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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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 Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 2:25 pm Post subject: Let's talk about DICE! |
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That's how we roll (2014)
What types or brands of dice do you use? (2017)
The above threads are good brief discussions, but I thought we should have a new single all-encompassing thread devoted to all aspects of our "chance cubes" for Star Wars and other D6 games.
| WEG wrote: | | What You Need To Play This Game... Unfortunately, we can't include dice in a book like this. You can cannibalize some from other games - or buy some. |
In 1987 I took this to heart and stole all the d6s from our family games. I put them and a set of polyhedral ("D&D") dice into a little black Budweiser tin that originally held two decks of cards. Over 30 years later I still have this tin, and it holds a crazy hodgepodge of d6s I have somehow collected over the years. Now I have more dice than can fit in the tin, so this week I decided to gather all my dice, take inventory and organize them into subsets.
Pips or numerals? When I first brought my original 1e SW RPG core and the SW Sourcebook home in October of 1987, I abandoned the design of my original AD&D campaign world in the works, and instead began planning to run Star Wars. The 1e core of this new innovative skill-based single-die D6 system uses the term "pips" and for me, numerals began to represent D&D and what was wrong with RPGs. I've played but haven't ran D&D since getting this game, and nowadays this D6 grognard sees numeral d6s as an abomination. Pips all the way!
I prefer my players also only use pips too. I haven't run into the issue others seem to have of players needing the wild die to be numeral while the rest are pips. Wild dice being a different color is usually enough, but I can certainly understand someone who is color blind needing the wild die to be different by numeral or perhaps size or shape (I can recall having only one player that had that issue). And if arithmetically challenged players feel adding up numerals is easier for them I allow then without question, but I've hardly had any players wanting to use numerals instead of pips for any reason.
In my middle age I've become more of a stickler for several OCD dice considerations for myself and my players. Each player's personal pool of dice should all be the same size and shape. (By shape I mean the level of roundedness of the corners, so they pretty much look like they may have come out of the same mold.) I'm actually ok with very slight variations in size if they are close. All non-wild dice must be the same color (but slight discolorations are ok). In most cases wild dice should only be different in color.
The dice I have the most of are 12mm white dice w/ black pips and the typical hardly-rounded corners. They are from different games (lost to memory and brand unknown), and there very slight differences in size and coloration (some are slightly off-white). I have 25 of those plus 5 of the same size and shape but different colors for a choice of wild dice. These were my personal default dice from some point in my 1e days until a few years ago when I finally bought a set of 12 Chessex 16mm frosted light blue w/ white pips. Now I prefer 16mm and this is my personal set. But my wild die was a green or red w/ white pips, also 16mm but of a different brand with the typical hardly-rounded corners. Earlier this year my son got his own set of 12 Chessex 16mm black w/ white pips, and I also bought a set of Chessex 16mm translucent teal w/ with white pips to be our wild dice, so the rest of that set could be used by a player without his own dice (with one of two Origins Game Fair giveaways as a wild die).
So outside of my personal set of d6s, I was able to group together three player dice sets that include wild dice of different colors, each set conforming to my OCD criteria: the one set of 16mm with more rounded corners (Chessex), one set of 16mm with typical hardly-rounded corners (source/brand unknown), and one set of 12mm with rounded corners (source/brand unknown). And I have that big set of 12mm with typical hardly-rounded corners, which is really enough for two or even three players who can share for those FP rolls but each still have a unique wild die. Then I still have a hodgepodge of other individual d6s of various sizes and colors (and for some reason one setless d10) in the tin.
I do have 6 individual distinct Game Science d6s with numerals that look cool by design, but I only use them for PC character markers when visual representation of character positions and actions are needed (I don't have minis). The number that faces up intentionally corresponds to the PC's initiative position. These numeral dice are ok for my game because they aren't normally rolled! I use any dice not in use by myself or players to represent NPCs with the pips facing up to represent different characters in the encounter (stormtrooper #1, stormtrooper #2, etc.).
And let me just state for the record a probably unpopular opinion that I do not like GameScience dice, especially the d6s (and d8s). I've read up on the "science" involved, I've watched videos, and I've met the owner and talked with him one-on-one about them. I just don't feel that they roll right! The problem that is the premise for GameScience dice is probably a real one (the finishing buff of other manufactured dice being uneven), but I do not feel that is much of an issue for most pipped d6s out there, so I suspect that there is a mold that includes the rounding so less finishing that may skew the shape. The problem is probably more of an issue for higher-sided dice which we don't have to worry about for this game, and perhaps for polyhedral dice sets in general (but maybe that is my bias against numeral/polyhedral dice talking).
Not counting the set in my Basic D&D box set, I have three sets of D&D dice with numerals not currently being used. One of those is a never-used standard 7-dice set of polyhedral translucent purple GameScience dice I'd be willing to part with. I have 4 sets of those wacky FFG Star Wars dice also not being used.
What else can we say about dice rolling? In my house, dice rolls that end up on the floor get rerolled. Otherwise any surface they land on is accepted as long as there is a clear top showing. We have these little rectangular buckets that we usually use to roll dice in so they don't keep ending up on the floor or getting lost.
So what about you? Pips or numerals (or both)? What brand, size, shape, color of dice do you prefer? Anything else about dice or dice rolling? Let's talk about Dice!
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garhkal
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| Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 3:31 pm Post subject: |
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Even mix for me. Some times i use all numerals, with a pip die for the wild. Other times i go the opposite route. I've got the smaller ones (that come in those cubes of 24), and the regular size ones from all over (inc my axis and allies/fortress america board game sets). Overall, i think i have 70+ d6s..
When playing, i like using my smaller dice (as i have more of them), with large ones (pip or numeral) for my wild. When i DM, i often use the smaller ones for wilds, while using the larger ones for the rest..
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griff
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| Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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Love this topic. I have 20 12mm tranlucent dice of blue, lite blue, green, purple, red, orange, yellow, smoked, and one clear (my wild die). They are rounded on the corners so that the faces are circles. I usually use six dice, two of one color, three of another, and the clear wild die. These dice are pips. And I will only use pips in play. For the rear occasion percentiles are needed I do us a red and purple translucent dice with numerals.
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Solo4114
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:07 am Post subject: |
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Haven't had much chance to use 'em, but I have a Chessex set of (pipped) 12D6 frosted clear.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011WJBF6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can't decide if it's a pro or a con that the corners of each cube are a little rounded so that they roll a bit more. I suppose if they get rolled in a tower or a tray that'd be fine, but I get worried they could too easily roll off the table. |
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Whill
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Solo4114
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Solo4114 wrote: | Haven't had much chance to use 'em, but I have a Chessex set of (pipped) 12D6 frosted clear.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011WJBF6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can't decide if it's a pro or a con that the corners of each cube are a little rounded so that they roll a bit more. I suppose if they get rolled in a tower or a tray that'd be fine, but I get worried they could too easily roll off the table. |
Classic. Chessex feel right to me because they do roll a lot. But yes they do easily roll of the table so a sufficiently deep tray to roll them in helps. |
Yeah, I have a similar 7-die set of Chessex black w/white "Nebula" die for AD&D and other polyhedral-dice-required games. Interestingly, they seem to have sharper edges and corners than the D6 set. Go figure. |
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Whill
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garhkal
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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| Whill wrote: | | Solo4114 wrote: | Haven't had much chance to use 'em, but I have a Chessex set of (pipped) 12D6 frosted clear.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0011WJBF6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I can't decide if it's a pro or a con that the corners of each cube are a little rounded so that they roll a bit more. I suppose if they get rolled in a tower or a tray that'd be fine, but I get worried they could too easily roll off the table. |
Classic. Chessex feel right to me because they do roll a lot. But yes they do easily roll of the table so a sufficiently deep tray to roll them in helps. |
That's why i was asking about those dice trays (the ones which fold flat) the other week..
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cheshire
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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I might, just might have a thing for dice.
https://ibb.co/mcMfby
I wind up hosting games, and I'll usually have sets of dice for each players. Usually their pipped for most dice, and then a numeraled wild die.
I like a balance between form and function, and though I know that the opaque Chessex are more prone to internal air bubbles and errors than the translucent ones, I can't help but pick up a set of really attractive Chessex dice.
I have a few GameScience dice in the mix, though they're not particularly my preference. I know that part of the push for them is that they are not supposed to roll as much as other dice, but it's on one level less satisfying, and there was a company that did roll testing on Chessex and Gamescience dice, and I wasn't so impressed with the result that it got me to swear off Chessex.
I have a few Crystal Caste in the mix, some for novelty and some for aesthetics, though I don't tend to use the crystal shaped dice frequently in my games.
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Whill
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:25 pm Post subject: |
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 Nice chest too.
| cheshire wrote: | | I like a balance between form and function, and though I know that the opaque Chessex are more prone to internal air bubbles and errors than the translucent ones, I can't help but pick up a set of really attractive Chessex dice. |
That's good to know. I guess this is true maybe because air bubbles are visible so they can be filtered out in manufacturing quality control?
Mine are translucent, but my son's were opaque except his wild die. Red was his first choice any way and the store we went to didn't have them, so I'll order him a set of red translucent dice.
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cheshire
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| Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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This is the thing, though there is a quality control issue with not being able to see air bubbles, there is still an unanswered question as to whether or not it creates a deviation that is statistically significant. The problem is that very few people are patient enough to roll dice enough times to do the test properly. I know I'm not. Anything else is just inductive reasoning and inference.
Though if you're a stickler to the point where you're wanting casino-level percision, you can get a hold of this:
https://www.artisandice.com/product-category/alchemnists-dice/
But it's $175 for a polyhedral set. Some of them are gorgeous, but I can't imagine wanting them badly enough to part with $175 over it.
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garhkal
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| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Now, when rolling lots o dice, do you prefer rolling them in small groups? Gathering all in both hands and tossing them out there, or do you use some other method, like a 'box-o-dice..?
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cheshire
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| Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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It really depends on how big the handful of dice is. Usually I find something oddly satisfying about rolling them all at once. But most of the time our group rolls them into Tupperware containers at the table. Especially since I have a couple of enthusiastic young players (11 and 13), the way we keep them from splashing across the table and floor is "if it doesn't land in the container, it doesn't count... even if you find the Wild Die on the floor with the 6 facing up."
If it gets TOO large, then I'll roll it in groups or even do an electronic roller. There was one time that we were playing a 3-year campaign, and some of the skills had 8D at the end, and there were Force Points being thrown around in the last adventure. I think at that point people were rolling half and then doubling. By the time you get to 16D the laws of averages are more prevalent anyway.
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garhkal
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| Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2018 12:32 am Post subject: |
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| cheshire wrote: | | There was one time that we were playing a 3-year campaign, and some of the skills had 8D at the end, and there were Force Points being thrown around in the last adventure. I think at that point people were rolling half and then doubling. By the time you get to 16D the laws of averages are more prevalent anyway. |
IIRC the most i've had to roll at one time was 30.. Dark jedi with LS combat up, ON a force point..
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ReverendKeaton
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| Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2018 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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I am a dice addict. Just want to say that up front. 
I have a large collection dice from various manufacturers. I have never met a die I didn't like. Ok that isn't true. Some of the d20s over the years have been chucked for rolling 1's.
As far as d6 SW I use pips. Since I first started playing Star Wars in 87 I have preferred them to numerals (which I do use for Pathfinder or DnD). And like Whill I prefer my players to use them too. Hence why I bought everyone in my gaming group 10 rounded corner, 16 mm Chessex dice. Every player got one color as well as a translucent red to use as the wild die. |
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