Dice

I work and hang around a game store so I'm around dice on a regular basis. I don't have a bag- and I only recently rebought a set of dice. Set for non gamers mean the following sided dice- a 4 sided die, a six sided, eight sided, ten sided, twelve side and twenty sided die. Some sets have 3 six sided as that's what you needed for D&D. Others come with a 'percentile' die;\ which is an extra 10 sided die with zeros- so one die would roll 0-9 and the other 00-90 as some games need percents.

The set I bought had only 1d6 and 1d10- but they're in a different shape because that's how I roll. See most dice are in a shape equal to the number they represent: so a 4 sided die is in the shape of a pyramid and has 4 sides, a six sided die( which most people are used to for monopoly and craps) is retangular having six sides. MY dice are special, they are cylindric. So my 4 sided dice is square shaped with points at the end, when I roll it... I roll it on it's side instead of rolling the whole die.

(I'm working on my descriptive language. If you don't understand the above- check out this link for a picture. HOWEVER if you check out the link- let me know how well I did)

Towards the end of my gaming days... I was a mooch. I'd know that everyone ELSE would have about 10x the amount of dice needed, as gamers are a superstitious lot and will stop using dice if they run cold( rolling high when you want low or vica versa). I didn't care because I was there to ROLE PLAY so sometimes winning wasn't the important thing. In hindsight, I realize that my not worrying about my dice started when I started NOT having fun gaming and didn't worry about if I was 'prepared'. It's like not knowing where YOUR towel is, and trusting that whoever you're visiting will have an extra one for you( YES! I needed to put in a Hitchhiker's reference). Dice would be had... and the game would go on with or without my dice and if not, no big deal

I bought the current set because years ago I had bought 3 six siders of this strange shape when I first was getting into Heroclix and Mageknight. I was getting serious again about gaming so I wanted the 2 dice needed for the game( red and blue) and a spare(white) in case one of the others got cold( started rolling low- as you need high for Heroclix).. I was getting ready for a marquee a month or so ago and could only find the WHITE one of the strange shape- apparently all I had left was my spare. I felt that wouldn't do... and so I ordered a whole set of these dice... Just in case I ever needed an 8 sider again... I was thwarted because while I liked the color I got( couldn't order color just set) the dice were a different SIZE.. and thus wouldn't roll 'balanced' with the white one. So at the game store is a block of 6 siders on hold for me. I've tested them and while they aren't the ideal color, rolling high was more important to me then color. However I'm not sure I'm going to buy them... as well I play Heroclix once in a blue moon and NOBODY plays MK anymore.

But they're on hold because I could use sixers for other games... and IF I had a block of sixers, I'd get a bit more respect at the store when I game there- as I'd be a guy who knew where his gaming towel was( bringing it back to Hitchhiker's because if use a image I think it's good to reinforce the metaphor).

And all the above is a side story to what I REALLY wanted to blog about. There's a game called Pirates of the Spanish Main. In it you get several pieces of cardboard that you use to make a model ship and then have the ships fight. Included in the package is a tiny six sided die( smaller then my pinky nails) so that you can play out of the pack.
When I work I make sure people either KEEP the tiny die or give them to me. I really don't want them clogging up the vacuum cleaner. Well the last time someone bought a pack, they gave me the die... And I looked at it.
And I looked at it.
And I looked at it.
And I looked at it some more.
I then looked at my Wendy's drink.
And I realized that it would fit in a straw with ease.
And I started to imagine gamers SNORTING tiny dice before a match.
And once the image got into my mind, it wasn't going to leave til I brought it to it's most logical ending.

Imagine a Heroclix tournement at a big convention. Before the players get to the playing area... They snort these tiny 6 sided dice. Some will place with the 6 side up( as you want to roll HIGH in Heroclix), others might roll the dice and only snort the ones that come up 6... and others would just snort up in the bathroom RIGHT before the game to get their 'luck' up. The players would have swollen noses and be breathing heavy( due to the amount of dice in their lungs). They'd also make sure when they sneezed to sneeze into a hanky- for fear of sneezing out one of the dice.
And when a 'newbie' who just snorted 20 dice in the bathroom- loses and lets forth a big sneeze- bloody teeny tiny dice everywhere.
It's a pretty gross but funny image and one I felt I had to share.

And before anyone asks- YES! As a child I did stick things up my nose. Nothing bigger then a pinecone or smaller then a... well that would be telling.