ROLLDICE(6) Linux ROLLDICE(6)
12 FEB 1999
NAME
rolldice - rolls virtual dice
SYNOPSIS
rolldice [ -v | --version ] [ -r | -u ] dice string
DESCRIPTION
rolldice rolls virtual dice. The dice string passed on the command
line contains information on the dice to roll in a format comparable
to the format used in fantasy role playing games.
OPTIONS
-v,--version
returns the version of diceroll
-r uses /dev/random for random number generating
-u uses /dev/urandom for random number generating
DICE STRING FORMAT
The dice string uses the following format:
{#x}{#}d[#|%]{*#}{+/-#}
{#}d[#|%]
This is the only required part of the string. The first
number is the number of dice to roll, and the second number
is the number of sides the dice have. The numbers rolled on
each die are then added up and given as the result. Hence
3d6 means "roll three six-sided dice, add them together and
return the result". If the first number is left out, then
the number of dice defaults to 1. If the second number is
not a number, but a percentage sign, then the number of
sides becomes 100 (for a percentage roll).
{#x} This number tells how many times to roll. For example, if
you want to roll 3 6-sided dice 6 times, you would say
6x3d6. This would return six numbers, corresponding to the
six different rolls.
{*#} This number tells how many times to multiply the result of
each roll. 3d6*100 would return a number in the range of
300-1800, since 3-18 is the range resulting from 3d6, which
is then multipled by 100.
{+/-#}
This number is the modifier to be added or subtracted,
depending on the sign, from each roll. 1d4+1 would result
in a range from 2-5 (1-4 for the die, plus 1).
- 1 - Formatted: October 28, 2025
ROLLDICE(6) Linux ROLLDICE(6)
12 FEB 1999
in the order show above. For an extreme example, "3x4d6*5+1" would
roll four six-sided dice, multiply the result by 5, add 1 to that, and
repeat the process two more times, for a total of three results.
DIAGNOSTICS
The following error messages may appear on STDERR:
Failure in getting dice attributes
Either memory could not be allocated while parsing the string
passed to the rolldice program or an invalid dice string was
entered.
Failure in rolling dice
Memory could not be allocated while actually rolling the dice.
Unknown option
Take a wild guess ;)
BUGS
I haven't noticed any yet... rolldice is a quick hack to provide a
virtual dice roller for FRPGs that I play. Any improvements are
greatly welcome, as I am not the most experienced C coder...
AUTHOR
Stevie Strickland <sstrickl@resnet.gatech.edu>
VERSION
1.4 - 12 Feb 1999
- 2 - Formatted: October 28, 2025
