Zee Bashew: Everyone's Lying About Dice (Part 2)

I tried to explain in my last post that I both love and loathe the widely held concept of "dice training" and "dice personalities" and other sorts of dice-related myths. After all, I proclaim, these are just lifeless globs of plastic that -- in a perfect world -- would simply have some statistically consistent randomness to them. A twenty-sided die has a equal 5% chance of landing on any particular side every time and the rolls before and after do not affect the current role.

Well here comes Zee Bashew with another lesson about dice training, that I find both infuriating (because maybe he's serious?) and very, very funny (because he can't be serious).

Zee's whole channel is a fun one to check out, and I've been subscribed since I first stumbled on his Animated Spellbook series. If you are into narrative, you'll like the Cold Road Campaign Diary. Enjoy!

Everyone's Lying About Dice

This video makes me laugh, but also makes me angry at the same time. I've never bought into dice myths, loudly rejecting them when I hear them.

Dice Shaming

Sometimes, the dice fail you. Call it Murphy's Law if you'd like. You need an easy roll, as easy success and the moment comes and the dice lands on an unlikely low number. And your hero fails miserably in a way that strains credibility.

Shame on you dice, shame on you.

Decahedron (d10)

Decahedron (d10)
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net

He rolled a 5!

Another shot from the series I took of my old dice from Dungeons & Dragons. This one is the decahedron, the ten-sided die.

Extra-geeky geometry trivia: This is the only standard die used in role-playing games that is not a regular poyhedra—that is, not a Platonic solid.

If you make a set of dice consisting of the five Platonic solids, plus this decahedron, then you have a full set of gaming dice. (Of course, for practical use you'd probably want more than one of each, but still...)

Uploaded by www.DaveWard.net on 16 Jan 06, 6.31PM CDT.