I recently created a dice rolling tower using Hirst Arts blocks. I have been thinking about doing this for a long time, but I finally decided to do so because I had run out of table space as a GM and had started "rolling dice" on the computer, but my players said they missed the sound of dice rolling. So I figured a dice rolling tower was the best way to provide the dice rolling experience without constantly knocking stuff over, chasing dice across the floor, or shuffling things around to make space to roll dice on the table.
I haven't yet used the tower in a game, I just created it this weekend, and our next session isn't until next week. But I'll use it then and I expect it will be well received by my players. But the process has made me wonder some things and I'd like to hear from other gamers about their own opinions on dice towers. So I have some questions, some of which have follow up questions. I hope people will take the time to respond. :)
General questions:
1. Do you own a dice tower?
2. If the answer to #1 is "yes", then do you USE the dice tower you own?
3. If the answer to #2 is "yes", then do you use the tower in some situations, but not in others. Specifically, do you use it as a GM, but not as a player, or vice versa?
4. If the answer to #1 is "no", then do you sometimes wish you did have a dice tower?
Questions for dice tower owners:
1. What kind of dice tower do you own?
a) Commercially purchased tower that cost over $30
b) Commercially purchased tower that cost less than $30
c) Tower you built yourself, and are proud to say is as good as any commercial product
d) Tower you built yourself that works fine, but isn't anything to brag about
e) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that is as good as any commercial product
f) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that works, but isn't anything to brag about
2. How often do you use the dice tower? (e.g. do you only use it at home, or do you haul it to any game you play?)
3. Do your game partners find the dice tower to be a generally positive thing, or a generally negative thing?
4. If the answer to #3 is "generally negative" why is that? Is it due to table turf issues? Noise? Jealousy?
5. Has using the dice tower substantially improved your game experience (no longer hunting dice under furniture, knocking over minis, etc)?
6. Have you used your dice tower for dice rolling purposes other than RPG gaming?
7. Does your dice tower perform other functions? (e.g. does it have an initiative order tracker on it, or does it serve as an organizer of miniatures or other game materials?
8. If you lost your dice tower, would you feel a need to immediately replace it?
9. Have other gamers expressed a desire to purchase/build a dice tower based on watching your use of one?
Questions for non-owners of dice towers who would like to have one:
1. What is the main thing you think a dice tower will do for your gaming?
2. Is the aesthetic appeal of a dice tower important to you?
3. How important is weight, size and shape to you? Would adding a dice tower to your portable game accoutrements be "too much"?
4. How much would you be willing to pay for a dice tower, assuming it was high quality and aesthetically pleasing?
Questions for non-owners of dice towers who have no desire to have one:
1. Does the use of a dice tower in a game by another player or GM annoy you?
2. Have you ever used a dice tower for any length of time?
3. Would you use a dice tower if one was given to you as a gift?
4. Would a dice tower that provides other functions (initiative tracker, miniatures pending tray, pen/pencil or note holder) be more or less appealing?
5. Are you reading this and thinking "what the heck is a dice tower?"
Thanks in advance for any and all replies.
1. Do you own a dice tower?
Yes
2. If the answer to #1 is "yes", then do you USE the dice tower you own?
No
3. If the answer to #2 is "yes", then do you use the tower in some situations, but not in others. Specifically, do you use it as a GM, but not as a player, or vice versa?
NA
4. If the answer to #1 is "no", then do you sometimes wish you did have a dice tower?
NA
Explanation: I purchased a dice tower to lend to a friend. In our usual game group, some people sit at chairs at the table while others lounge on couches. After too many instances of waiting while this person rolls a die onto his held book or box and having it escape into the couch to be laboriously retrieved and re-rolled, I've semi-permanently lent him my dice tower.
Questions for dice tower owners:
1. What kind of dice tower do you own?
a) Commercially purchased tower that cost over $30
b) Commercially purchased tower that cost less than $30
c) Tower you built yourself, and are proud to say is as good as any commercial product
d) Tower you built yourself that works fine, but isn't anything to brag about
e) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that is as good as any commercial product
f) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that works, but isn't anything to brag about
a) I purchased several different ones at GenCon, but liked this one the best. It's laser-cut wood. I bought it from the sellers of fancy-font dice. I believe they're from one of the Baltic countries or perhaps Poland. (Edit: I believe the vendor was Q-Workshop. The base cost was <$30, but I purchased felt and material for a base seperately from Michael's thus adding to the cost.) (Edit2: This is it)
2. How often do you use the dice tower ? (e.g. do you only use it at home, or do you haul it to any game you play?)
It stays at the gm's house in the closet of the room where we play.
3. Do your game partners find the dice tower to be a generally positive thing, or a generally negative thing?
It avoids the "Make a Save" <roll, roll, curse> "What did you get ?" "I don't know, the die went in the couch"
4. If the answer to #3 is "generally negative" why is that? Is it due to table turf issues? Noise? Jealousy?
NA : Noise was always my problem with the cheap plastic ones. Felt-lined substantial wooden ones are much better, but pricier. Table real estate has only been an issue at me in crowded PFS venues.
5. Has using the dice tower substantially improved your game experience (no longer hunting dice under furniture, knocking over minis, etc)?
Knocking over minis was never a big deal. I use oversize dice because of my poor eyesight, so few dice towers are big enough for me.
6. Have you used your dice tower for dice rolling purposes other than RPG gaming?
Towers, no. Dice Cups, yes.
7. Does your dice tower perform other functions? (e.g. does it have an initiative order tracker on it, or does it serve as an organizer of miniatures or other game materials?
No
8. If you lost your dice tower, would you feel a need to immediately replace it?
No, I'd probably wait until next GenCon, so I can see a variety in person before choosing.
9. Have other gamers expressed a desire to purchase/build a dice tower based on watching your use of one?
No.
Questions for non-owners of dice towers who would like to have one:
All NA
Questions for non-owners of dice towers who have no desire to have one:
All NA
I am highly confused. You're running out of room on the table so you add another object?
I don't have one personally but one of my players does, and that's pretty much what it is; more stuff on the table.
Anguish, it's really not that difficult to understand.
Rolling dice takes up space on the table. A dice tower takes up space on the table. The very existence of dice towers is a reaction to the need to control dice rolling because of things like table space issues.
The expectation is that the space a dice tower takes up is less than you use up just rolling dice, and therefore using a dice tower GAINS table space.
The alternative is that you are rolling dice on top of other stuff on the table, which creates its own issues. And if the dice tower performs double or triple duty providing other functions than just rolling dice, then that helps too.
See? Not that hard, really.
General questions:
1. Do you own a dice tower?
No, but I will answer as if I do. I do own and use a dice tray which serves many if not all of the same functions.
4. If the answer to #1 is "no", then do you sometimes wish you did have a dice tower?
No, I don't much care for things which block my view across the table, vertically tall stuff tends to make it more difficult for me to see and manipulate the battlemap and see my players. For this reason I have stopped using a DM screen as well.
Questions for dice tower owners:
1. What kind of dice tower do you own?
a) Commercially purchased tower that cost over $30
I have a 12" octagon made of hardwood. It is about 2 inches tall and the middle is a felted card playing surface (think poker table or pool table).
2. How often do you use the dice tower? (e.g. do you only use it at home, or do you haul it to any game you play?)
Every game at home, and about 90% of my rolls actually get made in it. Sometimes I need to conceal a roll so it gets made off to the side. Sometimes I pick it up and hold it out of view. I used to take it with me to games outside my house but it has gotten older and in my reckless youth somewhat damaged. It stays home now for its own safety.
3. Do your game partners find the dice tower to be a generally positive thing, or a generally negative thing?
Players at my game probably don't care either way. When I used to take it with me to play in other games a few times the GM would ask me to roll on the table so he could see it more clearly.
5. Has using the dice tower substantially improved your game experience (no longer hunting dice under furniture, knocking over minis, etc)?
Yes, but in a way only appreciable to me.
6. Have you used your dice tower for dice rolling purposes other than RPG gaming?
Yahtzee!
7. Does your dice tower perform other functions? (e.g. does it have an initiative order tracker on it, or does it serve as an organizer of miniatures or other game materials?
Yes. It catches all sorts of junk. Not limited to but including glass beads, markers, minis, Cheetos, and at the moment a Phillips screwdriver (?!).
8. If you lost your dice tower, would you feel a need to immediately replace it?
Quickly but not immediately.
9. Have other gamers expressed a desire to purchase/build a dice tower based on watching your use of one?
No
Thanks in advance for any and all replies.
No Problem.
Well, based on the lack of responses to this thread I will have to assume that dice towers are uncommon accoutrements at best, and are probably pretty rare. Which is surprising considering the number of dice towers I found on my google searching.
I guess I won't make those towers for my gamer partners this holiday season after all. :)
General questions:
1. Do you own a dice tower?
No
4. If the answer to #1 is "no", then do you sometimes wish you did have a dice tower?
Not really, no.
1. Does the use of a dice tower in a game by another player or GM annoy you?
It depends on the player. If they are relatively quick in totaling their dice, then no, it's fine. If they are slow with math, then yes, it annoys me because it obstructs my view of their dice and prevents me from adding for them faster.
2. Have you ever used a dice tower for any length of time?
I used one a couple of times once. It was a pretty neutral experience. I think it felt slower than normal rolling, which would be a negative for me, but then, I can't say that was simply due to not being used to the process. If I got used to using one, I bet it'd be the same speed.
3. Would you use a dice tower if one was given to you as a gift?
In front of the guy that gave it to me, absolutely. Otherwise, I don't know, maybe? If I thought it looked awesome, I'd use it to show off. If it was just "eh" or neutral or something, then I'd probably leave it at home because I have zero trouble with table space, but I bet it'd be unnecessarily bulky in my messenger bag.
4. Would a dice tower that provides other functions (initiative tracker, miniatures pending tray, pen/pencil or note holder) be more or less appealing?
It depends. I think the single greatest factor in determining if I'd use one or not would be aesthetic--if I thought it was exceptionally cool looking, I would use it to show off (the second greatest factor is bulk). I have no trouble tracking initiative mentally, I hate minis, and I constantly play with my pencil. In other words, the functions you mentioned would not draw me in, but it's possible that some feature I'm not thinking of might be intriguing enough to be worth it.
5. Are you reading this and thinking "what the heck is a dice tower?"
No, I got one for a friend, actually. She rolled much too well in Savage Worlds, and it was getting frustrating. I know she wasn't cheating on purpose, but I suspected the way she kept her dice (all with the highest face up) and the method she used to roll them combined to create the issue. You know, like maybe she always happened to roll the dice the same amount in her hand that resulted most often in the number it was on when she picked them up--something like that.
She's a Doctor Who freak, so, I got her a TARDIS dice tower, thinking it would randomize the rolls more. However, within a few minutes, I realized it wasn't her, it was the dice themselves that were unbalanced. Oh well. She loves it, so whatev.
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I used to take it with me to games outside my house but it has gotten older and in my reckless youth somewhat damaged. It stays home now for its own safety.
o_0?
Visions of 'Hangover' style shenanigans.
Being used as an improvised weapon, in a bar fight.
Or bitten, during an attempt to steal Mike Tyson's tiger.
Anguish, it's really not that difficult to understand.
Rolling dice takes up space on the table. A dice tower takes up space on the table. The very existence of dice towers is a reaction to the need to control dice rolling because of things like table space issues.
The expectation is that the space a dice tower takes up is less than you use up just rolling dice, and therefore using a dice tower GAINS table space.
The alternative is that you are rolling dice on top of other stuff on the table, which creates its own issues. And if the dice tower performs double or triple duty providing other functions than just rolling dice, then that helps too.
See? Not that hard, really.
Strongly disagree.
You can roll on top of your character sheet. You can roll on top of a book. You can roll pretty much anywhere that isn't covered by a miniature or prop. A dice tower either sits on top of those things in which case it isn't needed, or it sits somewhere else in which case it's taking up more room.
In my table experience the dice tower takes up more room. Alternately it keeps getting futzed with, put on the floor, picked back up when it's rolling time. Either way it's in the way.
You asked for experience, you got it. Now maybe your players are less coordinated than mine are (years of knocking stuff over has taught them to not act like baseball pitchers when rolling), but we've got no issues with rolling on other horizontal surfaces.
Oh, I should mention that I also don't use a DM screen. Again, less stuff on the table. I roll out in the open.
Anguish, thanks for sharing your perspective. My issue with your first comment is that you suggested that the purpose of a dice tower was incomprehensible. This message indicates that you obviously understand the rationale, you simply disagree with it. If you had simply said that to begin with, I wouldn't have challenged your comment.
You may be right. I may end up agreeing that overall the dice tower adds nothing to the process of rolling dice, takes up more space than it's worth and creates just one more obstruction to viewing the game.
I'll test it out Thursday night and let folks know.
I will say that I think it's a pretty cool looking dice tower, so from a pure aesthetics perspective, it adds to the overall ambiance.
I had never heard of a dice tower five minutes ago, nor seen one. The tower in the photo looks pretty cool but I would consider it a novelty that I would get bored with. I roll on the table in front of me and haven't had a die fall on the floor in at least a year. We play on a Sultan gaming table that has dice rolling compartments too, so a couple if the other players sometimes use those.
Stonewall, yeah, I more or less held that opinion of dice towers too until my players started complaining about me rolling dice on the computer where they can't see or even hear them.
I am contemplating having the dice tower not be on the table, but be on a small stand I have to my right where I keep things like my drink bottle and potentially needed minis or terrain. That would mean turning slightly to the side for every die roll though.
So far the group's comments from seeing the photo on my blog have been very positive. We'll see how it works in action.
I used to take it with me to games outside my house but it has gotten older and in my reckless youth somewhat damaged. It stays home now for its own safety.o_0?
Visions of 'Hangover' style shenanigans.
Being used as an improvised weapon, in a bar fight.
Or bitten, during an attempt to steal Mike Tyson's tiger.
I can neither confirm nor deny these allegations. Neither can I confirm nor deny that I forgot what happened.
I have to admit, I was a little confused by the idea that dice towers were designed to save space.
I have always assumed (and still do) that they are actually there for randomization--they are more random than rolling. They keep everyone honest. You can't trick the tower in any way to manipulate the rolls. That's the main purpose.
mpl, I suppose it depends on how you roll dice. I tend to toss them high and hard enough to feel like I have assurance of proper randomization. That means they need a bit of room to land, and I need a bit of room to throw. Plus that means they sometimes end up skittering off of stuff and scattering around the table. They also tend to end up cocked when they lean up against a random stuff on the table, which requires a re-roll. And I've had to chase my share of dice under the furniture.
Our other GM uses a much less vigorous dice rolling technique, which I think is due to years of rolling in tight, tiny spaces. I have always felt his rolling was not suitably random for me. Even so his dice bounce off stuff, end up cocked and rerolled or knock over minis with some regularity too.
I would find it difficult to roll dice into an area as small as my dice tower and convince myself that the dice ended up reasonably random.
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Dice towers are nice and I would appreciate one as a gift. I roll dice hardly ever anymore since I GM exclusively from my laptop. A dice tower might make me roll more often. However, construction of them is important. One player I shared a table with a few times had a tower made of plastic. It was like nails on chalk board loud and distracting. That was one annoying aspect of dozens from this guy so for awhile dice towers got an unfair shake from me. As long as the tower is not a horrendous event every time it is used its a real big plus.
Pan, yes, when I searched google and saw those cheap wooden or plastic dice rollers, my immediate reaction was "OMG! That would sound like tossing a drum set down the stairs!"
My tower is made of hydrostone (a sort of super-hard plaster) and the internal ramps are made of foam board coated with varnish. The bottom is covered with foam sheeting. It's pretty quiet, but loud enough you know dice are being rolled.
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Pan, yes, when I searched google and saw those cheap wooden or plastic dice rollers, my immediate reaction was "OMG! That would sound like tossing a drum set down the stairs!"
My tower is made of hydrostone (a sort of super-hard plaster) and the internal ramps are made of foam board coated with varnish. The bottom is covered with foam sheeting. It's pretty quiet, but loud enough you know dice are being rolled.
Sounds perfect! When are you opening shop?
Heh... making one of these towers from scratch is a significant effort. The molds I used for casting the blocks cost over $30 each, and the materials cost (hydrostone, styrofoam, foam sheet and paint) is probably pushing $4 or $5. Then there's the labor for casting the blocks and then assembling everything. So if I were inclined to sell then, I'd probably have to look for $40 at least to even make it worth the effort.
If I were to want to make them in any significant numbers, I'd probably make a custom set of molds to be able to cast what I need as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then to assemble them easily. But that would mean over $100 in mold material alone.
Could be done, but based on the responses in this thread, there's probably not a big enough market to make it worth the effort.
General
1. Yes.
2. Not anymore.
3. No, I stopped using it.
4. -
Owners
1. e/f (I like it and think it looks great, but others may not.)
2. I used it a bit when it was first gifted to me, but I don't use it anymore.
3. They don't/didn't care either way.
4. From my own perspective: it's a larger tower, so it can block people's view, get in the way, and so on like a mini version of a GM's screen. I miss rolling the dice in my hands. Being a larger and non-collapsible tower, it's harder to bring it anywhere.
5. No.
6. No.
7. No.
8. No. In fact, I don't know where it is right now, which is unfortunate since it was a gift.
9. No.
If I were to use a "dice control" accessory regularly I'd probably pick a dice tray. I have one which I also don't use (it's large on the table and in the backpack) but I like shaking and throwing my own dice and dice towers take that away. Also, dice trays are short(er) and aren't going to block the map or get knocked over by accident.
(Edit) In general, I'd be more likely to use a dice control accessory if I was hosting gaming sessions or if I could leave it at the location where the games were happening. Right now I'm not hosting anything.
(Edit) Responses to the thread:
On dice tower commonality: Nobody uses them in my current home games. I've only seen one at random PFS tables. I haven't seen them at other convention events, but I've seen them set up in the dealer's rooms (both for sale and to keep things contained for demo games).
On space: At my current home games, I roll my dice on the table itself; I keep an empty spot for it in front of me and we have enough room. At PFS/stores/conventions it depends on the space available, but I try to keep enough room for a dice rolling spot.
On noise: The ones I have heard aren't all that much noisier than rolling on a table. The one I have is quieter, but it's made from thick paperboard, not plastic. If you're used to rolling on papers or maps then I can see how it might bother you, but if you've heard a plastic dice cup from Yahtzee a few times then you're not going to be bothered by them. :)
Good luck with your project!
I've actually started wondering if I should have made a dice tray instead of a tower. I might give that a try if I end up not liking the tower.
Just fiddling around with it, I've enjoyed the feel and aesthetics of it so far.
Looking at the tower, I have a few thoughts.
It doesn't look the tower is tall enough to bounce three times, I believe that is how many you'd like to have to get really random.
The dice tray at the bottom doesn't look very big, 2d20 takes up about 1/3 of it from the looks of it. You'll have a problem rolling 10d6 in it.
It does look nice, so even if you ultimately decide to not use it as a dice tower, you could probably still use it for terrain. Maybe a pool next to a wall, it would work for that (I think there was something in Second Darkness that it would have worked for).
pres man, yes, I actually screwed up the dice collection area. My dry fit had another piece in it and I didn't realize I had skipped a piece until I'd already glued it together. Still I mostly don't roll ten dice very often and it handles six or seven dice OK. If I make another one I'll make the dice collection area bigger.
UPDATE: So I just tested it about a dozen times with ten d6. It actually worked OK. Once I got a die stacked on top of another die, but otherwise they filled up the dice collection area, but they all fit and none of them were cocked.
I think 10d6 is about the limit though.
To answer your questions;
- I do own a dice tower.
- I only use it in very specific situations; namely, when 5 or more dice need to drop at once. I find I'm happy with the randomization of my out-of-hand rolling method, the tower is there more as a scatter prevention tool.
-The tower I own is one that I have constructed myself. I'm not sure where I downloaded the plans from, but a google search turns up similar plans to the one I have. I built it out of foamcore and polystyrene glue. The plans I own were just for the tower and didn't include a tray, so I had to add that in. Afterwards, I sprayed it with a textured paint so it had a grey rocky texture. It's not ultra pretty, but it looks better than those clear plastic ones you can buy. Being foamcore, it also has the advantages of being lightweight and it absorbs a lot of the sound.
-Gaming partners generally find the use of the tower to be exciting; not necessarily positive or negative. Because I only use it when I'm throwing a handful of dice, it's usually a big deal when it hits the table (regardless of if I'm a PC or GM.)
-Using the tower has improved my gaming experiences, but I'm not sure if it has made a bigger impact than what a tray would have made. Possibly, in the future if I encountered a player who had questionable rolling practices, I might be inclined to mandate their use of the tower to promote better randomization.
-The dice tower works well in all situations where you need to roll handfuls of dice. Warhammer and Axis & Allies come to mind immediately.
-My tower does not perform any other duties than what it was intended for. I suppose it could have been constructed with other duties in mind; however, I think that it would start to get too large and unwieldy if designed to multitask.
-If I lost my dice tower, I would construct a replacement.
-Other gamers have expressed the desire to own a dice tower after seeing mine in use. Usually, when somebody else mentions this, it sparks a discussion about the merits of towers vs. trays.
**I saw the pictures of your tower; it is very pretty. The only thing I would suggest is to make the collection tray at the bottom bigger.
Something to consider: everyone puts a different value on aesthetics. There's tons of different towers made of many different materials. Yours looks much nicer than mine does; you probably also put a lot more work/cost into it. And that's fine; everyone is different. I think what I'm trying to suggest to people is this: if you're looking into dice towers and think they're neat but not 100% sure, build yourself a simple one and see if it actually sees table use. If it does, great; you may want to invest in a higher quality, more artistic model. If it doesn't, also great; you didn't sink a bunch of unnecessary time/money into something.
I recently created a dice rolling tower using Hirst Arts blocks. I have been thinking about doing this for a long time, but I finally decided to do so because I had run out of table space as a GM and had started "rolling dice" on the computer, but my players said they missed the sound of dice rolling. So I figured a dice rolling tower was the best way to provide the dice rolling experience without constantly knocking stuff over, chasing dice across the floor, or shuffling things around to make space to roll dice on the table.
I haven't yet used the tower in a game, I just created it this weekend, and our next session isn't until next week. But I'll use it then and I expect it will be well received by my players. But the process has made me wonder some things and I'd like to hear from other gamers about their own opinions on dice towers. So I have some questions, some of which have follow up questions. I hope people will take the time to respond. :)
1. Do you own a dice tower?
Not exactly. Back in '97 I bought a set of plastic stacking bowls. They were 1.25" deep, 5" diameter, with sides that went strait up. I added felt cutouts to line the bowls.2. If the answer to #1 is "yes", then do you USE the dice tower you own?
Only for a few sessions. They were too noisy.
3. If the answer to #2 is "yes", then do you use the tower in some situations, but not in others. Specifically, do you use it as a GM, but not as a player, or vice versa?
Everyone had 'em, but they don't anymore.
4. If the answer to #1 is "no", then do you sometimes wish you did have a dice tower?
N/A
Questions for dice tower owners:
1. What kind of dice tower do you own?
a) Commercially purchased tower that cost over $30
b) Commercially purchased tower that cost less than $30
c) Tower you built yourself, and are proud to say is as good as any commercial product
d) Tower you built yourself that works fine, but isn't anything to brag about
e) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that is as good as any commercial product
f) Tower a friend or game buddy built for you that works, but isn't anything to brag about
D. see above. :-)
2. How often do you use the dice tower? (e.g. do you only use it at home, or do you haul it to any game you play?)
Don't use anymore
3. Do your game partners find the dice tower to be a generally positive thing, or a generally negative thing?
It's purpose of containing the dice worked well enough, but not great. It's sound killed its use.
4. If the answer to #3 is "generally negative" why is that? Is it due to table turf issues? Noise? Jealousy?
Noise
5. Has using the dice tower substantially improved your game experience (no longer hunting dice under furniture, knocking over minis, etc)?
Did not help much
6. Have you used your dice tower for dice rolling purposes other than RPG gaming?
No
7. Does your dice tower perform other functions? (e.g. does it have an initiative order tracker on it, or does it serve as an organizer of miniatures or other game materials?
Shelf storage organizing.
8. If you lost your dice tower, would you feel a need to immediately replace it?
No
9. Have other gamers expressed a desire to purchase/build a dice tower based on watching your use of one?
No
Additional relevant commentary:
We had a house rule that any die that went off the table was automatically the worst roll. This helped encourage players to restrain their die throwing power to less than that needed to roll off the table. Unfortunately, one player still tosses dice more 5' from his area on a regular basis.
Another issue is that our regular gaming table has a hole in it. [Made of a tree sawed in half. Looks great, but the edges are NOT square.] Whoever sits at that end of the table has to use a piece of paper to cover up the hole, or it eats dice and spits them out to the floor 95% of the time. [The other 5%, they get caught in the connecting wood below the surface.] Still, the table is big enough for a GM and 6-8 PCs and a game mat.
/cevah
I googled Dice Tower because the one in the image seemed too small to actually work for our purposes. The inquisitor in our party will roll about 6 or more dice. As a 13th level monk I can roll 6 dice on a flurry to hit. The archer magus also has a lot of dice to roll. So the Tower in the image was too small. I DID find one big enough, but it priced out to about $75. As big as it probably was, I don't think I would thunk that on the table to roll dice.
I agree that it is something that takes up space and could block the board. People will constantly move it out of the way to see where their minis are. Our GM uses a screen, but it has a clear spot for him to see through.
Even if I went to that Instructables website and found I could build it for free, there would be that annoying factor of being in the way.
I suppose those people who play around the coffee table find this kind of thing useful. Hey! I think I know where half my dice went!
*cough, cough*
Sorry about that. I had a frog in my throat. I know this is a bit of thread necromancy, but if anyone is looking for a really fancy, solid wood dice tower, there is a kickstarter going on where you can get one. It is the Hrothgar's Hoard Dice Tower Kickstarter, and they have ALL KINDS of fancy and expensive options, as well as some slightly more affordable ones.
NOTE: these are not cheap plastic dice towers, and you are paying to get something that's solid quality wood. You can also pay a little extra to get the baffles padded with felt to dampen the rolling noise, or to decorate the dice tower, or both.
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Edit: Oh poo, I just noticed this thread was super necro'd. XD
General questions:
1. Do you own a dice tower?
Yes
2. If the answer to #1 is "yes", then do you USE the dice tower you own?
I try. It is annoyingly easy to forget when transporting my gear to PFS or where ever my group is playing that week. It's shape makes it kind of awkward to carry.
3. If the answer to #2 is "yes", then do you use the tower in some situations, but not in others. Specifically, do you use it as a GM, but not as a player, or vice versa?
I recommended all of my players have one.
Questions for dice tower owners:
1. What kind of dice tower do you own?
c) Tower you built yourself, and are proud to say is as good as any commercial product.
After watching a few of The DM's Craft, I noticed his dice towers and thought it was amazing. Being inspired by his show, I built one using materials around the house. I plan on perfecting the build, but was incredibly happy with my first attempt.
2. How often do you use the dice tower? (e.g. do you only use it at home, or do you haul it to any game you play?)
I try to use mine at every game. Like I said above, it can be easy to forget, since it isn't a massive book or a giant bag full of dice, but I am happy every time I do remember it.
3. Do your game partners find the dice tower to be a generally positive thing, or a generally negative thing?
After I showed my players mine, they asked me to build one for every player. I should charge them. ;)
4. If the answer to #3 is "generally negative" why is that? Is it due to table turf issues? Noise? Jealousy?
NA
5. Has using the dice tower substantially improved your game experience (no longer hunting dice under furniture, knocking over minis, etc)?
Yes. Dice falling off of tables, knocking things over, etc has been drastically reduced. One of my players is a serial 'fling dice across the room' -er, so the tower has helped a ton.
6. Have you used your dice tower for dice rolling purposes other than RPG gaming?
Nope
7. Does your dice tower perform other functions? (e.g. does it have an initiative order tracker on it, or does it serve as an organizer of miniatures or other game materials?
...no... but that is something amazing to try to include in my future designs!
8. If you lost your dice tower, would you feel a need to immediately replace it?
I would. It cost me almost nothing to build (most of the materials were in home or easily obtained) and only an hour or so to build.
9. Have other gamers expressed a desire to purchase/build a dice tower based on watching your use of one?
Same day I showed them mine, they wanted their own.