Sometimes you see potential in something and it lets you down a little bit.
Name: Custom Geode Polyhedral dice for D&D and ttrpgs
Description: This is an expanded, larger than standard set of sharp edge resin dice. They are a smoky black/gray color with some internal areas carved out and filled with purple/pink glittery material. This gives the dice the appearance of small individual geodes. Instead of the standard set of 7 dice, this set includes 10 dice in the following configuration: (d4, d4, d6, d6, d8, d10, d%, d12, d20, d20). The two d4 dice are different. One is the crystal shape d4 and the other is a rectangular prism shape. The d12 is the rhombic shape. The numbers use what is commonly called a “Dwarven” font. The numbers are very angular with no curves on any of the numbers. The dice are inked in a purplish pink color. The 6 and 9 faces use small rhombus (diamond) shaped dots to indicate their orientation. The d8, d10, and d% are elongated and have edged waists. These dice are semi-custom and I was able to specify the color of the body (black/gray/white marbled), the internal geode glitter color (pinkish/purple) and font color (pink).
Size:
d20 #1: (Face->Face) 23.9mm (Point->Point) 29.4mm
d20 #2: (Face->Face) 23.8mm (Point->Point) 29.4mm
d20 #3: (Face->Face) 24.1mm (Point->Point) 29.6mm
Where did they come from: Etsy (Seller: GiftsFromTheLamp)
How much did they cost: $108 (incl. tax+shipping)
Material / color: Resin, black/gray/white, purple/pink glitter, pink/purple numbers
Quality: Pretty good
Readability: Very poor even from the table next to me
Value: Good value
Overall Rating: 7/10
Attempts needed to roll a natural 20:
d20 #1: 3 rolls
d20 #2: 2 rolls
d20 #3 (black/gray/white): 1 roll !!
Fifty d20 rolls (d20 #1): 17, 10, 20, 15, 16, 6, 7, 3, 20, 8, 15, 17, 12, 6, 17, 18, 1, 4, 4, 6, 8, 14, 12, 7, 7, 4, 14, 5, 8, 4, 11, 13, 8, 11, 4, 3, 16, 13, 6, 7, 19, 13, 8, 5, 2, 10, 11, 1, 6, 13
Mean: 9.7
Median: 8
Mode:
Fifty d20 rolls (d20 #2): 16, 4, 1, 14, 11, 3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 13, 12, 12, 4, 18, 12, 11, 17, 6, 16, 4, 10, 3, 16, 6, 20, 16, 11, 14, 17, 16, 2, 14, 15, 11, 6, 12, 20, 12, 16, 5, 19, 18, 16, 2, 4, 5, 16, 9, 1
Mean: 10.38
Median: 11.5
Mode: 16
Fifty d20 rolls (d20 #3): 3, 20, 16, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 11, 6, 1, 8, 9, 17, 11, 7, 6, 2, 19, 11, 9, 13, 4, 3, 10, 6, 20, 13, 10, 18, 6, 3, 3, 13, 14, 8, 15, 13, 1, 13, 11, 19, 20, 13, 15, 19, 7, 19, 10, 11
Mean: 10.48
Median: 10.5
Mode: 13
4d6 drop 1 stat block: 14, 12, 14, ,15, 11, 11 (77 total) A Confident Half-Elf Warlock from a local street gang who makes all minor decisions by flipping a coin
For reference: the Standard Array method totals to: 72 and the Point Buy method totals to: 69.
Casting Finger of Death: You send negative energy coursing through a creature that you can see within range, causing it searing pain. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. It takes 7d8+30 necrotic damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
On a failed save, the target takes: (27 + 30) 57 damage, or 28 damage on a successful save
(This is another excuse for rolling dice)
Random Tables rolls:
Encounters in an ancient crypt (level 5 DnD 5e): 84 – The adventurers come upon a large chamber filled with statues of ancient warriors, each wearing ornate armor and wielding a magical weapon. As the party enters the room, the statues begin to move, animated by powerful necromantic magic! The adventurers must battle these undead guardians in order to progress further into the crypt.
Memorable Goblins: 23 – Guillermo Espinoza, Marquis du Blancmont – This goblin is almost certainly insane, and seems to have read The Three Musketeers a few times too many. Tall boots with floppy tops. Brightly colored tabard. Rapier. Nice hat though, it has feathers.
(I’m getting these random tables at: https://d100tables.com by the way
Final Thoughts:
I bought some dice that said that they were “geode” design dice from URWizards recently (post #58 “Glow Worm”) but they didn’t look much like actual geodes. I wanted to find a set that did look more like geodes and found someone on Etsy that makes semi-custom dice that look much more like geodes. I say “semi-custom” because customers get to pick: the resin color, the internal glitter color, and the ink color. I wanted to pick a slightly different combination of dice (4d6, 1d4) but she said that wasn’t possible. The turn-around time was pretty reasonable – 3 weeks or so I think? The price for 11 dice (including a free extra non-matching d20) was very good so I gave them a try. I’ve certainly gambled on dice with worse odds of getting something good.
The upsides:
– Fast. I wasn’t left waiting around for months like I would be for dice from a Wyrmwood kickstarter campaign or something.
– Great price. $108 would be a good price for this set if they were off-the-shelf dice but for semi-custom where I get to decide the colors, $108 is a great price.
– Large size dice. ~24mm d20s is a fantastic size
– Many (not infinite) options for customization.
– Free extra d20 (the gray and white one). It’s nice and big too!
Downsides:
– Some finish issues (see the picture of the d6 above with the unfinished edge/vertex
– The dreaded Dwarven / Norse font with no curves. This wasn’t a secret but I should have paid more attention to the font when I was ordering. I don’t care for this font at all.
– The selection of dice that came in the set could be better. I’ve never needed multiple d4s but the set came with two. I’ve often needed multiple d6s but the set only came with two where I would have loved to get four.
– The d4 shapes were two of my least favorites. What can I say, I’m a pyramid/caltrop/foot dagger fan.
– The d8 and d10 shapes are very elongated and thin at the waists. I prefer shorter fatter shapes for these dice. I don’t think that these skinny dice roll as well. They settle too fast.
When I put in my order, I asked for pink for the ink color, thinking that it would be a nice medium or bright pink. I’d hoped for a Pepto Bismol or Barbie pink which would stand out on the darker sides and violet inclusions. I ended up getting a darker purple-pink which is very hard to read unfortunately. I’ll take this as my mistake for not being more specific with the shade of pink that I wanted. I can always re-ink them I guess. I wish there were ink color samples on her Etsy page for the item, or that she would have sent me a sample photo with the ink color before inking the set.
I am more annoyed at the rough edges that I found on some of the dice. I don’t expect boutique quality dice at below brick-and-mortar store prices but I do expect there to be smooth edges/vertices. I think the dicemaker just missed a few spots. Again, I can probably fix this myself if I get off of my butt and find some superfine sand paper.
I’m surprised that I was able to roll 20s on the three d20s in one, two, and three rolls. I don’t know what kind of witchcraft that is. It makes me instantly suspect the balance of the dice. I guess if I end up rolling too well in-game with them they’ll just get retired or given away or something.
Overall I like these dice but I think I could have picked better color combinations and the finish-work should have been a little bit better. I still think they’re a very good deal and I supported an individual dice maker instead of giving money to Amazon or some other China drop-shipper, so that’s nice. I hope business goes well for her, she’s offering a great deal with these dice.
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