My Dungeon Master Tool Kit Part 1 - Dice Box

I have been RPGing for decades. I love it. My big brother taught me how to play AD&D back in the 80s and I haven't stopped. Hiatuses, sure, but never really stopped.

More often than not, I'm Dungeon Mastering, Game Mastering, Castle Keepering, etc. I enjoy figuring out the "perfect" DM tool kit.  Back in the day, it was a quest for the most kick-ass Trapper Keeper, the sweetest dice bag, and the most thorough DM screen.  In the next handful of posts, I'll share my current tools of the trade.

Today, I'll focus on containers for that most treasured gaming commodity - DICE. 

Over the years (like a lot gamers) I have amassed quite a lot of dice. I love 'em. Never quite pleased with a humble dice bag, here is what I use at the moment and what I've used in the past.

Current Dice Repository:  Portable Dice Box of the Gods

• Love it. 
• It's not the most charming container, but damn is it functional and versatile.
• It holds a crap ton of dice.
• It's secure (I hate losing dice). 
• It lets me sort them (with rearrangeable sections). 
• I just need a way to bedazzle it somehow.
• A wooden version of this would be awesome.

Previous Solutions (in order from most recent)

Skull Shaver Travel Case

• Kind of a weird one, but I used a travel case that came with my Skull Shaver electric shaver.  (Yep - I'm bald as a cue ball). 
• I slapped a sticker from RedBubble on it to cover up the logo.
• It was large enough to hold all my dice and very secure, but it was tricky not to spill the dice when opening.

Two Layer Stack & Carry Case

Worked really well.

Nice and secure.

It was nice to have sort of an open bin of dice.

I also liked having the second layer for pens, dice, brass knuckles, etc.

      

Lots of Dice Bags

• Surprisingly never a Crown Royal bag.

All Hail the Kind of Dice Bags!

My Castles & Crusades House Rules: Part 6 - Miscellany & Weirdness

"Rolling the Cosmic Dice" by armieri

Here is a hodgepodge of various rules and weird things to wrap up these C&C house rules posts.

Dice Rolls

• Only dice rolled on the table count. If a die hits the floor, it will be re-rolled.
• Cocked die rolls are re-rolled.

Gnomish Healing Brandy

(originally posted here)

"Caizen the Redcap Hunter" by CrypticTijero

Rationale:  

• By the book, potions of cure light wounds (a.k.a. potions of healing) go for 300 gp a pop.  That is a bit pricey for low-level PCs, but I like how C&C keeps magic a bit rare and didn't want to mess with that.  Gnomish Healing Brandy was my answer; a good dose of healing for a reasonable cost, but with some side-effects.  It should be suitable for any D&D-style game.

Cost:

• 50 gp
• Note: price may vary by availability and how willing the gnome brewer is to sell to non-humans

Description:

• An amber liquor that smells richly of honey and blackberries. It tastes overly sweet, but it is light and easy going down the hatch. The brandy is usually bottled in a drinking gourd. The recipe is a closely guarded secret.

Effect:

• Heals 1d6 HP, but the character must make a constitution save (CL 0) or suffer -1 to hit and -1 to AC for 1d4 rounds due to the extreme buzz.
• A flask contains one dose and multiple doses can be taken (1 per round).  However, a save must be made for each dose and the effects are cumulative.
• For example, a character that took two doses would make a save for each dose and, if both saves failed, the character would suffer -2 to hit and -2 to AC.
• The CK may rule that failed saves result in other ill effects (e.g., troubling casting spells, penalties to dexterity or charisma checks, etc.)
• The character must be conscious or, at the least, at 0 HP to take a dose.

Carousing Mishaps

by Jeff Rients  (also available in Fight On! Issue #4)

• These tables are now ubiquitous, but you gotta love the original.
• Please see Jeff's blog for the details! - Party Like It's 999!

On Being Turned to Stone compliments of Jonathan Drain

• A character turned to stone can attempt to strike a heroic pose in order to make a better looking statue. If sold, his statue fetches 100 gp times the result of a Charisma check.

Dungeons and Dragons Dice Gauntlet

Behold and despair!

The Dungeons and Dragons Dice Gauntlet: DIY Tutorial

Helping a Dice Brother Out...

Brian from AwesomeDice.com just made me aware of his dice-themed blog and site, so I thought I'd share. If you're looking for dice, take a gander.  Looks like a good selection.

Update: Just to clarify, I'm not affiliated with AwesomeDice.com and didn't get any kind of kick-back for the plug. Just like to help out anyone trying to make a living in the gaming industry.

DiceCAM - Use your real dice for online play

I was browsing Kickstarter today and came across DiceCAM.

In short, you roll dice in the box, a camera in the box can read the dice rolls and, ta-da, no need for an online dice roller.

I don't play online myself, but I know that it's pretty popular, especially with ConstantCon going on.  I did have two players roll up their characters online for my in-person C&C campaign via an online dice roller and that just didn't feel the same.

Anyhow, just figured I'd give this thing a plug as it seemed pretty cool.

Garhelm – More Setting-Specific Rules

I’ve been digging through my old files (both paper and electronic) and have realized at some point I revised my initial rule-set.  Both of the Garhelm campaigns were played over four years ago (egad, time flies), so I’m not certain when certain rules were in effect.  I am fairly certain those in my first rules post were used consistently.  I’m not sure about the following ones, unless otherwise noted below.  In any event, here are a few more rules, again with annotation.

Detect Chaos/Evil/Good/Law

• The detect chaos/evil/good/law spell and similar spell-like abilities do not function in regard to sentient beings. What is evil to one may be not be evil to another. However, the spell does function for insentient entities, such as magic weapons or locations, because such effects are typically a function of magic.
• From a gaming standpoint, detect chaos/evil/good/law and similar spells and abilities often rob role-playing encounters of their worth. 
• [I believe this rule was used throughout both campaigns. I have never liked the problems that result from this spell. On one hand, it makes things easier: “If it’s evil, we kill it.” On the other hand, it makes things more complex:“Is it really a good action to kill an evilly aligned orc child?” or “Is it really a good action to harry any NPC in the bar that detects as evil?” 
• Given that I did not mention *protection* from chaos/evil/good/law spells in the rules, I likely let them work normally.  I might tweak that and let such spells work only for outsiders or other beings that are inherently tied to their alignment.  For example, a demon is in a sense Chaotic Evil incarnate, so it seems logical that wards against a demon should work.  A gnoll, on the other hand, is more of a natural being and not inherently evil from birth.
• Quite frankly, I’m ready to pitch alignment altogether.  It feels too forced and it seems players and DMs always find a rationale for a character’s/NPC’s action, regardless of his alignment. Polymythic Steve and I had an interesting IM chat a few weeks back about alignment.  One of these days I’ll get around to blogging about it, but it started from this question: “In a democracy, if you can detect evil, should evil people be allowed to vote?”]

Raise Dead [I had two versions of this rule, both are included below.]

• [Version 1] The raise dead spell is available, but has been modified.  A raised character does not lose a character level, but instead, as with previous editions, loses a point of Constitution.  If the character’s Constitution reaches zero, he cannot be raised.  The material component for raise dead is no longer a 1000 gp diamond. Instead, the caster must sacrifice a quantity of magic items relative to the strength of the character’s soul (i.e., his level).  There is not a hard and fast rule regarding the proper sacrificial amount.  The DM will use his discretion in such matter.
• [Version 2] The raise dead functions as described in the 3.5 Player’s Handbook except for the material component. Instead of a 5000 gp diamond, one or more willing participants much sacrifice some of their life force to restore the life of the recipient. In game terms, they must sacrifice a total of XPs equal to the minimum XP for the recipient’s former level (i.e., before the level loss of being raised). For example, to raise a 2^nd level character, four PCs would lose 500 XP each. Note: each participant must sacrifice an equal share. The caster can choose to participate in the sacrifice, but can only do so if the XP loss would not cause him to lose access to the raise dead spell.
• [At the time I believed players weren’t sufficiently penalized for PC death and I didn’t like the whole concept of buying back your dead. Version 1 also doubled as a handy way to ensure the party didn’t become overly loaded with magic loot.  I quite like the role-play concept of Version 2: the party giving of its own life to bring back the dead makes more sense (in a fantastical way) and is a much greater sacrifice than loot.  On the other hand, it sort of feels like that scene in Full Metal Jacket where the rest of the troop is punished for Private Pile’s actions (NSFW link).  I’ve come full circle on raise dead and now make it fairly easy for players to bring back the fallen (see my current house rules).  I’ve embraced the “game” part of “role-playing game” and don’t sweat it.]

PC Death

• If a PC dies and cannot be raised or resurrected, the player must roll a new PC. To ease matters for the gaming group (DM and players alike), the new PC will start at 2nd level. The PC will receive the standard HP for first level (i.e., maximum), but must roll his 2^nd level hit die in the DM’s presence. The PC will begin with the standard 1^st level starting money for his class.
• [I’m not sure what this was about because I can’t remember what level the PCs started at.]

Dice Rolling

• All die rolls that fall off the table must be re-rolled on the table. No exceptions.
• If a rolled die comes to rest without a discernable result (e.g., the die lands in a crack on the table, etc.), the die is to be re-rolled. No exceptions.
• [This might seem like overkill, but I include this in my house rules to this date.]

Action Points (from the d20 Modern SRD)

• [I don’t remember anyone actually using these points.  It seems like the players kept saving them for a rainy day that never happened. Again, although I originally had some house rule luck points in mind, I opted for what I now consider overly complex official rules. If I ever wanted something like this again, I’d just let the players earn luck points for good game play and let them use it to re-roll a die roll.]
• Characters gain a number of action points equal to 2 + one-half their character level, rounded down, at 1st level and every time they attain a new level.
• Action points provide characters with the means to affect game play in significant ways. A character can spend 1 action point to alter a single d20 roll used to make an attack, a skill check, an ability check, a level check, or a saving throw.
• When a character spends 1 action point to improve a d20 roll, add 1d6 to the d20 roll to help meet or exceed the target number. A character can declare the use of 1 action point to alter a d20 roll after the roll is made—but only before the DM reveals the result of that roll (whether the attack or check or saving throw suc­ceeded or failed) [I find this bit particularly lame. It turns into a game of How Well Can the Players Read the DM’s Reaction]. When possible, the player should state his intention to spend an action point before the die is rolled.  For example, “I may use an action point on this attack roll.”
• A character can’t use an action point on a skill check or ability check when he or she is taking 10 or taking 20.
• A character can only spend 1 action point in a round.
• Depending on the character level (see the table below), he or she may be able to roll more than one d6 when spending 1 action point. If the character does so, apply the highest result and disregard the other rolls.

Character Level	Action Point Dice Rolled
1st – 7th	1d6
8th – 14th	2d6
15th – 20th	3d6

A Day Trip to Origins 2010: Part 6 – Miscellaneous and Final Comments

• Origins offers free child care (with purchase of at least a full day ticket).  They had a whole room full of board games, a cardboard castle, and piles of LEGOS for the kiddos.  They also had volunteers that would teach and play any of the games with the kids while their parents were out and about.  I forget the age requirements, but I think Mayhem (nearly 3 years old) might be a bit young for it yet.  Chaos (a sagacious 6 years old) would be fine.  Expecting them to stay there the whole day would be a bit much, but I certainly could see them logging enough time me to get in a gaming event or two. 
• I saw the famous Lou Zocchi school some smart ass kids on dice.  Three young boys (early teens) were at his booth and picked up a d100 and were quite impressed until they saw that it cost $10.  In that oh-so-annoying-know-it-all-teenage-tone, one boy said to his friends, “I know a cheaper version. It’s called percentile dice.”  They all snickered.  The boys hadn’t even seemed to notice Lou sitting there.  They soon took notice as he went onto provide a lengthy reason for the cost, describing how the d100 was made, etc. (it sounded something akin to this: link).  He actually was friendly, but it was funny to see those boys' reactions.  They said nothing, but their faces said “Oh shit, we’ve  riled a beast.”  (On a side note, I found it odd that Game Science Dice had its own booth separate from this guy.)
• If I ever go to a large convention again, such as Origins or GenCon, I think I will reserve a whole day for the Exhibit Hall.  I had a great time and was able to really enjoy the hall without worrying about missing an event.  If you only have time for one day at a con, you might consider getting a cheap “entry only” day pass and just camping out in the Exhibit Hall.  It sort of felt like spending the day at a shopping mall, except it was awesome.
• Origins is too damn close for me to not be going to it each year.  I’m looking forward to next year.

Some Images to Go with Your "What Polyhedral Die Are You?" Results

Okay, I should have worked out some kind of kick-back deal with Dicepool.com, because every frickin' gamer blog out there participated in their "What Polyhedral Die Are You?" quiz after I posted it.  


(I'm sure the fact that Jeff Rients did the quiz had nothing to do with that.  I mean, who reads his blog? Oh yeah, everybody that owns a d20.)


Dave the Knave noticed some rather appropriate images by Lee Bretschneider on Flickr shortly thereafter (you can also find them at Lee's Adventuring Company site). Be forewarned, a few of his images are artistically NSFW.


Here I am in business attire:

I am a d4

According to DicePool.com, I'm a d4.  Who knew that d4s are such arseholes?  Not sure if this applies to me as a player, but as a DM... mayhaps.

You are a d4: You are bright, perceptive, and driven. You would be considered a blessing to mankind, if you didn't insist on using your powers for evil. You are devious, deceitful, doubtful, and downright dangerous. Assassins can learn a lot from you. If your fellow party members knew how rotten you were, they'd go over and join the bad guys. Justified or not, you are meticulous in your ways: A poison for every person, and a dagger for every back. Much of your day is spent scheming or plotting. The rest of your time is spent trying to convince others that you're simply misunderstood.

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

It’s a girl! Here is your pink d20.

So the days of the expectant father sitting in a smoke-filled lobby are long since gone.  Still, the tradition of handing out a cigar or some other token remains.  There are all kinds of crap for this now: candy cigars, personalized chocolate bars, etc.  Like anything else these days, a once informal gesture has been turned into a marketable “must.” 

Well, what does the proud gamer father give out?  Dice, of course.  Before my oldest daughter, Chaos, was born, I was pondering what to hand out and my wife suggested a die.  Brilliant.

Finding pink dice was a bit tricky and the d20s I handed out for Chaos’s birth were borderline purple.  For Mayhem’s birth, I found some nice pink ones at dicepool.com (and the price was reasonable, too).

My good friend and fellow gamer just welcomed his daughter into this world and, for the first time, I was on the receiving side.  It was a really cool feeling.  Now, I’m not delusional enough to believe that I was the first to do this, but I do think it’s a fun tradition.  My buddy handed out these pink d20s to gamers outside our immediate group and they loved it. 

Hopefully the idea will catch on and one of these days I’ll receive a blue d20 to go with the pink ones.