DIY Dice: 7 3D Printed Die Projects to Enhance Your Games – MUO – MakeUseOf

Make yourself the talk of the tabletop with these 3D printable DIY dice projects. Build a whole D&D dice set.
Despite the rise of technology and video games, it seems as though tabletop games are more popular than ever before. If your friends like gaming, it’s likely that they will also like board games and other tabletop experiences, and this gives you a great chance to start planning your own games day.
Of course, though, this also presents an excellent opportunity to show off your DIY skills… or the DIY skills of your 3D printer, at least. But where do you get started with this? Let’s take a look at some of the best free 3D printable dice sets available online today, focusing on the seven different dice required for modern D&D.
The humble D4 is the smallest die found in a D&D dice set. While this die only has four sides, each side is home to three different numbers. This type of die is used for low rolls with the required result being between one and four – as indicated on our die by the repeated digit around the top point.
Thanks to the triangular pyramid shape of a D4, this die is actually incredibly easy to print without the need for any supports. The example we have chosen is nice and simple, with cut corners to give the die a little more character.
You can see the print settings we used for this die in the image at the top of this section. It’s worth noting that we have used 100% infill for this die, and this is something that we will continue to do with each of the dice we make. Our slicer estimates a 23-minute print time for this die.
Next up, it’s time to move onto the die that everyone thinks of when they picture a board game: a D6. We have decided to be more adventurous with this die than the others and have picked a design that requires a dual extruder system to print. You can still print this die as a single color if you want, though.
Much like a D4, printing a D6 is nice and easy. The main challenge we face with this design is making sure that our printer is calibrated properly. We are using an IDEX system, and this means that we only need to run through a quick X and Y 3D printer calibration to get the right settings.
Using an IDEX system can be a challenge when you first get started. This is something that we intend to cover in another article, but you can also look for the instructions that came with your printer for the best results.
Tabletop games offer a unique opportunity to people with visual impairments to enjoy an interactive experience that doesn’t hinge upon eyesight. This Braille dice set is perfect for those who can’t read a normal die. This whole set matches the shape and size of regular dice, all while including Braille that is deep and large enough to read with ease.
We picked the D8 from this set: a die that is most commonly used for determining the damage output of attacks with single-handed weapons in D&D. This die can be tricky to print, and you will need supports in place to do it.
We used the same print settings for this die as we have with the others. Our slicer, FlashPrint, was able to produce adequate supports automatically, making the process much easier. This gave us a 1 hour and 50 minutes print time for this piece.
Related: How to Start Your Next Adventure With DnD Beyond
The D10 is one of the most popular dice in games like D&D. Dice like this can serve a dual purpose: working out flat damage rolls and percentage modifiers. We decided to go for a simple design for the D10 in our set, though you could also choose one of the other D10 options from the other sets we’ve covered.
Printing this die is nice and easy; you just need to make sure that you have supports in place. We had to scale up our model 2.5x to make it slice properly, and we used 100% infill to ensure that the die is nice and heavy. This print will take around an hour to complete.
Alongside D10 dice, D00 dice are also often included in tabletop dice sets. These dice are shaped just like a D10 and have the same number of sides, though a 0 is added to the end of each number. This turns 1 into 10, 2 into 20, and 3 into 30, etc. Dice like this are designed specifically for percentage die rolls.
We decided to go for something a little more interesting for this die, picking a set that includes raised numbers and large ridges. This makes it slightly more challenging to print, and you may need to add some supports manually to get it to work properly. We used the same print settings as we have for the other dice on this list and had a print time of 1 hour and 14 minutes.
Like many of the dice in your set, the D12 is designed for calculating damage. This makes it important that you have a good D12 to use, and we have found a beautiful set of faceted dice that are perfect for this role.
Designed to look like pieces of carved stone, this dice set is a great alternative to standard dice. One of the reasons we have picked this for our set is because it stands out against our other dice, making it easy to avoid that awkward moment when you are told to roll a certain die but can’t find it.
The designer of this set has worked hard to make sure that each die can be printed without any supports. You simply stand the die on its end and print it out. This die took us 1 hour and 12 minutes to print, with the 100% infill making it feel nice and weighty.
Finally, it’s time to look at possibly the most important die in your collection. D20s are used to determine a huge range of things in games like D&D, from the actions you can take to the damage that you deal. This makes it crucial that you have a good D20 to use when it comes to your next tabletop game.
The D20 we’ve picked is simple and incredibly easy to print, as it comes with its own supports as part of the package. This die can be the hardest to print thanks to its shape, but this project makes it much easier than usual. For us, this print took about 2 hours, but you could shave this time down using a lower resolution.
Printing your own dice set can be a great way to make games nights more fun. Not only does this give you the freedom to choose the look and feel of your dice collection, but it also gives you the chance to learn more about the dice that are used for games like D&D.
It’s always worth exploring the different projects you can find like this when you are interested in games like D&D and other tabletops. You can make yourself the talk of any table if you take the time to sand, paint, and polish your printed dice.
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Samuel is a UK-based technology writer with a passion for all things DIY. Having started businesses in the fields of web development and 3D printing, along with working as a writer for many years, Samuel offers a unique insight into the world of technology. Focusing mainly on DIY tech projects, he loves nothing more than sharing fun and exciting ideas that you can try at home. Outside of work, Samuel can usually be found cycling, playing PC video games, or desperately attempting to communicate with his pet crab.
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