Hi, this a shameless ad for the metal dice I've just made available on Shapeways (the 3D printing people). Now I know the subject is controversial, these table denting, window breaking objects of desire have divided a few gamers, but if rolled responsibly, can become the envy of all and you have to admit that vanquishing your enemies with a fist full of steel is hella-cool. Please take a look at the dice here.
Thanks for the compliment; the dice photographed are made in stainless steel. Because they are printed from digital models, they are very accurate and as such are completely flush and balanced on each side. They have a good weight to them also.
They are the default stainless steel. They infuse with bronze for strength which can give a slight golden tint. Scale wise, the D20 is about 2cm/0.7inch pretty much standard gaming dice size.
Those are truly awesome looking.
It would take some convincing for me to believe they are balanced properly though. What sort of evidence do you have that these will produce results as random as traditional dice?
These look great, although I'm not seeing a percentile d10 (i.e. 00, 10, 20 ... 90). While I suppose I could roll a single d10 twice, I greatly prefer the forthrightness of summing a tens die with a ones die.
Balancing… I start with a mathematically accurate polyhedron, I then take one side and craft the design into it, then copy it to all the other sides, so at this point each dice is balanced, then I add the numbers to the same position on each face and, because this is a digital model, I remove each side with its number in place and find out the volume, I then add extra volume to the inside of a face until opposing sides measure the same. But consider a standard die; nobody really questions the balance although you would expect it to be unbalanced due to the recesses created by the numbers being different sizes.
Percentile D10… I will do one soon. My reason for not doing one in the set was to keep the cost of a set down. It will be added as a standalone die for anyone wishing to add it to the set. Alternatively a separate D10 could be ordered in a different material, so both D10s could be rolled together once you nominate which is tens and which is units.
Thanks for the feedback, please spread the word. If these are successful I’ll design more dice.
eondesigner, Designing balance and achieving balance in the manufactured end result are two completely different things. Your design can be mathematically perfect, and still end up with printing issues causing the die to be out of balance.
Telling me it's designed to be balanced is not convincing. I would want to see empirical evidence that the balance has been achieved.
Daaaaaaaaang that is cool looking.
Eondesigner: I'll look forward to seeing a full 7-die set then. At $70 for 6, another $10-15 for the full set wouldn't be a deal-breaker compared to other niche dice. In fact, this is just the sort of thing that I'd add to a wishlist in time for Christmas. :)
AD: I'm not aware of any brand of polyhedral dice that is up to casino standards. The normal plastic ones that are put thru tumblers and the "precision" dice that you have to manually sand the sprue-marks off of certainly aren't. While I appreciate Eon's effort, can you link us to some that display the same degree of randomization you're demanding?
Laithorian, I have different quality standards for a set of $5 dice than I do for a set of $80 dice.
Adamantium Dagron: I do too, but then the Dwarven Metal dice weren't that much cheaper than these when I bought them. Still, sometimes Rule of Cool™ has to take precedence in the absence of a perfection that cannot be linked to...
Well, if I'm buying dice to put on my desk to look cool, I don't care if they roll randomly or not. But if I'm spending $80 on dice I expect to use, I expect them to be $80 worth of randomness.
And since I don't think I'd pay $80 for dice to sit on my desk, that leaves me with the expectation that they are $80 worth of randomness, regardless of "cool".
But that's just me.
It would be easy enough to test out the dice. Just roll them a couple hundred times and record the results, then examine them statistically.
Psha! That's never stopped people from believing that Paizo's dice roller is fueled by the malice of an evil god now has it? Or are you just looking to score a set to *ahem* 'beta test'? ;)
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Laithoron: As requested, I've provided a 00-90 percentile die. Haven't got a photo yet but it will look like the rest when printed.
Also, all dice in the set uploaded separately. These can be made in silver or brass using a different process which allows for greater detail, unfortunately these do cost quite a bit to manufacture (I only make a small amount from each sale).
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Have you looked into doing the other style of dice, the ones that don't make a D4 into a lethal caltrop? Like these but not all of them, just the d4s mostly.
Free to use perhaps, but the toll upon your immortal SOUL man!!! };D
Anyhoo, definitely putting these on ye olde Christmas list.
Nice!
I want a 3d printer. Not just dice but an endless supply of metal minis.
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These can be made in silver...
So you're saying I can have dice for gaming that can also be fired as sling bullets for killing werewolves?...I have only one response.
Have you looked into doing the other style of dice, the ones that don't make a D4 into a lethal caltrop?
I know what you mean, my 3D render of the D4 looks particularly dangerous but these dice are no more lethal than plastic (except to werewolves, some undead, windows and tables), and I can honestly say in all my 30 years table top gaming I’ve never sustained a dice related injury.
Also, I’m not a big fan of Crystal Caste dice, I think THIS is a more elegant solution.
They are very cool do you ship to the U.K
Sorry to busy looking at the dice should have read the small print
Looks like there going on my xmas list
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Have you looked into doing the other style of dice, the ones that don't make a D4 into a lethal caltrop?I know what you mean, my 3D render of the D4 looks particularly dangerous but these dice are no more lethal than plastic (except to werewolves, some undead, windows and tables), and I can honestly say in all my 30 years table top gaming I’ve never sustained a dice related injury.
Also, I’m not a big fan of Crystal Caste dice, I think THIS is a more elegant solution.
That's nice, I like the rounded d4, you should look into one of those...I am just not a big fan of the traditional pyramid d4 and look for alternates.
Truly beautiful, if I could order in plastic I'd get them.
Thanks, I had a set printed in Alumide (similar weight and feel to plastic) but they were too light and fragile to be effective as dice. I may do a solid version in the same design to be printed in plastic.
There’s a 4 day offer on at shapeways, so if anyone hasn’t ordered any dice yet or wants to add to the ones they have already, now’s a good time to do it. $15 off any order of $100 or more with the code ‘s1e5s’ at the checkout. This is probably the last offer before Christmas.
Stop posting things like this.
I'm going to spend the next while convincing myself I don't need these. I don't need these. I don't...
*hand creeps towards the mouse*
Hi gamers, due to popular demand my Celtic themed metal dice are now available in plastic, designed with a solid core to give them as much weight as possible.
Celtic Dice Set in plastic. Thanks for looking, Sim
I want that metal d20 so bad I can taste iron on my tongue. I'll need to save up for that bad boy though, or put it on my father's day list. :)