[OT] My first catalog request from Death Row

[WSmith]

I don't work for Califonia Dept of Corrections. I work for the Feds.

And you are correct about dice not being dangerous, but used for gambling. That is the sole reason for the control. Many fights and assaults have started from a gambling debt. (long story but they make up their own currency out of tuna or mackeral, it is wacky)

TECHNICALLY the spinner is contraband and could have been confiscated. However, this is one very awkward profession to an outsider. Certain rules and regs. are not ment to be enforced to the letter, or at least worth the time and aggrivation that would come from enforcing in relation to the other stuff going on in the prison culture. The proper response to those guys would be "don't cause any trouble and you keep your spinner." The reason why you pass on some small things like that is because somewhere in the housing unit, there is always a bag of dope, a homemade knife, and a some homeade alcohol. THOSE are the kind of contraband we are trying to find.

Sure the could make dice out of origami. I have seen six-sided dice made from sugar cubes. They will always find a way around something. Heck I saw this one inmate start a fire with a wheelchair and a roll of toilet paper.

 

[der_kluge]

Green_slime - actually, I think it's a common misconception that killing an inmate is more expensive. I don't think it is. But, I'll have to check on that.

This does beg the question though - do prison inmates ever play Paladins?

Or are they all thieves and/or have evil alignments?

Somehow I just couldn't take a Paladin seriously if I knew that, in RL, he'd been convicted for murder, or something like that.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

This does beg the question though - do prison inmates ever play Paladins?

Or are they all thieves and/or have evil alignments?

Somehow I just couldn't take a Paladin seriously if I knew that, in RL, he'd been convicted for murder, or something like that.

On the contrary, I think the desire for redemption would run pretty high among death row inmates. As their ability to make genuine amends is pretty limited, I would tend to take such a role very seriously indeed.

Wulf

 

[Piratecat]

As opposed to the "good" states where you linger indefinitely at taxpayer expense.

Wulf, you know better. Keep the politics out of it, guys.

 

[Darkness]

Green_slime - actually, I think it's a common misconception that killing an inmate is more expensive. I don't think it is. But, I'll have to check on that.

It's more expensive because of the way it's usually handled - but it's not inherently more expensive, I believe.

 

[Dr. Confoundo]

Sure the could make dice out of origami. I have seen six-sided dice made from sugar cubes. They will always find a way around something.

A friend of mine told me that his time in the pokey was spent making dice for gambling out of a combination of toothpaste and toiletpaper. Apparently a well crafted pair is worth quite a bit on the black market.

Doc

 

[Fade]

...making dice for gambling out of a combination of toothpaste and toiletpaper...

???????

 

[BenBrown]

toothpaste and toilet paper

actually, that makes a lot of sense.

toothpaste hardens as it dries. that's why they sell it in tubes rather than jars.

use the fibers from the toilet paper for strengthening it. knead it a little bit, and eventually you'll have something sort of like plaster. Shape it into a cube, poke pips in it with... well, just about anything small enough--maybe even another piece made from the same stuff, and you've got yourself a die. do it again, and you've got yourself a crap game.

 

[bolen]

Here is a question for you:

If the purpose of prison is rehibilatation, (this obviouslly excludes Death row - which is a matter that I do not want to touch) do we really want them playing games?

on one hand you can say games involve reading and other useful skills which I can't help but think would help prisoners (who for the most part are lacking some of these skills) Secondly maybe it helps their self-estem (which again they lack).

On the other hand, RPG are an escape into a fantasy world. These folks need to learn how to be in the REAL world. They do not need to pretend to be rogues, they have first hand experience. Wouldn't their time be better spent learning a skill or focusing on what is the root of their problem?

 

[Neowolf]

Yeah, you should definitely be careful with this one man. Before accepting any orders from them, I would contact someone at the prison and find out what they are and aren't allowed to have. I'm pretty sure that dice are out of the question, and I'm not sure if they can have the books...