Dicember Day 6: Gwent's Dice

Dicember Day 6
Gwent's Dice.
(Obtained 2019? Manufacturer: Chessex)



So I played various rpgs on and off throughout my entire childhood. Da's homebrew game for me and the sisters, Paul's Runequest game for me and Veronica and his nieces, DnD with Bernie and Joe and Fish and Amanda¹, a few one-shots here and there. But honestly, my overenthusiastic obsession with the click-clack-math-rocks was always more one of aesthetics than practicality --I wanted cool, I wanted attractive, and I wanted LOTS. I didn't need them to _game_ with, I just _needed_ them!

Which means that 2020, when I joined a zoom Pathfinder game run by my friend JoshZed as a chance to teach his brother and nephew what rpgs are like, was the first time I ever specifically selected *one* set of dice to be used for a specific character. I was playing a ranger, and so my eye fell upon this beautiful swirly set I'd scored a year or two prior that felt like *just* the right colours for Gwent.



And wow, was that ever a good choice. Having a specific set of dice for a specific character has been an absolute *delight*, and as we approach the end of the campaign, I am finding myself plotting ways to properly retire these.² In part because they have served me _so well_ story-wise! I roll brutal attacks...and absolutely trash charisma checks, and somehow that always leads to the most enjoyable outcomes!

(I am still salty about them failing that _really_ critical reflex save a few weeks ago, that led to Gwent's would-be-death, and subsequent second chance by the sacrifice of our beloved NPC. But that's been a pretty sweet story beat as well!)

Chessex was one of the first dice manufacturers I ever really knew by name, and there's good reason for it. They're a solid classic powerhouse, and I still look with loving eyes at their products when I visit game stores. The official name for these dice are the Marble: Green/Dark Green set, and Chessex urges you to buy their dice from your favourite local retailer (online or in person), which I heartily agree with!

~Sor
MOOP!

1: The very pleasing confluence in which there were eight people in the house, and all three of the FAAB ones had the same birthday.

2: I mean, I already have commissioned character art, so maybe it's time for a second piece and a shadowbox...

(no subject)

Today was quite good, up until the endy-bit!

The endy-bit wasn't bad per se. It's just that we all retired to the sitting room around eight pm, and then I fell very fast and totally asleep by 9pm and didn't wake up until midnight at which point I decided I should write my words and go sleep in a real bed. So here we are!

Before that was _excellent_. minerva42 came over for dinner, and so they and Ezri and Rey and I had a really excellent time in the kitchen, with a decedent spread of various nice things to put on bread. The bread was brought by Minerva, and was Very Good homemade sourdough. The nice things included three types of sliced apples and like four types of jam (is lemon curd a type of jam? I stand by it) and different cheeses, including a Brie vs Camembert taste-test (verdict: I can't actually tell the taste difference, Camembert is a little bit thicker/less gooey but it also wasn't a very focused taste test.)

Ezri fried several grilled cheese sammiches that we split amongst us, full of cheese and apples and tomatoes and it was just...a really glorious time. There's something that feels quite sophisticated and adult, sitting around having dinner party appetizers of good cheeses and jams together.

Before that was grocery shopping, which was perfectly fine. Ezri has this fascinating superpower that they largely remember where everything in the store is, and so when they give me a list of a dozen things to pick up, it's also in order from left to right. Do I still get distracted by side aisles and buying discount bagels and looking at lunchables? yes. Do I mostly skip a bunch of aisles that I don't need, and don't have to backtrack? Also yes!

Also, I discovered some months ago that the basic Market Basket reusable bag has handles long enough that I can essentially wear it as a sort of backpack as I bike home. This is infinitely easier than trying to hang it off the handlebars and not have it constantly crash into the front wheel, and has made my grocery shopping errands go quite more smoothly.

Before groceries was therapy, which was a little bit spinning-my-wheels around covid stuff and sadness therein. I do have therapyhomework though, which is a good thing for me to have, and it will be aided by use of a mood-tracker app, for which Minerva suggested a good one at dinner.

Before that was end-of-workday, in which I _actually largely did work_. I am two days in a row of prepping my lesson for the next day before I leave, and that feels _very_ good and useful. The real test days will be Thursday and Friday though --I'm more tired each of those days, and the schedule is such that it's more important!

And before that was work which was perfectly fine. Have accidentally unaligned my Geometry classes, but I think I know how I'm going to dawdle in my accelerated class. I did a wee bit of grading catch-up today --progress reports are next week, so it'd be quite good of me to finish all the grading before then (bonus points if I give my students an opportunity to make up missed work)

I hope y'all are doing well.

~Sor
MOOP!