more successes)
Like juggling fortune-telling bones (in a good way)

Hacking Your Game’s Emotional Tone

You can adjust how dice feel without changing systems:

Making d20 Feel More Reliable:

Bounded Accuracy (5e does this)
- Keep modifiers reasonable (+1 to +5)
- Keep DCs in a narrow range (10-20)
- This makes skill matter without removing uncertainty
Inspiration and Advantage
- Give these out frequently
- Let players shift their odds without changing dice
Heroic Threshold
- House rule: Natural 1s still succeed if total ≥ DC
- Removes “skilled character fails trivial task” feel

Making 2d6 Feel More Dramatic:

Expand the Range
- Add conditions that give +1d6 or -1d6
- Creates occasional 3d6 or 1d6 rolls
- Shifts the curve dramatically
Leverage Mixed Results
- Make 7-9 results interesting, not punishing
- “Success with complication” > “partial failure”
- Keeps momentum even on middling rolls
Make 6- Narrative, Not Mechanical
- Don’t just “fail”—change the situation
- Advance threats, reveal new information
- The story moves forward, just not as planned

What Dice Say About Your Table

Your dice choice is a social contract about what the game is about:

d20 says: “We’re here for the chaos. Bring on the unlikely.”

2d6 says: “We’re here for the choices. Make them matter.”

Dice pools say: “We’re here for the process. Rolling is fun.”

All of them say: “We’re here together, and the randomness is part of the pact.”

The Emotional Truth

Here’s what really matters: dice are permission slips.

They let you fail without it being your fault
They let you succeed beyond your expectations
They take the burden of “choosing the outcome” off the DM
They make the story feel discovered rather than decided

Whether you’re rolling a d20, 2d6, or a fistful of d6es, you’re participating in a shared ritual of uncertainty. You’re agreeing, as a table, to be surprised.

And isn’t that why we play?

Did You Know? The History of Dice Psychology

The d20 wasn’t always king. Early D&D (1974-1977) used 3d6 for ability scores and checks. More reliable, less swingy. But in 1977, the d20 took over for attacks and saves.

Why the switch? Gary Gygax wanted drama. He’d seen how 3d6 made outcomes predictable. The d20’s flat probability meant:

Peasants could kill kings (natural 20)
Heroes could stumble (natural 1)
Every roll felt like it mattered

This design choice shaped 40+ years of D&D culture. When you roll that d20, you’re participating in a legacy of intentional chaos.

Meanwhile, in other systems:

Powered by the Apocalypse (2010) chose 2d6 to emphasize competence and complications
FATE (2003) uses 4dF (Fudge dice) for minimal swing around a baseline
Shadowrun uses dice pools (roll 10+ d6s) for granular success-counting

Each system’s dice choice reveals its design philosophy. What story does YOUR game want to tell?

The Probability Quick Reference

Print this. Keep it behind your screen.

d20 Success Rates (by modifier vs DC)

Your Bonus	vs DC 10	vs DC 15	vs DC 20
+0	55%	30%	5%
+3	70%	45%	20%
+5	80%	55%	30%
+8	95%	70%	45%
+10	100%	80%	55%

2d6 Success Rates (by modifier vs target)

Your Bonus	Hit 7+	Hit 10+
+0	58%	17%
+1	72%	28%
+2	83%	42%
+3	92%	58%

Why this matters:

On d20: +5 bonus = 25% better chance vs DC 15
On 2d6: +2 bonus = 41% better chance vs 10+

Modifiers matter WAY more on 2d6.

Take This to Your Table

Next session, pay attention to how different dice make you feel:

Notice the tension before a d20 hits the table
Notice the relief when 2d6 gives you a 9
Notice how you narrate a natural 20 vs. a high roll with bonuses

Your dice aren’t just math. They’re the heartbeat of your game.

Want to experiment with different dice probabilities? Try dnddiceroller.com for instant rolls, or our 3D Dice Roller with realistic physics. Roll hundreds of times to see the probability distributions in action. For deeper math, check out AnyDice for probability calculations.