Here’s all the dice releated news from May that have caught my eye.
Disclaimer:
This newsletter is impartial, editorial content and is not aimed at commercially advertising products. I don’t receive any payment or free products for any content in this newsletter. Products mentioned here are things I personally find interesting and would like to keep the dice community informed about.
New from Chessex
Chessex announced in their latest Scoop Newsletter that they are now sold out of all of the Lab Dice wave 4 sets with the exception of uninked Nebula Copper Matrix and Nebula Supernova. If you’re still interested in purchasing any of the wave 4 Lab Dice, you better grab them from your store of choice while you can.
As a reminder, Lab Dice wave 4 consisted of Heavy Dice Orange, Heavy Dice Turquoise, Nebula Copper Matrix, Nebula Supernova, Gemini Clear-Pink and Gemini Black-White (w/pink).
About the next wave of Lab Dice, they said on May 7:
We have not forgotten about these. The pandemic has slowed down the development of new Lab Dice™ colors. We are as eager to develop these as you are to get your hands on them.
The Chessex 30mm pips will see a price increase from $2.95 to $3.95 USD, effective June 1, 2021.
New from Die Hard Dice
DHD advertised a new product a few days ago, that instantly sold out — the so-called LifeLink Counter.
These work in a way that you have a bridge in the middle and two LifeLink counter wheels that are magnetically attached on the left and right of the bridge. You can use the wheels to count up and down, for instance for keeping track of life points in your games.
You can mix and match the colours, but you need to purchase at least one base kit (at $29.95) and then you can buy further upgrade kits with just the wheels in other colours for $19.95 (two wheels in the same colour).
The metal is plated silver and the faces are actually gemstone inlay.
They are currently sold out, but DHD has said they have ordered more. You may be able to find them with other retailers that carry DHD dice.
New from Beholder’s Gaze
Scotland-based retailer Beholder’s Gaze relased a new set exclusive to them this month, called Genevieve.
These are clear resin with copper and silver leaf foil inside and colour shifting crushed glitter. You can either get them as a standard 7-piece set, an 8-piece set which includes a 30mm d20 or a limited amount of 30mm d20s on their own.
Even though the photos don’t show it, these have the Beholder’s Gaze logo on the 20-face of the d20s.
New from CozyGamer
I don’t follow the CozyGamer exclusives that closely, so I’m not a 100% sure these are new. These are listed in their webstore as newly added, including sets exclusive to them with their custom font and logo, a metal set, and d20 metal coins.
New from Bescon
Bescon seems to really like glow in the dark dice (and maybe we customers do, too). They recently released another two-colour set in a half-and-half design called Green Dawn.
These look ivory and anthracite in normal light, and the light coloured half glows green in the dark. They come inked in red with Bescon’s signature serif font.
New from Dice Envy
Dice Envy recently added a new product to their store — a 33mm d20 made from ebony wood, with a musical theme. The twist here is that the die has its own legend to read it, with whole notes counting as 8, half notes as 4, quarter notes as 2 and eighth notes as 1.
This chonky boy might not be for everyone, but a bard who likes a challenge might get a kick out of it. It will run you $30.00 if you wish to purchase it.
New from Haxtec
Haxtec is currently running a giveaway on Instagram where youc an win some of their new metal spiderweb dice. (Deadline June 3). More information can be found on their Instagram.
These new spiderweb dice can now be purchased in their webstore and on Amazon US, CA and UK.
Additionally, they recently teased new resin dice with a metal frame on their Facebook, some teaser photos are below. Looks like they’re also trying their hand at sharp-edged translucent dice with cut up mylar inside, but those don’t look much different than what you can already buy from many other retailers elsewhere, so I didn’t include photos.
New from Ice Cream Dice
Ice Cream Dice has a new dice set up for pre-order in their online store. This one is called Strawberry. The design is reminiscent of the out of the print Chessex Speckled Coral Reef set, with a milky red base and opaque red speckles.
New from Udixi
New from Udixi this month are gemstone dice with a celtic theme — pictured here rainbow obsidian and frosted dichroic glass.
Also new are patterned, two-colour metal dice.
Kickstarters
Scroll down for this month’s compilation of currently active dice Kickstarters.
The fact that I’m listing Kickstarters here doesn’t automatically mean I highly recommend them, or that they are trustworthy and legit. I try my best not to list anything that looks dodgy or that I couldn’t in good conscience recommend, but it’s always possible that a project looks great on paper but ends up not delivering what it promises. I may add my own commentary to the text if I’m not convinced about certain projects, but ultimately it’s at everyone’s own discretion whether they want to back any of these Kickstarters or not.
3Dice 2.O
This Kickstarter picks up where the previous one they ran left off, now with polyhedrals instead of just d6s. These dice have tiny 3D printed objects inside clear material, with black numbers on the dice. Each die will have a different object inside as per the chosen theme.
Available themes are Medieval (weapons used in the Middle Ages), Viruses and Bacteria (different viruses and bacteria shapes), Elements (fire, water, lightning, ice, etc.), Kings and Queens (regal symbols like crown, tiara, etc.), Cats, Dogs, Witches and Wizards, Emoji, Christmas, and American Presidents.
Price Point
- Full polyset (24h early bird – no longer available): £30
- Full polyset, limited VIP tier: £40 (only for first set you pick, every additional set £50)
- Full polyset, regular tier: £50
- 6x d6 set: £48
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Add-ons: 6x d6 set, several different RPG accessories like dice trays, dice bags, etc.
- End Date: 03 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3eKpQEs
Dragon Bound Hollow and Solid Metal Dice
These are actually Hymgho’s new metal designs, this time with a dragon theme. Some of them are hollow without logos, others are solid metal dice with dragon logos. Most of them are reminiscent of the Dice Hard Dice Dracona sets, and may well be an attempt to copy these, though of course it’s hard to say who came first, or if they were perhaps developed independently.
These are 20% larger than regular polyhedrals, and they are available in lots of different colourways, with potential new colours added as stretch goals.
Price Point
- Solid metal d20: $10
- Hollow plated brass d20: $20
- Solid metal 6d6: $25
- Hollow plated brass 6d6: $55
- Solid metal polyset: $39
- Hollow pure brass polyset: $74
- Hollow plated brass polyset: $79
- Hollow stainless steel polyset: $89
- Hollow aluminum polyset: $99
- Hollow pure copper polyset: $99
- Hollow sterling silver: $299
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Add-ons: Dragon themed dice tray, dragon guardian dice box, dragon dice guardian with mini metal dice, deluxe d2 coin
- Stretch Goals: For every $10,000 after the first they will unlock at least 2 new colors (not yet reached), all backers will recieve a free bonus deluxe d2 coin at $50,000 (not yet reached)
- End Date: 23 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3oOvJW6
Groovy Dice: Mid-Century Inspired Stone RPG Dice
This is Dice Dungeons’ second dice Kickstarter, after the successful sea glass one they ran recently. They now bring us stone dice inspired by retro designs of the 60s and 70s. As per the Kickstarter page, they are made from crushed turquoise, crushed stone, brilliant colored dyes, and stabilized with resin to create unique, exciting color palettes.
Three of the ten designs are currently unlocked with a curly custom font that was created specifically for this project. The photos make these look really bright and vivid, and I wonder if perhaps the colour saturation in the photos was dialed up a bit. To anyone backing this, I would recommend not having too high expectations that the actual dice will turn out exactly as vivid and colourful.
Price Point
- Two d20s: $35
- Full polyset: $75
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Stretch Goals: Additional colours (total of 10)
- End Date: 24 Jun 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3flBp6S
White Whale in Dice
Not exactly a new concept to put tiny animals in resin dice, and there are several similar ones already commercially available (e.g. dolphins, birds, ducks, koi, frogs, panda bears, dogs, …). However, these are specifically with beluga whales inside translucent blue dice.
The creator from the Netherlands wants to use the funds to invest in better equipment and supplies to hone their dice making skills and make new designs.
Price Point
- Single d20: 8€
- Full polyset early bird: 14€ (no longer available)
- Full polyset: 16€
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: 61% funded (on 30 May 2021)
- Stretch Goals as add-ons: vinyl sticker, metal box, enamel pin, 8d6 sets
- End Date: 26 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3yKOPRh
Uncle Lucky’s Discount Dice
This is an odd one, for sure, and the jokey tone of the Kickstarter text and somewhat flippant comments/responses of the creator had some people wonder whether it’s perhaps a scam or not. However, the creator is a member of the Dice Maniacs’ Club Facebook group and has responded there in a discussion thread, so I’m tentatively giving them the benefit of the doubt. Nevertheless, I would still recommend to proceed with caution if you’re considering to back this one.
Offered here are dice that are are said to have cut up garbage inside. Yes, you heard right. They claim they collected American-sourced refuse to fill half the volume of the dice, and use resin to round it out into polyhedral dice shapes. Most of the photos in the Kickstarter are renders (which they are upfront about), and there are two different design types (one translucent, one opaque). A bit puzzling is the price of the dice — $7.00 for a polyset that are said to be a 100% handmade by the creator and his wife.
Price Point
- Full polyset: $7
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Stretch Goals: Dice will be “extra shiny” at 5k, and several new colors with broken glass at 10k (none met so far)
- End Date: 14 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3brk3TK
3D Printed Hollow Dice
This is a Kickstarter for 3D printed hollow resin dice in a newly created design. What’s cool about these is that they don’t just offer a version with regular numbers but also a version with Braille. Please read the backer tiers carefully, as some of them only include the .stl files and no actual dice, so that if you want actual dice, you have to pay for printing of these on top (for which you get 30% off in the Kickstarter).
Price Point
- Hollow d6 with pips: $5
- Irregular hollow dice: $8
- Hollow d6 with pips, supported: $10
- Hollow dice: $35 ($28 early bird — all gone)
- Hollow dice with supports: $40 ($32 early bird — all gone)
- Irregular dice with support: $12
- Dice box: $16
- Dice box with supports: $20
- Dice box with tray: $21
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Stretch Goals: Square and circular boxes, irregular d2 and d3, square and circular boxes with built-in tray, irregular d100 and d1, lid designs for all boxes
- End Date: 31 May 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3gTBlfv
Dice Sculptor: Custom Designed Dice
Not your typical dice Kickstarter: What you get here sounds like every dice collector’s dream — a service where you can fully design your own bespoke dice set including visual preview that then gets made for you.
You can choose your own dice from a whole array of materials, designs, finishes, inclusions, fonts and inks. Dice Sculptor lets you create your fully customised dice with an online interface that gives you a visual preview of how the dice will look like, and the people of Dice Sculptor will then make them for you the way you want. The dice will also be available as digital versions for the Foundry VTT, though the Foundry module for this is still in development.
Admittedly, this sounds pretty awesome, but it comes with a price. The Kickstarter has been online for five days and has only raised a mere £2,000 of the £85,000 goal (not even 3%). The dice themselves are also expensive. The cheapest option (resin printed dice) are £110 (~$155) for a polyset, with up to £230 (~$335) for gold-plated dice. It would surprise me if this one got funded. The VIP package sounds fun, though!
Price Point
- Beta access to the online design interface (no physical reward): £5
- 5 digital dice sets for Foundry VTT (no physical reward): £20
- Single wood, metal or gemstone laser engraved d20 or 2d6 in custom design: £35
- Single resin cast d20 or 2d6 in custom design: £45
- Set of polyhedral dice masters: £85
- Set of polyhedral resin printed dice: £110
- Set of polyhedral wood, metal or gemstone laser engraved dice: £150
- Set of polyhedral resin cast dice: £185
- Set of gold-plated metal laser engraved dice: £230
- Deluxe VIP package (1 fully customised dice set with personal pickup and luxury weekend stay in London, UK, including one D&D 5e one-shot run for you): £7,500
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: 2.4% funded
- Add-ons: Digital dice sets, custom image upload, dice trays, dice vault
- Stretch Goals: 34mm d20s, Foundry VTT module for digital dice, glow in the dark colour, inverted d20 colour, liquid core dice, alternative design d4s, free d2 coin with every physical set
- End Date: 24 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3vjAbi1
Witches & Wizards Handmade Resin Dice
Yep, another Kickstarter for handmade sharp-edged resin dice. There’s too many of these, if you ask me, and you can buy these kinds of dice from so many handmakers all over Etsy and Facebook. Nevertheless, these look pretty nice.
They offer 9 different designs with logos on the d20s, and at $22 per polyset they claim to have the most affordable price for handmade dice on Kickstarter yet (Uncle Lucky will beg to differ).
A word of caution, however: The creators hope to raise enough money to help start a local game store with a dice production facility, and I’ve seen some discussions online where concerns were raised that the money from the Kickstarter will be used to open a game store instead of getting these dice made, so that backers could potentially never receive the product they funded.
It’s not entirely clear whether they plan to get these dice made through outsourced production facilities overseas, or if they aim to handmake the dice for the Kickstarter themselves and then use potential extra funds to invest in expanding their dice making capabilities. In a Reddit comment they mentioned they had already secured the funds to relocate to a new city and make the dice before the Kickstarter even funded, and they now plan to use 100% of the Kickstarter money to open the local game store. Make of that what you wish.
Price Point
- Single d20: $12
- Full polyset: $22 ($19 early bird — all gone)
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: Fully funded
- Stretch Goals: 3 more designs, 1 of which is unlocked
- End Date: 25 June 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/3fQbLGp
PRIMUS Sharp Edge Dice
Hey look, more sharp-edged handcrafted resin dice. These might look somewhat similar to the previously showcased Witches & Wizards dice, but the designs are different, and they have a different logo. The creators mention working with a manufacturer, so these are not handmade by the creators themselves. Overall, I don’t see anything here that’s very unique, compared to what’s out there on the market already.
Price Point
- Full polyset: $35
- Included in some of the higher tiers: healing potion dice kit, extra d20, handmade dice vault
Kickstarter Specs
- Funding Status: 6.3% (on 30 May 2021)
- Stretch Goals: none
- End Date: 10 July 2021
- URL: http://kck.st/34idbnB