Rodrigo Istalindir
Explorer
Reading Stackpole's article linked to in another thread, he refutes the presence of any satanic significance in rolling 3d6 (which can result in 6-6-6). Obviously, one major reason for using 6 sided dice is that they were readily available. There probably isn't a home in the country that doesn't have a game with a couple of d6s in it.
But this got me to wondering, chicken-egg style, about the use of polyhedral dice in RPGs. Which came first, games that used d4s or d20s, or the dice themselves? How could you play a game that needed dice that didn't exist and why would you design it that way? OTOH, why would a company go to the trouble of making dice for games that didn't exist?
My first copy of D&D (~1980) came with little cut-out chits one could use in place of dice, but the game included a discount coupon for buying dice at your local hobby store, so clearly these dice were already established as standard equipment.
Discuss amongst yourselves. My head hurts now
But this got me to wondering, chicken-egg style, about the use of polyhedral dice in RPGs. Which came first, games that used d4s or d20s, or the dice themselves? How could you play a game that needed dice that didn't exist and why would you design it that way? OTOH, why would a company go to the trouble of making dice for games that didn't exist?
My first copy of D&D (~1980) came with little cut-out chits one could use in place of dice, but the game included a discount coupon for buying dice at your local hobby store, so clearly these dice were already established as standard equipment.
Discuss amongst yourselves. My head hurts now
