| Here is a collection of "Dice Advice" for your | | | | gamer... complete with diagrams! Be sure to check |
| edification and amusement. Do with it what you | | | | it out.Rubbing your dice on someone's head is a |
| will. No guarantees. Some of these ideas seemed | | | | way of blessing the dice. Apparently red-headed |
| to make sense to me for a while. But then some | | | | people are not good luck though. (I don't |
| other completely contradictory instruction comes | | | | understand this at all. Some of my best friends |
| along and it too makes sense, in its own | | | | are redheads!)Cleansing dice of bad luck is another |
| superstitious way. The whole thing is rather | | | | method of blessing your dice. This can be done |
| confusing. Read on and you'll see what I | | | | by burying them in salt, or washing them in cold |
| mean.What to wear: | | | | water or mineral water. (Holy water might work |
| Never thought about the best things to wear | | | | extra well, but maybe not for evil characters.) |
| while gaming? Well don't worry, you don't have to | | | | Just don't use alcohol to remove bad luck from |
| get dressed up to have good luck. In fact, | | | | your dice... it may remove the ink from the |
| according to the traditional stories surrounding the | | | | numbers too! Of course, cleansing dice when they |
| game of Craps, "Dirt brings luck. Wear dirty | | | | have been performing well, would be |
| clothes and you'll be lucky." (Hey, that explains | | | | counterproductive. You'll only be washing away |
| that odd odour wafting out of my local game | | | | the good luck (and all that "lucky dirt"!).A "friend of |
| store the other day. There must have been a lot | | | | a friend" used to put his dice in his mouth and spit |
| of REALLY lucky gamers in there!)Where to sit: | | | | them onto the table, for good luck. No-one ever |
| Well, sitting on a handkerchief while gaming is | | | | borrowed his dice. Another person, used to keep |
| supposed to be lucky. (Best not to combine this | | | | her dice down her bra. "Boobs bring luck!" she |
| one with the "Dirt brings luck" concept... e astride | | | | maintains.Punishment: |
| your chair is lucky too. (Tipping your chair back is | | | | "Bad dice! Go sit in a corner and think about what |
| not lucky however, especially when we were | | | | you've done." Uncooperative dice can be coaxed, |
| teenagers and anyone's mother caught us doing it. | | | | cleansed, blessed or... punished for their bad deeds. |
| Ouch.)Storing Dice: | | | | Some folks will leave the offending dice at home |
| "Never leave a d20 sitting with the #1 facing up. | | | | when they go out to play: "House Arrest". Some |
| It will get used to sitting that way, and roll 1's | | | | gamers will bring the dice to the game, but not let |
| more often." The "scientific" excuse for this belief | | | | them out of the dice bag. The bad dice have to |
| says that there is a "molecular drift" or "dice | | | | sit there listening to their other dice friends having |
| creep" due to gravity, causing the die to become | | | | fun and rolling merrily, while they sit in the dark. |
| bottom heavy. This would make more sense if | | | | Other bad dice get out of the bag, but have to |
| dice were semi-liquid, but last time I checked all | | | | sit on the sidelines and WATCH the other dice |
| my dice were solid. Check yours now, just to be | | | | frolicking around. (That's really too cruel, I think. It |
| sure.On the other hand, "If you leave a d20 sitting | | | | reminds me of high school gym class, when I so |
| with the 20 facing up, it will get tired of being that | | | | often waited for the turn that never came. |
| way, and seldom roll any 20's." Hmmm. Besides, | | | | Sniffle. Sob. I'll be okay in a minute.)The worst |
| how can I tell which way all those dice jumbled up | | | | things I've ever heard of people doing to poor |
| in my dicebag are sitting all week between | | | | unsuspecting dice are, a) putting them in the toilet |
| games? Oh, such anxiety! I think I need a | | | | (not flushing though), b) ejecting them into the |
| transparent dicebag!Where to throw the dice: | | | | atmosphere with a slingshot, and c) taking a blow |
| Well, on the table is good... but not just any table. | | | | torch to them. (This latter, as a dice lover, I |
| Highly polished tables are bad luck... something to | | | | regard as outright murder. "Someone call the |
| do with mirrors reversing things, giving you the | | | | cops, an innocent die is dying!" The dice, in this |
| opposite of what you want I guess.But having the | | | | case, actually were innocent, and not "bad dice" at |
| dice roll off the table onto the floor is bad luck | | | | all. They were sacrificed to the gods of luck in |
| too. When playing Craps the next roll after that is | | | | order to bring good fortune to a newly created |
| sure to be a 7 (the least desirable number). Plus | | | | character.)Testing Dice: |
| you might lose the die, a) in the cat's dish, b) | | | | I'm not talking about Chi Squared tests here. |
| down the heating vent, c) amongst the collection | | | | That's for another article.I'm talking about testing |
| of cheesies, chip crumbs and dust-bunnies under | | | | the loyalty, balance and general luckiness of dice |
| the gaming table. Any bad luck associated with | | | | through such highly rigorous methods as "dice |
| the dice falling off the table can be remedied by | | | | stacking". During a lull in the game, stack up your |
| having the "Dealer", or the in our case the GM, | | | | dice on top of one another. If any fall off the |
| pick up the errant die and give it back to you. Of | | | | stack they are obviously not very loyal to you, |
| course, some GM's don't like to come out from | | | | making you look foolish like that... so don't use |
| behind the screen for anything... so if you keep | | | | them any more that night.If any fall off the stack |
| asking them to chase down your dice you just | | | | and land on really good numbers, well, that's |
| might find you luck gets a LOT worse all of a | | | | different. Maybe they are going out of their way |
| sudden "Why do all the monsters seem to be | | | | to prove how lucky they are, and you should give |
| going after me tonight?! Oh, would you pick up | | | | them another chance. Kindness counts, I figure. |
| my d6, again?"What (not) to say: | | | | (I'm not the murderous type, as you know.) Call |
| Never say "You need anything but a 1", because | | | | me soft, if you like, but I like my dice, and if I'm |
| that jinxes the roll. This goes along with the idea | | | | nice to them maybe theyll give me that natural |
| that while playing Craps no-one is to mention the | | | | 20 when I really need it!!Thanks to Maddman, |
| number 7. By mentioning undesirable numbers, | | | | Rogan, Voz, Ashtal, Kyle, SolomonGrundy, Jangling |
| you are summoning them. So, logically (if I may | | | | Jack, Dr A, Bregh, LurkMonkey, Bagpuss, Keith, |
| use that word in this context) calling out "Come | | | | Rob, Jason, Kim, Cor, and Lawrence for input for |
| on 20!" would be summoning a 20. Someone told | | | | this article.Brigid Skelton is an illustrator and writer, |
| me he always says "Hit! You bloody bastard!" | | | | and has helped to run the online store Advancing |
| while rolling to hit. (Apparently swigging beer | | | | Hordes Dice and Miniatures at since 2003. |
| before exclaiming this, is part of the | | | | Advancing Hordes specializes in unusual Polyhedral |
| charm.)Blessings: | | | | dice and fine miniatures from around the world. |
| The Hackmaster Player's Handbook has a great | | | | They carry dice with 3 to 100 sides, handmade |
| section in the back of the book on dice rituals et | | | | dice, stone and metal dice in a myriad of shapes |
| cetera. In it they outline a method of blessing a | | | | and sizes. |
| die by rubbing it on the signature of a famous | | | | |