One of the first things that struck me about this series of posts is the inappropriateness of the title. "A Die for All Sessions" -- already, this is a pretty bad pun; or at least uncomfortably reminiscent of an eye-roll-inducing library conference presentation title. (why do librarians consistently view puns as the ideal means of conceptual first contact for their ideas?) Also, the title sort of implies that there is an ideal die (or set of dice) that will somehow meet the gaming needs of any and all tabletop situations, a Renaissance dice set that can cover all the bases -- when what I actually intent to discuss at some length is just the opposite. I plan to talk about the extensive (and, arguably, unnecessary) thought and aesthetic deliberation that has gone into the various dice purchases I've made.
Anyway--
The Boxes
I keep my dice in two Husky 11-inch small parts organizers. I like these for a few reasons. Firstly, they have adjustable section dividers, allowing me to customize compartment size, should it be required. Also, with every section divider inserted into the box, the default compartment size is sufficient to store a standard polyhedral gaming dice set with a little bit of room left over for an additional die or two. In total, this provides three rows with five compartments in each, plus two larger compartments at the front of the box on either side of a recessed handle or grip -- basically, 15 dice sets and some extra storage space for non-traditional sets or other accoutrements.
I divide my dice sets between the two boxes based on the genre of RPG for which they will be used. One box is used for fantasy game dice; the other is used for horror and sci-fi games.
I started working with two smaller-sized boxes, but, after a short time, I maxed out their capacities. I like the 11-inch boxes because they can carry a large number of dice sets while still being of a size that will fit reasonably well into a messenger bag.
The Basics
There are a few generalities (or what some might call "peculiarities") that I have when assembling my dice. One is that I choose a polyhedral set specifically for each of the different RPGs that I play (or own the book(s) for and might play). There are a variety of reasons why I choose the sets that I do for each game, which I'll largely cover in detail in each of the subsequent entries in this series.
Another generality is that, after choosing the dice set for a particular game, I also choose a secondary set for the same game. You can think of this one as the runner-up in my deliberation process. For the most part, this other set simply acts as an alternate, should I decide one day that I'd rather use the backup. Sometimes there is a particular reason for switching to the alternate -- if the aesthetics of that set somehow match and reflect a motif that I know will be present in that session, etc. It's important to mention that I typically only feel the need to choose a secondary set for RPGs that use a polyhedral dice set. So, for example, any game that only uses a few d6's doesn't get a secondary set. I'm not exactly sure why I don't feel the need to do this with those games, but there it is nonetheless.
One other generality I have is that, for many of my primary dice sets, I add to the set a second d20, which I've hand-selected, but which is not the same color/style as the primary set itself. This alternate d20 will match the set in some way -- or at least in some way that makes sense to me. For some RPGs, the secondary set's d20 will function as the alternate d20 for the primary set. This will only work if I feel there is a particular symmetry or connection between the primary set and the secondary set.
I house the primary sets across the 5 compartments in the middle of the box, with each secondary set housed in the adjacent compartment just "below" it (the row that is closer to the front of the box, if viewed from above). The alternate d20's are housed in the same compartment as the sets they are used with. The "upper" row (the row closest to the rear of the box) is used for stowing non-polyhedral sets or other sets that aren't normally used (more on these later).
OK...so by now, good reader, you've probably had one of three reactions to all this. 1) You stood up from your seat and cheered with joy, recognizing a kindred soul with similar dice hang-ups. 2) You reached the third paragraph of this post, rolled your eyes, closed the browser tab, and turned your attention to something with more relevance, like the national news or the semifinals of the Great British Baking Show. 3) You finished reading the post, growing more concerned with each sentence, and have now contacted some psychological-crisis intervention agency on my behalf.
Regardless of your particular reaction, I do hope you'll be back again soon as I delve further into this particular rabbit hole! Future posts in this series will explore my dice collection in greater detail. You won't want to miss that.
No comments:
Post a Comment