About the only part of the gaming hobby I am not willing to move over to digital is dice rolling. I am looking for at least two sets of good, large (16mm - 19mm), solid dice. No pips on the dice, just numbers. I tried searching Amazon.com and nobleknight.com, but there are so many I have no idea where to begin to look.
Any recommendations?
I like to buy dice from here: http://www.thediceshoponline.com/
My prefered dice are the untumbled Gamescience Dice as they have sharp edges (consequently they don't always roll off the table). That's my preference, but honestly, pick a colour scheme you like and go with that.
Ideally you want a big contrast between the colour of the inked numbers and the background colour of the plastic – it makes the result quicker to read, and if you’re playing at a convention or outside your normal group, it allows the GM and other players to see your result as well. Transparent "gem" dice look nice, but some of the clearer colours make the dice quite hard to read. I’m not a fan of the busy Q-workshop dice which have a lot of decoration and designs which might look nice but obscure the number.
Some examples of what I’d use
http://www.thediceshoponline.com/dice/4389/GameScience-Precision-Tangerine-Ink-7-Dice-Polyset
http://www.thediceshoponline.com/dice/760/Chessex-Red-Frosted-7-Dice-Polyset
http://www.thediceshoponline.com/dice/329/White-Pearl-7-Dice-Polyset
Edit: Oh, and ignore this advice on thediceshop’s site about gamescience dice
QuoteTo smooth down the spot on your die that is rough from being broken from the sprue, simply use hobby/automotive sandpaper.
Use an exacto knife, works much better.
Yeah, thediceshoponline.com is a good place to browse and with a good option of pick'n'mix or adding extras in the same color/pattern to sets.
I still mainly use Chessex-sets. Plenty of options color-wise and better looking, in my opinion, than Gamescience ones... but maybe I just shouldn't have bought a Gamescience set with the description "ugly dice".
I entirely agree with the above posts, they're good dealers.
I've got a set of Gamescience dice (Well, two sets, so I had enough for SLA), and they're pretty nice (Blue on white) but expensive. Still, I think they're worth it, I like using them.
Generally I go for Chessex, one of the blended colour sets for aesthetic reasons, but always with high-contrast numbers - I'm used to playing in slightly dingy environments, so want very visible dice (I once made a set of glow-in-the-dark d6, one pub was so bad). I won't buy Q Workshop dice due to them being so busy in design.
I'm really looking forward to getting my Ulfark metal dice, incidentally.
Use a dice cup - or your cupped hand(s) - and simply slap the dice down on the table after shaking them. That way, they will never roll off the table due to uncoordinated dice rolling. Dice don't need to actually roll across a surface to be randomized; apart from personal aesthetic preferences, there's no need whatsoever to get Gamepseudoscience. Also, paying extra for a spruce that you have to remove yourself seems contradictory IMHO.
Just pick any nice looking and/or easily readable dice.
For high contrast I like black on yellow, black on bright green or black on (ivory) white.
Quote from: 3rik;752494Use a dice cup - or your cupped hand(s) - and simply slap the dice down on the table after shaking them. That way, they will never roll off the table due to uncoordinated dice rolling. Dice don't need to actually roll across a surface to be randomized; apart from personal aesthetic preferences, there's no need whatsoever to get Gamepseudoscience. Also, paying extra for a spruce that you have to remove yourself seems contradictory IMHO.
Just pick any nice looking and/or easily readable dice.
For high contrast I like black on yellow, black on bright green or black on (ivory) white.
This.
Dice cups are cheap, usually come with d6's, and look classy.
Fuck Gamescience and their cultlike following.
Quote from: jeff37923;752496This.
Dice cups are cheap, usually come with d6's, and look classy.
Fuck Gamescience and their cultlike following.
Well, if you happen to like the look of their dice, at least you have a valid reason to get them.
Quote from: 3rik;752499Well, if you happen to like the look of their dice, at least you have a valid reason to get them.
Yet you never hear that reason. It is usually the pseudoscientific concept that sharp edges help the dice roll more randomly and not off the table. The fans never acknowledge the sprues and deformities on the Gamescience dice.
Quote from: jeff37923;752503Yet you never hear that reason. It is usually the pseudoscientific concept that sharp edges help the dice roll more randomly and not off the table. The fans never acknowledge the sprues and deformities on the Gamescience dice.
Maybe their fans all have poor coordination and hope the sharp edges will compensate for that.
I like the look of sharp edges on dice, though. Are there any other brands that produce sharp-edged dice?
Quote from: 3rik;752506Maybe their fans all have poor coordination and hope the sharp edges will compensate for that.
I like the look of sharp edges on dice, though. Are there any other brands that produce sharp-edged dice?
Most casino approved dice are sharp-edged. I bet you could easily find some sharp edged ployhedrals that weren't Gamescience with a little research.
Quote from: jeff37923;752507Most casino approved dice are sharp-edged. I bet you could easily find some sharp edged ployhedrals that weren't Gamescience with a little research.
Well go on, then. I'd be interested in giving them a go.
Quote from: jeff37923;752507Most casino approved dice are sharp-edged. I bet you could easily find some sharp edged ployhedrals that weren't Gamescience with a little research.
I think the Armory used to make sharp edged dice sets...I see them on ebay all the time, especialy the chameleon sets. Hard to tell from the pictures if they have been tumbled. Thought I read somewhere they are "precision". Can be a bit expensive though.
I use Gamescience for the most part.
I really like Gamescience nice--I have a nice mix of pretty and ugly ones. I think they have character. You can sometimes find decent deals on Amazon, but sometimes they're wayyy overpriced there.
And yeah, dice cups are cheap. I also got a factory second dice tower at Gen Con last year that's done wonders.
Quote from: Ladybird;752511Well go on, then. I'd be interested in giving them a go.
Do your own research, I'm going out for Waffle House.
Quote from: jeff37923;752520Do your own research, I'm going out for Waffle House.
Nice copout. Enjoy your waffles.
Quote from: jeff37923;752520Do your own research, I'm going out for Waffle House.
Smothered AND Covered!
Quote from: jeff37923;752503The fans never acknowledge the sprues and deformities on the Gamescience dice.
I admit they're there. Hush with the over generalizing. ;)
Big fan of Chessex, though I mostly use D6 with pips these days. Really like their blocks of 12 or 36 D6. Lots of colour options. +1 for making sure the numbers and colour contrast well, I have some of their "Fire" D6 with black pips on speckled orange and they're not so good. Solid dice though.
A thought on thediceshoponline.com -- must be a more convenient place for a US customer to buy US made dice.
Quote from: jeff37923;752507Most casino approved dice are sharp-edged. I bet you could easily find some sharp edged ployhedrals that weren't Gamescience with a little research.
Come to that, you can
buy used casino dice; the casinos discard them after every day of use, and some sell the used ones. One of my players had a couple sets of them, and you could damn near shave on the edges.
Quote from: smiorgan;752568Big fan of Chessex, though I mostly use D6 with pips these days. Really like their blocks of 12 or 36 D6. Lots of colour options. +1 for making sure the numbers and colour contrast well, I have some of their "Fire" D6 with black pips on speckled orange and they're not so good. Solid dice though.
A thought on thediceshoponline.com -- must be a more convenient place for a US customer to buy US made dice.
I've got a few blocks of those; my favourite are the orange speckled with green dots - very readable. I've got green speckles with silver dots, which are nice, but less high-contrast than they sound; not sure I'd recommend those ones.
Did GameScience start producing dice again?
I haven't seen any around for quite a while.
Quote from: Ladybird;752522Nice copout. Enjoy your waffles.
I had two waffles with butter, maple syrup, crumbled bacon, and crumbled sausage on top. On the side I had four eggs scrambled with cheese over some hashbrowns with ham and cheese. Hot coffee strong enough to dissolve paint to wash it down. One of the best breakfasts ever, Ladybird.
You should always start the day with a good breakfast so that you have enough energy to go and do those things you want to do that day. I can only conclude that your reluctance to do your own research is because you do not eat a good breakfast, Ladybird.
Quote from: skofflox;752517I think the Armory used to make sharp edged dice sets...I see them on ebay all the time, especialy the chameleon sets. Hard to tell from the pictures if they have been tumbled. Thought I read somewhere they are "precision". Can be a bit expensive though.
I use Gamescience for the most part.
Looking on ebay today...indeed some Armory sets are precision some are not.
Sets going for 29.99 or so.
Quote from: jeff37923;752655You should always start the day with a good breakfast so that you have enough energy to go and do those things you want to do that day. I can only conclude that your reluctance to do your own research is because you do not eat a good breakfast, Ladybird.
It was your assertion, and thus the burden of proof is on you.
It's somewhat of a shame that David Saxey's metal precision dice kickstarter from last year ended up being just FAIL! (And maybe even FRAUD!), because those looked nice. I've got a metal polyset, but they're tiny and hard to use at the pub, and tiny + rounded edges = nightmare for rolling.
I have to admit, i am not picky at all when it comes to dice.
Quote from: kythri;752625Did GameScience start producing dice again?
I haven't seen any around for quite a while.
GS dice are currently not in production.
Zocchi had licensed out the brand to a shady gambling dice company who proceeded to do such a monstrously shit job producing them that they were taken off the market and the rights were taken back by Zocchi, but he has yet to find a new producer for them.
I have GS dice, and they are indeed pretty shit. Serious production flaws like underfilled molds, warping, and untrimmed sprue connections. I was most displeased. I have not bought anymore since.
Thanks for the recommendations, y'all. Yeah, GameScience dice seem to be difficult to find right now. Certain colors are entirely sold out on thediceshoponline.com. I like the look of the Chessex frosted dice though, and I think between a couple of sets of those, a bucketful of D6s (Shadowrun, 'nuff said), and a dice cup I should be fine.
I've always wanted some of the nice Q-Workshop dice, but I swear the price of those goes up every time I look at them, and they always either sell out of or never complete the set for the dice I want.
Quote from: J Arcane;753145I've always wanted some of the nice Q-Workshop dice, but I swear the price of those goes up every time I look at them, and they always either sell out of or never complete the set for the dice I want.
Man, I love the look of them, but there's like two different sets that I can actually easily read the numbers.
For me, they're way too busy to actually use in play.
Quote from: J Arcane;753145I've always wanted some of the nice Q-Workshop dice, but I swear the price of those goes up every time I look at them, and they always either sell out of or never complete the set for the dice I want.
I have sometimes found Q-Workshop will have some of their older sets for a pretty decent price at Gen Con. I've picked up a few for small gifts and prizes that way. Otherwise, yes, mucho expensive, but beautiful.
Who needs Gamescience dice again? I could call Lou, to see if he has any. He might know where to get some too.
They are not in production at the moment. Was looking for sets of old style d20's last weekend, you know... 0-9 twice, uninked on a solid colored die. Noble Knight games had some precision black inked white d20 like this, but not much else.
Quote from: J Arcane;752910Zocchi had licensed out the brand to a shady gambling dice company who proceeded to do such a monstrously shit job producing them that they were taken off the market and the rights were taken back by Zocchi, but he has yet to find a new producer for them.
I have GS dice, and they are indeed pretty shit. Serious production flaws like underfilled molds, warping, and untrimmed sprue connections. I was most displeased. I have not bought anymore since.
That was Gamestation.net. The early ones were ok, I think they were selling Zocchi's backstock first, but then the new ones had lots of flaws. I will hand it to them though, they always replaced the dice no questions asked, no return of the dice necessary. I think they decided just sending new dice if someone asked for it was cheaper then quality control/inspection.
Quote from: Celestial;753144Thanks for the recommendations, y'all. Yeah, GameScience dice seem to be difficult to find right now. Certain colors are entirely sold out on thediceshoponline.com. I like the look of the Chessex frosted dice though, and I think between a couple of sets of those, a bucketful of D6s (Shadowrun, 'nuff said), and a dice cup I should be fine.
Don't forget to buy a large bottle of Crown Royal to toast your new dice with and to provide a nifty dice bag.
Quote from: jeff37923;753356Don't forget to buy a large bottle of Crown Royal to toast your new dice with and to provide a nifty dice bag.
I've got a load of brilliant little mini storage crates (You could probably find them at any hobby/crafting store or your local large supermarket), which are brilliant for putting sets of dice in - they can easily fit like 36d6, or 10d10, or a polyset, or whatever, and I've got a few sets of 'em around my desk made up for all the games I'm playing at the moment, so they're easy to grab at game time.
Quote from: Zachary The First;752519And yeah, dice cups are cheap. I also got a factory second dice tower at Gen Con last year that's done wonders.
plastic beakers are even cheaper .....
I was stunned by how shitty the Gamescience-DCC-variant dice I got were. They were just useless.
I'm glad that fortunately, I can just use the Crawler app for all my weirdo dice needs.
Quote from: jeff37923;753356Don't forget to buy a large bottle of Crown Royal to toast your new dice with and to provide a nifty dice bag.
They really do make the perfect dice bag. I don't think I have ever even had a drop of crown royal, yet I have three or four crown royal bags lying around for dice and other gaming items.
Just as an update for anyone that cares, I have the dice and the dice cup. I don't drink, but I was able to secure a new Crown Royal bag from a distributor. I should have it in a few days. :D
Quote from: RPGPundit;754390I was stunned by how shitty the Gamescience-DCC-variant dice I got were. They were just useless.
Anything from Gamescience looks shitty even from just looking at pictures of it. I really don't get the appeal. The pseudoscientific sales pitch doesn't help either.
Quote from: 3rik;757501Anything from Gamescience looks shitty even from just looking at pictures of it. I really don't get the appeal. The pseudoscientific sales pitch doesn't help either.
I thought it was part of the charm.
Lots of sad stories about how the company making Gamescience after Col. Lou apparently just didn't do a good job with it. That's a shame--I love mine. DCC seems like a prime opportunity for folks to check them out, and it sounds like the producers of them flubbed it completely.
Mine were full of extra little bits on the corners, or flaws in the mold; meaning that all the boasting about rolling-precision is just utter bullshit.
Shit, even the fact that they have to be painted would mean that all their nonsense about perfect balance would be completely ruined; unless someone used a machine to make sure they painted each side with absolute precision and the same weight.