Casting Shadows

Like RPGs themselves, dice have developed a lot over the last 50 years. For #RPGaDAY2024, the 25th day of the 31 day challenge brings us a chance to talk about the dice we find appealing. While of course, dice are just one of the ways to inject some of the randomness and seeming randomness of the real world into our games, lifting the responsibility of fiat for a clattering moment, they are an exceedingly popular one which have only grown more accessible and varied over time. Not into dice? Prefer chits, cards, apps, the movement of woodlands creatures, or some other method? Gush about that instead today, or in a tactical move of certain brilliance, save that love letter for Day 28 or 29~

Like many gamers of my vintage, I have many different dice that I could write about today, such as my first dice (Armory/Gamescience ruby high-impact, gemstone), old dice that I love (Chessex, smoke), new dice that I love (thermochromic), themed dice (Star Wars!), specialty dice (words not numbers), and dice in unusual materials (kyanite). I have dice made from howlite mined from the earth near my place of birth, metal dice, and dice that could hold their own in a jewelry shop. There are even dice made by Legendary Pants!

Today, though, I thought it fitting to talk about a dice company that I think has put a lot of effort into making dice that take the function and visual style as seriously as Lou Zocchi’s laudable Gamescience dice while also considering the feel and overall satisfaction of gazing upon, holding, and rolling the dice. Which company is that, you ask and what dice do they make?

Zucati is the name, and such dice do they make~

No time to read? Check out this short and then come back to read…

The key points of the Zucati V series of dice, sold under the trade name Perfect Plastic, are that each die is the same size and heft of the others in the set, all the dice have large, readable numbers, and that the feel of the dice in the hand and their action on the table leads to a satisfactory rolling experience – regardless of the result you get. In my experience, that claim – as odd as it might seem – has been met by these dice and their well-proportioned, carefully edged, hard surfaced, and smoothly finished forms. It’s funny, but having each die be the same size has an effect on the experience.

Over the years, I have backed two Kickstarters for Zucati perfect plastic dice and been very satisfied with the results. I have also ordered from their shop. My good friend Ivan has also done so and reported deep satisfaction with his dice. He acted in time to get a can of whoop ass. If you are curious about the Holmage set pictured above, there is this video by Captcorajus to explore – including inking~

Readers who have a fondness for the old ways might appreciate the homage to the dice provided by the Holmes D&D boxed set that bring back the mixed color set concept which adds a touch of cheer and can help with learning and visual identification for newcomers – young and old. Others who have a touch of whimsey might enjoy the large foam dice or the tantalizingly precise metal dice on offer. I, however, find my dice desire met by the perfect plastic series – which – for those who care about such things, has historically offered options to get unpolished dice with sharp edges and inked or uninked numbers if you want maximum stopping power and the freedom to color in your own dice.

Of course, the dice aren’t just all the same size and made for a precise and fair roll result. They have some design flair as well. The D4 and D6 have planed edges which improve rolling while also allowing some interesting possibilities for how they wait in readiness for a roll.