For the next two weeks, I will make daily posts where I’ll spotlight unusual or lesser known dice that I have in my collection that I hope are interesting for everyone to see and learn about. Each day I’ll cover a different theme, I hope you enjoy this series.
Random Rarities
Sometimes there’s just really random dice that one could consider rarities and that a lot of collectors never even knew existed. I would count most of these into that category. Not all of them fall into that category of ‘rare and sought after’, in fact a lot of them are probably ‘rare and actually fairly uninteresting’. 🙂
A set of one-off d20 colours that I can only assume were test designs. These use the old German acrylic mould (also used for King Cards Rainbow, Crystal Caste Satin/Ice Cream/Silk etc.) and some designs look familiar (Chessex Wild Purple, anyone?). The salmon coloured one on the right is very similar to King Cards Rainbow, except is has these subtle yellow swirls that the Rainbow dice don’t have. Definitely little rarity gems right here.
More rarities in colours that are likely design tests, also in the old German acrylic mould. I find the reddish-pink one front left particularly interesting since it seems to use a technique similar to that of the Crystal Caste Porcelain dice, only with shiny pink material as the base and a reddish-brown paint coating on the faces of the die.
A King Cards Rainbow d20 in the darker purple colour that I’ve only ever known to exist as a 16mm pipped d6. Looks like at least d20s were also made at one time.
Same goes for the orange colour of the King Cards Rainbow here in the front, which is also known to exist as 16mm pipped. (For comparison, the pink-teal and the neon pink variant in the back which were made as 6-die polysets decades ago.)
Two Crystal Caste Satin (or Würfelzeit Silkki or King Cards Tutti Frutti) d10s in a darker purple shade that also exists as 16mm pips. The more reddish polyset in the background is for comparison, which is the set that used to be readily available in retail stores. I’m not sure if shapes other than d10 and 16mm pipped exist in this darker purple colour.
Chessex Rainbow Garnet 22mm pipped d6 with an engraved logo of a German RPG publisher (Truant Games).
16mm wispy pips that are reminiscent of the Chessex Rainbow line (Garnet and Peridot), although the white swirls aren’t quite as pronounced as in most Chessex Rainbows, and the ink is gold. It’s unclear whether they are supposed to be Chessex Rainbow pips, but they are certainly very similar.
Chessex Nebula Blue d6 and d8 in the modern mould. This colour is definitely rare, and I daresay full sets even more so. I’ve never seen one.
Taiwan mould opaque orange d10 and d12. I really like that shade of orange and it’s not an opaque colour we see very often in that mould, at least not that I’m aware of.
Old German acrylic mould d10s in a design I’ve not seen before in these colours. Both dice are semi-translucent with a subtle pearly sheen swirl thing inside going on, reminiscent of the Chessex Leaf line.
A D&G Interferenz/Crystal Caste Otherworld crystal shaped d4 in orange – to my knowledge a colour that was not released as regular shaped polyset. Other crystal shapes in this colour exist, though.
A bit of a rarity: A 2×10 d20 in an old German acrylic mould. These also exist in other opaque and translucent colours, but you don’t see them very often.
Custom-made Discord d20 in the classic Discord colours, made by Desmond Blackstone for members of the Dice Discord back in 2021.
These are said to belong to a game from the 80’s or 90’s, but I haven’t been able to find out which one. These are 4×5 d20s and the 5 is always circled. Other colours of these may also exist.
Probably King Cards joker dice, like the d12s you see quite often with the crown symbol on the face of the 12, except these have a star. The translucent one is noteworthy since it uses translucent ink that gives it a really unique look. I’ve been told that this ink style used a different inking technique that is no longer utilised due to safety regulations.
In a similar vein, these are old astrology dice. While they look very similar to astrology dice you can still buy today (made in China), these were made in Germany and are no longer produced there.
A custom engraved Chessex Opaque Yellow w/black numbered d6 with custom spider-themed engravings. I got this one from a fellow collector and she got it from the Chessex booth at a con as part of their custom engraved dice. Kevin Cook also has version of these in opaque white, black, grey and red and Speckled Arctic Camo and Fire.
These are a concept test for a new kind of pipped die. These 16mm pips have a translucent clear base with white pips and the 1-face is a thin layer of metallic iridescent “oil slick” plating.
It’s a super interesting effect, especially the rainbow reflection inside the dice, but I can see why these haven’t made it into production: The transition from acrylic to plating layer isn’t very smooth, but who knows, maybe it’ll be refined in the future and we’ll see these made…