Elder Dice: The Color Out of Space dice reviewed!

I have written about Infinite Black's Elder Dice before, and commented here, and I've even used their dice to highlight things like the importance of theme and contrast. With three wildly successful Kickstarters under their belts, and having sold hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dice, their latest release, The Colors out of Space (nicely, if unintentionally timed, I must say), it was their largest, most ambitious, and also their most confusing and chaotic KS campaign to date.

Now that the dice have finally made their way stateside, a great number of fans are posting pics, and taking to social media to express their feelings about their new acquisitions. I am, it seems, no different.

I won't get into the peripheral things that ended up showing up in the box for two reasons: 1. I have real, deep, and tangible buyer's remorse over the amount of money I spent for things I not only don't need but will never use, and 2. The dice are all that really matter at the end of the day. So let's get into this and see what's what.

Dice Delve: Rogue Dice by PolyHero

I just got an overstuffed and slightly damp plastic envelope of dice, all the way from China, in the mail that I've been waiting on for a good long while, now: Rogue Dice, Polyhero's latest release, is finally here. I backed this Kickstarter her a while back...two years, nearly...I did it mostly on the strength of one of their dice, which would be a Kickstarter-Only Exclusive. Crom Give Me Strength.  More on that later.

Anyway, they are here, now. And so because in my previous review of their Wizard Dice, I kinda brushed them off, what follows will surely be my longest and most extensive review to date, with a ton of pictures. Are you ready? Let's get into it, then.

D&D: Your Dice Will be the Death of Me

In anticipation of the newest hardcover book to drop out of the Official Hopper, the rocket surgeons over at Hasbro have let us in on the newest Official Dice Set that is dropping alongside of the book. Here is a picture of that product.

It's nice, right? Good packaging, and clearly based on the last set to come out, which was the Avernus dice for last year's book. Red dice, for devils, and with a felt-lined box and with some bonus cards or a map or some other damn thing that no one cares about. But, whatever. This is fine, right?

So, why do I want to Thunderwave whoever is in charge of their dice program?

Let's back up a bit. Strap in. This is a dice rant.

Dice Delve: A Duo of Dueling Diffusions

The artisanal craft dice market continues to expand and contract like the big bang model of the universe in its own teapot tempest of a cottage industry. It's gotten so widespread and self-referential to have spawned the appearance of trends, I swear to Crom. Trends! For Dice! Lately the up and coming seasonal trend seems to be a spin on the glitter dice of old, only with confetti-sized sparkly-stuff suspended in clear acrylic, like a frozen snow globe. I won't be reviewing any of those dice.

But I did pop for something that was quite the rage last season, and that was clear dice with a second translucent (or two) swirled into the clear acrylic. As one of those "Oooh pretty" ideas, several (as in, many) dice companies dove into coming up with clever name and color combinations seemingly overnight; these things hit all at once, and there were actually concurrent Kickstarters running for two different company's iterations of these dice. I made the executive decision to get the same kinds of these "Diffusion" dice or "Ethereal" dice so as to better compare like with like. The question was, of course, "do I like?" That all depends.

DIY Corner: Dice Trays

Have you priced dice trays lately? They are ridiculous.

They look cool. True. And they are quite useful, especially if you have one or more players who like to give their deice the ol' spin "for luck" and send their bones skittering across the room. But the cost is outrageous. Twenty-five dollars for a wooden version of the Monopoly Box Lid we used to roll six-sided dice into? Thank you, no. I'm sure the product is very good, but for that kind of money, I want a little control.

There's a ton of videos on YouTube that show you how to very complicatedly make dice trays. You can sure do that if you want to. But I don't have the time, the patience, or the tools. I just have the vision, in my head, of the dice tray that I want, and I have a 40% off coupon for Michael's. That's more than enough.

And I have made a couple of dice trays out of picture frames. One of them is quite cool; it came with plastic pieces on the corners that resembled metal brackets, and so it was halfway to looking like something found in a dwarven keep to begin with. The problem with picture frame dice trays is that they are elusive, unless you want to break glass, fish pieces of glass out of a crevice, and yadda yadda yadda. Basically, you need something deep enough to act as a reservoir for the dice, but the glass has to be behind the wood completely, so that when you unscrew the back of the frame, everything comes out nice and neat.

I know you think that's easy to find, and if you're looking for regular picture frames, you're right. But we want high (or deep) side walls, and those frames only come around once or twice a year. I suspect they are being bought up by gamers for the explicit use of turning them into dice trays, because as picture frames, they are kinda crappy.

Here's how I solved that problem. I can make a dice tray for about five bucks, unless I need to buy a can of spray paint. Then it's, I dunno, seven bucks or something. But the thing is this: my dice tray is one of infinite possibilities. Any color I want, any interior felt I want, stain or paint, simple or complicated, I am only beholden to my level of craftsmanship.

I start with these. These are "Art Panels" made of wood. They are designed for decoupage, painting, or any other Summer Camp Craft idea you want to use them for. Wood burning. Is that even a thing, still? I don't care.

Wal-Mart sells the 10" square frame with just enough lip on it to qualify as usable (right). Dollar General sells an 8" square that is chunky and deep and just right for a DM to have behind his screen or any table where space is a premium (left).  For the pictures below, I will be using both, as I did not get complete pictures from either build.

These picture frame/art panels are made of cheap bass wood, and are made about as well as you'd expect. The thing you want to look for is actually not on the front but on the back. That's the interior of the dice tray. Look for rough spots or splits on the inside, or at the corners for a misalignment.

Inside here, in the corner, is a rough spot where the wood was split, or a knothole, or something. Ordinarily I wouldn't have bought this, but it was the last one, so I am just going to take extra care with the steps below.

First thing to do is  sand the sides down, to make them smooth to the touch. I use a heavy grit sand paper to lightly and quickly knock out any rough patches. I also put a little more pressure on the edges and the corners to soften and smooth them down. Finally, I sand down the inside walls of the dice tray, getting as much inside the corner as I can. This takes all of a couple of minutes, and really helps later when you're applying paint. The finished tray looks nicer, too, and is less of a lethal weapon. See where the edges are rounded and smoother?

Before you go any farther, it's best to make a template for your felt insert. To do that, get a piece of regular cardstock (the kind you do papercrafts with) and measure it carefully and cut it to size with an Xacto knife or other straight edge. For the 10" frame, the interior is 8 1/2" square and for the 8" frame, the interior is 6" square.

Note: it will not fit. It just won't. It never does. But go ahead and make your square cardstock match your seemingly accurate measurements. Now, try to slip it in. Did it hang on one side? Two? Those are the sides you will trim by minute increments using your straight edge. And don't cut two sides at once. Cut one side. See if it fits. If it does, cut the other. If it doesn't, trim some more. It sounds tedious, but it only takes a couple of minutes to adjust. Just go slow and take your time and don't get in a hurry. When you're done, you should have a square piece of cardstock that falls right into place and requires the flat side of your hobby knife to lift up out of the dice tray. That's what you are looking for.

Once completely sanded, I like to prime the tray. This takes a couple of passes to get even coverage on the inside and outside walls of the tray.

I spray the inside, but just to overspray the inside edges and corners. Occasionally I will sand back the primed dice tray with fine grit sand paper to keep the smooth surfaces.



Once the primer is dry, you're on your own. You can paint the tray a solid color, or use a faux finish of some kind. You can create a "theme" for your game or a particular character. I've done everything from faux marble to hammered metal (and there are tutorials online for anything like that you want to do). But for a first-time project, you may just want to go with staining the wood.



This was a tray I made for my player who has a warlock that made a pact with The King in Yellow. I used antique silver Rub 'n Buff to make the edges shiny like worn down metal. This may be the coolest tray I have done to date. It got gasps and profanity when my player brought it out at the table.

This tray was made just so see if I could do it. I wanted to make a faux marble finish, like the old Vampire rpg books, you know, green mausoleum marble. It turned out better than I could have hoped for. You can't see it, but there are some flecks of blood in one corner.

Here's the wood, stained and sealed with a gloss coat. It looks surprisingly good. I've also done several dice trays using the 8" art panel that turned out gorgeous with a couple of coats of stain and some intentional sanding back to distress the wood. It really picks up an antique or a nautical appearance.

This was the first dice tray I tried. It's got one coat of stain and a flat sealer, because that's all I had. And you know what? It's just as nice as the others. This does not have to be a complicated project.

If I'm staining the wood, I don't prime the tray. I use a gel-based stain, and it's pretty cheap but it's also a little finicky to use, so I will just wipe down the tray with a damp cloth to remove the dust and grit and let it air dry before applying the stain. I always apply heavy and wipe it off, and do a minimum of two coats to really bring out the grain of the wood.



While the paint or stain is drying, you can start on your felt insert. Craft felt is very inexpensive and comes in a myriad of colors. You can buy it with a sticky back, and it's a little more expensive but also easier to work with. Or you can get regular felt and trust your glue-fu. Don't worry if you mess it up. Felt is cheap. Cardstock is cheap. Glue is cheap.

If you are using adhesive felt, peel off the back and stick the cardstock insert to it. Don't use the edge of the felt to save cutting; the felt edges are wonky. Stick the square down so that there's at least a half-inch of felt or more around each side.

If you're using regular felt, first apply a thin, even layer of Tacky Glue or your favorite craft glue. This, even coat. Use scrap cardstock to scrape it thin if you need to and be sure to cover the whole surface of the card. No globs, no glorps. You are going to stick the cardstock insert to the felt and use a heavy cylindrical object to smooth the cardstock out so that you don't have bumps in the felt on the other side. No bumps in the felt is your only concern right now. Also, excess glue. Wipe up any oozes immediately. If you'd used adhesive felt, you wouldn't have to do this, but no, you wanted teal felt in your wooden dice tray for some unfathomable reason, so here we are, rolling felt and wiping up glue.

After the felt and the cardstock are one, take your straight edge and your sharp craft knife and cut away the excess felt. You may have to adjust the fit as with the insert above. That's okay. It's also okay if you cut a hair too much and there is a gap. You can center the felt in the middle of the tray and no one will notice the gap. I know this because the first one I did had a 1 mm gap and I've been using it for years and to date no one has noticed, or cared.

Before you apply the felt to the inside of the tray, you will want to seal the wood and your paint/stain job. You can use flat or gloss, and the choice is entirely up to you. But I'd recommend two coats just to be sure you get everything.

Now you can put the felt in. Simply apply more glue and repeat. Again: no bumps. Use a Sharpie to roll across the interior and remove lumps. Something else you can do, if you are afraid of commitment, is to not fasten the felt to the cardstock. I have found that the backing on the adhesive felt cuts great and if you are diligent and patient, your felt will slide into the tray and stay there, even when you want to turn it upside down and shake it. Now you have a rolling surface that you can swap out as the mood strikes you.

Last thing I do is probably not strictly speaking necessary, but it's classy and we are all about class here at the North Texas Apocalypse Bunker. Take four 1" furniture pads and affix them to the corners. Yes, those are the same non-skid pads I use to make tokens with. Just stick them into the corners, slightly offset from the edges, and you are done.

These trays are cheap enough that you can make one for every player and for yourself without wracking up enormous debt. Five trays cost me as much as one of the deluxe fancy-schmancy trays on sale across the Interwebs. If you use the 10" square panels, they don't take up too much room in storage, either, stacking nicely on top of one another. The are lightweight, but strong, and don't move around on the table, thanks to the feet.

My players love their trays and use them for every game they play. Good dice rolling habits cannot be learned early enough.

RPGaDay 2019: 17 One

 I really wanted to keep this civil and upbeat, but I’m afraid that with the challenge halfway over, the gloves have to come off. So, here we go:

Hey, Dice Makers…please put all of your special icons on the highest number of the die. Thank you.

These are cool dice that I never use! It's criminal!

I have needs. They involve Skull Dice. And what I really like to do is make little lists that run from least terrible to most terrible, and if that most terrible result happens to coincide with my skull on the d6, then that’s an awesome thing and it makes me happy.

Player: What happens now?
DM:       (rolls a d6, shakes his head, shows the die to the player with the skull facing up).
Player: (shakes fist at sky) Damn you, Gelatinous Cube!

I know, I know, it didn’t used to be this way. Some games made you roll low. Some games made you roll high. Two of my favorite games, D&D and V&V were exactly opposite in this regard and it always took us a round of concentration to switch over. And these were just two examples.

See? The skull is a GOOD thing!

Now it’s a different situation altogether. It’s safe to say that D&D is driving the market (well, maybe “lapping the competition” is more accurate, if not particularly sensitive). This is especially true if you include all of the spin-offs and one-offs and open gaming license games that work along the same principle: roll high to hit. I think that it’s safe to assume that, for now, at least, you can go ahead and put your skull right on the highest number face (or your sword, or your shield, or whatever little icon you’re pushing as a corporate symbol or brand) and we can all sleep better at night. All of our tables, if we so choose, will start at one for the suckiest result and 20 for the most unsucky result. Or, you know, whatever. One bad, twenty good.

Sorry. I know, it’s not helpful to your starting game. I blame the weekend. Yeah, that's it. Danged old weekend. 

I’ll be better tomorrow, I promise.

Bonus Comment: My Friends over at Black Oak Workshop do the right thing with their symbols. Recently they ran a Successful Kickstarter for some d20 Skull Dice (the Black Death d20) and they are on track to start delivering soon. Check out their fine line of dice and dice bags and add a little style to your table. 

Dice Delve: Halloween Comes Early

I give Q-Workshop a lot of grief, mostly because I want them to be better than they are. Their designs are lovely and also many times indecipherable to the naked eye, which makes them a bounty for collectors and an eyesore for gamers who harbor more practical considerations.

That said, I was quite taken with their Top Drawer Dice Kickstarter, which featured a set of dice with a Halloween theme, Halloween Pumpkin dice. This was one of five total sets of interesting dice, some of which were clearly aimed at specific games, and some of which were just cool. I didn't mind some of the other designs, but the Halloween-inspired designs were, to my way of thinking, the clear and only choice.

Well, they came in, and I had a chance to do an interesting side-by-side comparison with another set of dice, also with a Halloween theme, produced by Bescon. Side-by-Side! Head-to-Head! A Grudge Match to end all Cage Fights! Carnage Mayhem! Ah HAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!

Okay, maybe not. But here's my breakdown for those of you with an interest in all things October-y.

Dice Delve: Tarot Dice As Big As the Ritz

One of my table top RPG peculiarities is my separation between creation and play. To wit, I have a very different set of dice at my desk for when I'm thinking up cool things to foist on my unsuspecting players. This differs sharply from the dice I use when I am running games at the table, which tend to be more thematic or associative.

When I create, I use various special dice as inspirational items/desk toys/impartial arbiters of chaos and doom. Dice like my various skull dice. My arrows of chaos dice. My favorite d20 dice in the whole world. Things like that. I even have some Rory's Story Cubes in case I want to just wing it, usually as a thought experiment.

This is from the picture on Amazon that shows off the dice.
Missing from the photo is a sense of scale.

Of course, that's not all in my Thinking Kit. I have coins, tokens, cards, and other objects to fiddle around with. It's not a set thing; I trade bits and bobs out often. But I almost always have a tarot deck in the box, if not nearby, because I love the symbolism that's front-loaded on the cards. I've even got a deck that is reminiscent of stylized fourteenth century pamphlet art, which is perfect for D&D.

I don't use the tarot in games; only when I'm creating something. Well, that's not quite true; I wrote a set of rules using the major arcana that I turned into a fortune-telling system (really, an adventure generator). It's very robust, but it's also very specific, as I have only used it in my Introductory Campaign. But I love me some tarot symbols.

So, when I stumbled, quite by accident, across Tarot Dice, from the now-defunct company, Tarotocy, Inc, I nearly broke my arm reaching for my wallet. And for only twelve bucks, too! Here are thirteen 13 d6 dice, each with symbols representing random major and minor arcana. You also get rules and a play mat for doing actual tarot readings, but let's be real, people: I'm just here for the dice. I had to have these.

So, what did I get?

Artisanal Craft Dice 6: A Baseline Review

I’ve dropped a lot of dice talk these last few weeks, so today I’m going to do a little show and tell. Here are some dice that live in my ridiculous and chaotic collection. I’ll show them to you, give you as much detail as I can about them, and then grade them using the criteria I’ve outlined here (link to part 5). That way, you can see what I’m on about, and also get a sense of what I value and what I hate. It’s important to understand where a reviewer is coming from, so you can get the most out of said reviews. I’ll talk about what I like, what I don’t like, and what doesn’t work below. You’ll get the hang of it.

Remember: if you want me to review your dice, drop me a line at Finns Wake at Gee Mail Dot Com. I won't promise that I'll love them, but I will promise to give them a fair shake. And a fair roll. Hah! Dice humor! See what I did there? Okay, let's get on with it.