MOOP!

Dicember Day 21
S****! Dice
(Obtained 2004? from 9th Level Games)

Okay so when I was originally brainstorming my list of which sets to feature, here is what I wrote about this particular set of dice:

Very plausibly take a day for my S! dice! That feels like the sort of shout out long-time readers of my livejournal would enjoy! (me. I am the only longtime reader in question.)

So. These dice are for a game. You'll notice I haven't actually said the name of the game, because I don't actually want to have to play it just now. Also the first rule of the game is that you cannot talk about the game. So perhaps this should be a short entry.

Yes, they're worn nearly blank. Don't you worry. I can tell if they're right, may God strike me down should I lie. *effusive wink*

In all seriousness, in the _way_ back whens, I used to call myself a "diceaholic". I don't use the word anymore (something something, being twee about an actually debilitating and horrific disorder) but I just want to be clear that I have been obsessed with getting my hands on as many interesting math rocks as possible for my entire documented life¹. And this little trio absolutely qualified, and I purchased multiple sets that year at Origins.

I should figure out where my pin got to sometime. And challenge Magus next time I see him, just for old times sakes!

(and if you want to see a cleaner set, here's another triad:

)

~Sor
MOOP!

1: I don't quite have a good word for this --I also rejected "sentient". But the idea is that at the _very_ end of 2003, when I was 14 years old and in 9th grade, I started writing in my Livejournal. That was a very specific turning point of my life, a place where I can clearly divide things into before and after. Certainly not adulthood, but...personhood?

Dicember Day 19
Secretly Nonbinary Flag Dice
(Obtained 2020 04 from a Foam Brain Games mystery bag!)

So I....hate is a strong word, but "strongly disprefer" is probably about right. I strongly disprefer the nonbinary flag. For those not up on their pride colours, it's the black-purple-white-yellow one. I much prefer the she-hulk genderqueer flag (purple white green) or the totally darling agender flag (shades of black, grey, and bright green).

But then I got these dice. Which are not the nonbinary flag. Definitely not. No way. Nothing intentionally pride like here...



Okay, you know what? Fine! I admit it! Purple and yellow CAN look good together, and these dice might fully be the reason why I accept that. I love the cloudy swirled look, and the softness and yes the colours!

They came in a mystery bag, which is always exciting to try and track down later and identify exactly what set I've found. In this case, I think the name is "purple and yellow jade" which is an interesting idea --it does sorta have a jade look to it, albeit entirely the wrong colours.

And at any rate, because I liked these dice so much, I genuinely think I softened on the nonbinary flag in general. Enough that I eventually...



...Got a more traditional striped flag as well.

~Sor
MOOP!

(second set is from Ice Cream Dice)

Dicember Day 17
Googley Eye Dice
(Obtained 2022 01, made by the Evergreen Burrow)



EvergreenBurrow is perhaps most famous for its duck d20 --another rare instance of me receiving dice as a gift--, which was one of the first instances I ever saw of dice with *inclusions*, with little toys or trinkets or decorations embedded inside the resin.

This seems as good a time in the project as any to say "I do not give a flying fuck about balance". Lots of people get extremely worked up about the balance of the dice, are they fair, blah blah blah. I do not care. I don't think that any of these little small-run manufacturers are going to be making dice that are intentionally unbalanced (hard!), I know that inclusions are usually the exact same density as the surrounding material (or their own density is negligible for some of the lighter ones, and I know that a properly *numbered* die circulates the numbers, so that even if a die was weighted to roll a lot of 20s, it will also roll a lot of 2s.

So the fact that EvergreenBurrow makes really cool inclusions dice is something that I can just enjoy for the sheer delight of the matter, and these are one of the best possible inclusions. Because they're googly eyes. Carefully inserted so that they _still google_. Forget those modern liquid core dice I keep seeing (okay, maybe don't, those are rad), these are the future of dice!

Released as an April-Fools-But-For-Realsies kickstarter in 2021, the googley eye dice just consistently make me smile. It's such a hilarious idea for a set of dice! And such an enjoyable thing to roll.



~Sor
MOOP!

Dicember Day 15
Red Shimmer
(Obtained pre 2011, probably pre 2007, most likely from Chessex but no definites)



When I was trying to make my list of which sets specifically to include, it occurred to me suddenly that I really ought to feature some of the olllllld sets. Like, the ones I had before I graduated college. Or, in all likelihood, before I graduated high school. I only have one set of dice that can drink, but there are a handful that've been rattling around my dice bags since I was a weird teenager instead of a weird adult.

These are one of those sets! They've gotten a little worn around some of the numbers, but the transluscent shimmery glitter is just as pleasing as it always was. These particular dice are old enough that they _might_ predate pumpkin colours as my favourite...or in other words, these dice are my favourite colour...circa when I got them!

I don't always have good language for styles of dice (in part because different companies have different names for their own styles). So there are words that I use and try to be consistent about --matte, glitter, shimmer, sheen, swirl, stripe. The ~shimmer~ in this kind of dice is one of my absolute favourite looks --it's a sort of microglitter that is so overwhelming you can't differentiate anything but an endless starfield of wee flashes of light. I've gotten several other sets with this style in later years, but this one was the first chance to see such a cool effect!

(Also, as I was doing photos and writing separately, I note that the shimmer is a lot less evident in the photo than I would've hoped. I may try for a do-over photo if I have time tomorrow, but if I don't, believe me that it's there!)

~Sor
MOOP!

Dicember Day 12
Sunset Metal Dice.
(Obtained 2020 12 from Foam Brain)



Dice come in a variety of materials, and I'm mostly not at all picky about the plastics. Having had several different kinds at this point, I've found I am picky about the non-plastics. Metal dice are pretty and all, but they feel like they can't be rolled on my desktop without some kind of protective mat in place, and I'm worried about them chipping the non-metal dice if they get stored in the same bag.

That being said, a good enough set of dice will make me rethink my prejudices and these are absolutely good enough. With the bonus of them having been a surprise --Foam Brain was having a pick-a-random-box sale for Christmas during the pandemic, and one of the box themes was "rainbows". Translation: gay.

These are not exactly rainbows --it took me a while to realize that they're sunsets! And they're also a prototype set, a group of dice that FoamBrain received to see what they thought, and if they wanted to pursue further creation. In this specific case, they did not, meaning I might be one of the only people in the world to have this exact set. NICE!

(man, are they heavy though. Which is a benefit too --sometimes you like to have a good weight in hand! But it's noticable which dice bag they're in.)

~Sor
MOOP!

Dicember Day 10
Halloween Black and Orange
(Obtained 2019 01 from Q Workshop)



I _love_ the texture of these dice!

I like a lot of things about these fabulous spooky Halloween dice. But the fact that the design is raised is a really wonderful thing --they feel unique in my dicebag, which makes it nice to grab them quickly if I need. Plus, the over-stylized pumpkin design is just really cool looking --very suitably spooky and fun.

I'm not usually a huge "black and orange" Halloween fan, but this makes for a well done exception. The design is striking, the colours are sharp, and the feel is marvelous.

These are some of the first dice I ever bought via kickstarter! I don't know how I found the thing originally, but I was really pleased by the fancy designs and colour options. I've been meaning to do a more recent order from them sometime. Anyone fancy splitting shipping from Poland?

(Maybe next year I will do a special Halloween-only Dice-tober week to sample some of my other cool spooky dice designs. I'm a little bit goth, I have a *lot* of spooky.)

~Sor
MOOP!

EDITED TO ADD: Q Workshop decided to align itself with the Queen TERF of TERF Castle which is, frankly, bullshit of them. I will not be purchasing anything from them until they stop doing that, and show understanding of why it was a shitty choice, because there are so many dicemakers out there who _aren't_ giving money to people who actively want me dead.

Dicember Day 8
Necropolis Stacked Green dice
(Obtained 2022 05 from Tabletop Loot)

As it turns out, I have a problem.

Let me make one thing immediately clear: The problem is not that I have too many dice. I fucking _love_ all my dice and think they are amazing and want to own enough to fill a bathrub and scrooge mcduck my way around in them! That sounds _great_. My collection makes me genuinely happy and having a desktop strewn with random jars of dice is *delightful*

No, my problem is specifically this part of my collection...





I really _really_ like green dice specifically, it turns out. My favourite colour continues to be "pumpkin" (which is to say, green and orange together specifically) but just independent green --especially a high saturation bright kind-- is always good too.

Which brings us to the Necropolis set, which I refer to as "stacked greens". Because, well...so they are!



I saw these on the website and figured I had to give them a shot, and I'm so pleased I did because they just...absolutely camouflage themselves into the rest of my green dice as a group, yet are distinctive and stand out on their own. Sure sure, it's "yet another set of green dice" but at the same time, it's so many different greens! I didn't realize I had such a penchant for stripes until I got this order from TTL (there's a set I won't be featuring this month that's all stacked reds and oranges and it looks like a campfire!!) but now I know it's my new dice weakness.

Which is good, because my old dice weakness was apparently "green" and I think I'm probably okay on those for a while!

~Sor
MOOP!

(Bonus photo from twitter!

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...

Dicember Day 4
Tentacle Pirate Dice
(Obtained 2021 12, from the Black Oak Workshop Advent-ure calendar 6)



OKAY SO!

You've probably heard me reference at some point my Dailies or earning a die, or the advent calendars. This is it! This is where a huge accomplishment of ADHD management started! It's with this set of dice (and three others, but as the calendar is still available I'll let those remain surprises).

I bought the Advent-ure calendar because a) Seanan McGuire recommended it and b) PIRATES, DUH. And then...it arrived after Halloween, and I didn't really have anything to count down 31 days to and I was just sorta generally unorganized about it, so it languished in my room for a bit.

...until I decided to combine it with my dailies checklist. I'd been using a spreadsheet to keep track of things I'd like to accomplish most days for...a couple years at this point. What if, should I check enough boxes in the same day, I received some sort of reward? What if...the reward was dice?!??

These dice are a little larger than most, and absolutely _gorgeous_ in both colour and art. Complete Katnip in design, and Black Oak Workshop does really great d4s especially. I was very glad to get through the whole calendar, and then I've been thrilled repeatedly since as I've gotten it refilled on non-standard Black Oak sets (don't worry, I also bought their Calendar #9, and I'm trying it out as a ToDo list reward incentive thing. It's working...okay.)

Yarr, motherfuckers. A pirate's life for me, even (especially) when that involves tentacles from the deep.

~Sor
MOOP!

Dicember Day 2
Mosquitoes in Amber Percentile Dice.
(Obtained 2021 09, made by AngryPomDice)

( Note: Today's dice involve dead bugs. If you aren't into that, you might want to skip the image )

You may have noticed by now, that I am primarily a collector of *sets* of dice. When I was a wee baby diceaholic, I reveled in getting the pound-o-assorted, in "scoop a bowl out of our giant glittering bin", in "dreams of scrooge mcducking the Chessex booth".

But in diceaholic round two ("this time I have a salary!") I am much more concerned with pretty _pretty_ matched sets of seven (or eight, or ten, or eleven...). I want everything to line up Just So. And...as a mathematician, I'm a sucker for a good quintet of platonic solids. So these dice are an exception, but there was never any question about getting them.

When AngryPom announced that they would have a set of these for the Final Ever Store Drop, I set multiple alarms on my phone. I planned. I _camped_. I don't normally do that kind of nonsense, I find it too stressful usually, but come on! My amateur-entomologist-ass was absolutely gonna be sucked in by the idea of dice with _actual mosquitoes_ in them. I mean, what could beat that?

Plus, now if I ever need to roll up a dinosaur character for a Runequest game, I have the _obvious_ set to play with. SUE would be proud!

( Here's one more close-up for good measure. )

~Sor
MOOP!