5 Reasons Role Playing Gamers Love Their Dice

Those of us who play Dungeons & Dragons, or any role playing game for that matter may come from all walks of life, all ages and backgrounds, but we at least have one thing in common. We love our dice. Some people even name their dice. I actually have a name for one of mine. It's a large & heavy hematite 20 sided dice I call "Thunder". I like to say "I'm rolling thunder". Anyway, what's the big deal about dice? Do we really need so many? I will attempt to explain the draw.

First of all, I did not have this dice obsession before I started playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). For a long time I avoided playing D&D because I thought it was weird. I am not your typical "gamer" in that I don't really play "video games". I do like to play little match 3 and city/farm building type games - but those don't really count in the scheme of "video games" that most rpg folks like to play. But, once I got hooked on playing D&D, it did not take me long to get on the dice-lovers' bandwagon.

The feel of the die or dice in your hand before you roll, the anticipation pouring through your skin to the die - like we can somehow influence it's roll. It is all in our head I'm sure but it makes the game more interesting and fun, to give the dice a little bit of personality. Touching it, rolling it in our hands before "rolling", (sometimes we even kiss the die) adds to the increased adoration we have for these little objects with numbers on them.

The anticipation of the roll, that tidbit of silence just before, then the satisfying sound of the release and their tumbling across the table top - It is a sound of happiness or frustration- just as in life, we take a chance and roll, hopefull for a positive outcome. Thanfully, it is just a game, so even when not to our liking, we are not (well mostly not) devastated.

Some might argue that the Dungeon Master (DM) has the power, but even the DM has to roll dice. The rolls can mean life or death for your character - and that is, by definition, quite a lot of power! Laura Bailey of Critical Role sometimes puts her dice in "dice jail" if their rolls are repeatedly bad. Thus the need for more dice - If they are not rolling what we want, we have to have backups!

They roll under the couch or fall out of pockets in the wash. They tumble into cracks between the seat cushions. Dice seem to love to get lost - and just like a sock without it's match, a set of D&D dice is incomplete without all of it's pieces. So to play D&D you need a set of 7 dice to play with: which contains a d20, d12, two d10s (one is a percentile die), a d8, d6 and a d4. Yours might all be red or marbly or somehow distinct, which is good, because you don't want your dice mixed up with other players'. But if you have one missing, you have to keep borrowing that piece from another set - it's messy and frustrating and by that point, you might as well buy a whole new set of dice. But of course you don't want to throw away the old set, so you end up, cumulatively, with a collection of several incomplete sets: hence, tons of dice!

To play D&D you need about 5 people, minimum. It's not always easy to gather 5 people on the spur of the moment to play, but when and if the opportunity arises, we want to be good and ready, which means having enough dice on hand for every player to have a set - and that requires having at least 5 complete sets at all times. (also, See reason #4)

This is not really a reason, more of a by product of loving our dice, but once we get a good stash, we need something to put them in. We might have a small bag for our current favored set, and a glass jar or something for the extras. Our local game store has a bunch in a fishbowl. I can never resist putting my hand in it and rolling it around. (See reason #1). Some people use fancy boxes and such to keep them in. There is even a company called wyrmwood gaming, started on kickstarter, that specializes in fancy wooden "dice vaults".

Who wants to just throw the dice directly on the table top when other fun ways abound! I like to use a tray, (and there are many out there) which protects my table (from rolling thunder….) and keeps my dice from flying all over. Some people also like to use a dice tower, where you put the dice in the top and it "rolls" through a series of angles, plopping out in a small tray at the bottom.

Even if you are not a role playing gamer, dice are a fun way to implement your family board games, no matter what you play! Also, they are more fun than tossing a coin. So when you need to make a decision, in game or not, remember to roll for it!