RPG Evolution: Dice Gifts for Gamers

The dice craze has died down somewhat on Amazon, but there are still plenty of options for players and game masters alike.

Please Note: I'm a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Spend less. Smile more.. Amazon regularly posts and delists items so these may not all be in stock, and if you plan to purchase these for the holidays check delivery times as some may be shipped from overseas. Listings are in price order from lowest to highest.

Pirate Ship Dice ($12)​

When I was running my pirate-themed campaign, pirate-themed dice were in short supply. Not anymore! These dice feature a tiny plastic ship in each, floating on blue waters. One note is that depending on which way the die is facing, the ship may not be visible. With gold numbering, these are the most legible of the pirate-style dice.

Hollow Metal Dice ($20)​

I'm always on the lookout of legible metal dice. I never thought I'd be shopping for my cats though. Turns out my cats love to roll dice, and this set in particular has enough hooks for their claws to grab and toss it. We then conduct roll-offs (this happens several times throughout the day at my home office). More importantly, when the cats (inevitably) roll the dice out of the dice tray, these brightly-colored dice are easy to spot. Also, probably good for Shadowrun games.

Dice Tray ($25)​

A compromise between a dice tower and a dice bag, dice trays are more utilitarian solutions for game masters and players who have limited space and need their dice to stay in one place. I often use dice trays when playing with kids, who tend to roll dice in all directions (including off the table, onto the floor, etc.). A portable dice tray like this also makes it easy to determine each player's turn, as they pass it around. This set is sturdy, portable, and comes in a variety of colors.

Dice Bag ($30) ​

With so many dice, it only makes sense to carry a dice bag large enough to carry them all. In theory, this is a simple concept: a large bag with smaller compartments to hold each set of dice. In practice, several different dice bags have been released that are not connected at the bottom, so while the dice look great in pictures they all jumble together in a big mess as soon as you pick up the bag. Fortunately, game company Mythrjoan knows what they're doing, and this handsome bag is sturdy enough to keep all the dice separated with a central compartment for miniatures or other accessories. It folds open nicely for the whole group to pick and choose dice as needed.

Rechargeable LED Dice ($40)​

I've had light-up dice in the past and they don't last very long. This set lights up when you roll it. The dice don't flash on critical rolls or fumbles, they flash just by rolling them. These new versions recharge in their base like earbuds, which vastly improves their replay value. That said, dice like this tend to be used in only very specific circumstances, and the flashing can be a bit distracting. Fun for cyberpunk style games, but it will obviously work best when it's dark (and then good look to the game master trying to read their notes!).

Purple Dice with Dice Bag ($45)​

This handsome set features dragon-themed metal dice in bright purple with white numbering. But just as compelling is the beautiful leather dice pouch that comes with it. The only thing that would make it more perfect is if the lion head was a dragon.

Eye Dice ($55) ​

If you're going to put a beholder in your game, it's only fitting that you use the right dice for it. Although these dice are technically termed "Eyes of Truth" and could just as easily act as portent dice for divination wizards, I think of them as beholder dice. They're not cheap, presumably due to how they're manufactured.

Dice Tower ($60) ​

I own two 3D printers so I'm hesitant to recommend anything I could potentially print myself. And let there be no doubt that this tower is indeed 3D printed. But it's a print you can't easily download from the Internet, and the distinguishing feature is the guard rails that keep the dice visible and on track as they bounce down into the courtyard. It comes in two pieces, and the additional barrels and crates to fill the empty space of the tower is something you won't find anywhere else. It comes in a variety of colors, but I'm partial to bronze.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Not technically related, but I'll soon be looking into buying bulk dice sets for an RPG club. I've seen some sets on amazon that are multiple sets for fairly cheap. For example, QMay seems to be selling over 10 sets for less than $30.

Are these generally okay quality dice? I'm not looking for perfect or high-quality, because these are going to be club spares for newbies who don't have their own. But I don't want to buy utter crap either.

 

[J-H]

I haven't bought dice from them, but I recommend the Dice of Rolling dice sets, as they contain all the right dice for D&D in legible, high-contrast colors.

I do have their wood battle tokens and like them a lot.

 

[Nylanfs]

Not technically related, but I'll soon be looking into buying bulk dice sets for an RPG club. I've seen some sets on amazon that are multiple sets for fairly cheap. For example, QMay seems to be selling over 10 sets for less than $30.

Are these generally okay quality dice? I'm not looking for perfect or high-quality, because these are going to be club spares for newbies who don't have their own. But I don't want to buy utter crap either.

Do you have a local game store? Maybe work with them and have them split the costs if they come in and purchase their first dice set there? Or a gift certificate for a free set of dice with a purchase?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I strongly recommend everyone check out Etsy when looking for dice and dice-related accessories. Huge, huge variety of stuff there, with literally hundreds of patterns and styles of dice bags, all sorts of inclusions in dice, a massive variety of dice towers, rolling trays and dice jails.

At this point, my collection is more than half Etsy stuff.

 

[aco175]

I see on Amazon the Chessex Pound o'Dice for $25.00. Listing 80-100 assorted and one complete set.
There is also a WizDice set for $13.00 listing 100 assorted and one complete set.

I would get one of these, but then I would make tubes of dice labeled for fireball, lightning bolt and such.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

I see on Amazon the Chessex Pound o'Dice for $25.00. Listing 80-100 assorted and one complete set.

I picked up a bag of those when I started hosting D&D. It has been just fine for our uses (no more than 5 people at any one time but there were plenty left over after that).

 

[David Howery]

one of my nieces is into D&D/5E. I spent a chunk of last year assembling a 'weird dice' set. I had one set that, along with the standard D&D dice, included oddball ones like D3s, D5s, etc., all the way up to D30. And a standard set that had tiny little rubber duckies inside. And a set that had bloody skulls inside. And a couple of D26 alphabet dice so she could roll up random names. And some other odds and ends ones, like random weather generators....

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I picked up a bag of those when I started hosting D&D. It has been just fine for our uses (no more than 5 people at any one time but there were plenty left over after that).

I'm thinking the pound of dice would be a nice present for the high school's D&D club. Every kid who wants one could construct a full set of dice to take home.

 

[talien]

Not technically related, but I'll soon be looking into buying bulk dice sets for an RPG club. I've seen some sets on amazon that are multiple sets for fairly cheap. For example, QMay seems to be selling over 10 sets for less than $30.

Are these generally okay quality dice? I'm not looking for perfect or high-quality, because these are going to be club spares for newbies who don't have their own. But I don't want to buy utter crap either.

Absolutely. Here's the cheapest I could find for a set of six (currently $15). You could get two for 30 bucks. It includes six sets of dice, a dice bag with a different chromatic dragon head on it, and a dice tower: https://amzn.to/3j1hTAV

That said, if you're a dice purist you would want to test the dice. But for a RPG club, where the dice is probably going to experience a lot of abuse (and potentially get lost), sets like this are great. As @Whizbang Dustyboots point out, there's LOTS of dice off Amazon too, including Etsy and a lot of direct-selling dice creators.