Tabletop gamers know the struggle is real: spending hours finding the perfect set of dice down at the local game store is practically a rite of passage. They don't just have to look great, they also have to roll great!
Beyond even the interesting color combos you can find at the average brick and mortar retailer, there are some truly bizarre and amazing dice sets out there if you know where to look. Some will absolutely break your bank, but others are more affordable and make perfect gifts for the gamer in your life.
Here we're rounding up the best of the best in dice sets for gaming fanatics so you can battle orc hordes, keep your vampiric angst in check, stave off insanity when you see a flight of byakhee, or convince friend Computer that you aren't a mutant commie traitor.
Meteorite Dice
Price: $100
Rather than digging into the far past with buried bones of extinct creatures, these dice go the opposite route and give you something to roll from the very stars above! No joke, these are made from a meteorite discovered in the 50's.
Available in d6s and d20s of different sizes, they will set you back a pretty penny, but to literally roll something that was previously hurtling through space when playing Alternity or Traveller? That would be quite the experience.
Cthulhu Dice
Price: $19 - $28 (occasionally cheaper through some retailers)
Q-Workshop is another company known for its interesting themed dice, and they've got just about every setting or genre you can imagine expressed in dice form. My personal favorite are the range of Cthulhu dice, complete with Elder Sign in place of the highest number. You can even get them in a glow in the dark version!
Deadlands Dice
Price: $2 (single) or $13 (set)
Another Q-Workshop entry, these dice absolutely exude the feel of the Weird West and have a style you just won't find anywhere else. They're perfect for a game of Deadlands of course, but any Wild West setting would have its atmosphere greatly reinforced by rolling these across the table.
Jumbo Foam d20
Price: $10 - $12
You can find these in varying sizes through online retailers or at plenty of brick and mortar game shops. Although they seem like decorations, our gaming group actually pulls one of these out as a communal die for the zany hijinks of every Paranoia game where the dice rolls don't actually matter.
Thorn Dice
Price: $84
These pricey but beautiful little monstrosities aren't just for when your character is up to no good. They should be saved exclusively for when you are about to do something that will prompt the GM to force you to change alignment to chaotic evil.
Metal Steampunk Dice
Price: $32.59
Got an Iron Kingdoms, Victorinaia, or Tephra campaign coming up? This is the dice set you want to be using, with each silver die crafted around a cog or clock theme. They also just look cool and will jazz up your gaming space if you already have a Victorian or steampunk theme going.
Glow In The Dark Dice
Price: $13.50
Some tabletop RPGs should definitely be played in the dark, and a dice set that glows can help out with that tremendously! For your horror campaigns from Call Of Cthulhu to Vampire to Little Fears, ensuring everyone has a set of these can really boost up the atmosphere.
Do you have a special bag of dice you only use for certain games or situations, and will you be picking up any of these jaw-dropping sets we covered?
Let us know what you thought of our picks for the best gaming dice sets, and be sure to fill us in if we missed any outlandish polyhedral dice out there that the world needs to know about!
Published: Apr 13, 2016 02:09 pm