d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20. Have any other numbered dice ever been made?

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

What, exactly, are these supposed to be used for?

Fudge dice are for the Fudge game system. In Fudge you roll 4 Fudge dice, and starting with 0, add up the number of + and subtract the number of -. This gives you a result of -4 to +4 ("sub-Terrible" to "trans-Superb" in Fudge terms).

Fudge is a very flexable system, and can be as easy or complex as you like. You can find more out at http://www.fudgerpg.com/fudge/ including a free download of the rules.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

I was just wondering if anybody's made dice of different numbers.

I'm not sure, but I thought I saw a d30 once?

Also, I know I've seen a novelty d100. Yep, that's right, 100 sides! -- not 2 d10.

The GURPS game could do with a d16 which is numbered from 3-18 to simulate rolling 3d6 (I hate adding up those 3d6!).

I own both a d30 and a d100, as well as a d5 (a d10 with 1-5 twice). Zocchi (or Gamescience) used to make a d16, a d32, a d7, and a d14, as I recall, though I've never seen one.

There was an 80's game system that relied heavily on d30's...was it "Tales of the Floating Vagabond"? hmmmmm

 

[thalmin]

(snip)
More importantly, you couldn't really make an effective d16 geometrically speaking, unless you went the route of those crystal dice (I personally hate those things, especially when they get up to d12 and higher). A d16 would have to be done like the d10 if I am not mistaken, but putting 8 triangles to a side would probably not roll well (unless the die was enlarged to the size of your average jumbo d20).
(snip)

Gamescience does/did make a d16. And, yes, it looks pretty much like a standard d10 with narrower faces.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I even have an odd 2-5 dice (2,3,3,4,4,5) that I've never figured out what game it's for.

These are also used for FUDGE. There are a couple of different rolling systems. I have some of these too although I'm out of my FUDGE phase. I'd throw them away, but as a gamer I lack the gene that would let me do that.

 

[Tidus4444]

I've seen a golf-ball sized D100 once.

 

[Frostmarrow]

My favorite boardgame, Formula Dé, sports these dice:
d4 (numbered 1-2)
d6 (4-6)
d8 (4-8)
d12 (7-12)
d20 (11-21)
d30 (21-30)
They are used as different gears for the cars movement around the track.

For sure, they aren't all that exotic but at least they need their own molds.

 

[Mishihari Lord]

d1s are fairly common, if pointless for gaming.

I had a d1 (yellow superball with a "1" inked on it) that I found very useful. When a player tried to do something silly, I would roll it. "Sorry, natural 1, you failed." It made my point.

 

[Orius]

Never personally seen d30s or d100s, though I know they exist. Don't really need the d100 with percentiles, and D&D doesn't use d30s, so I don't really need them. If I really do need a d30 roll, I roll a d3-1 and d10 and work it like a percentile roll

I have a d6 numbered 1-3 twice I use for a d3.

Took a wooken nickel, numbered it 1 on one side, 2 on the other side to make a d2, but I never used it.

 

[RFisher]

The GURPS game could do with a d16 which is numbered from 3-18 to simulate rolling 3d6 (I hate adding up those 3d6!).

When reading this, the image of a properly numbered 216 sided dice popped into my head. And you thought the d50s & d100s were ridiculous.

(BTW, I played GURPS with an open-ended d20 roll once, which I thought worked surprisingly well.)

The d6s numbered 2-3-3-4-4-5 are called "averaging dice". Presumably because they give closer to average results. From what I gather these may have originally been made for math classes. I think a number of wargames have used them, though.

 

[Zander]

If Zander (Alexander Simkin) still posts here, ask him about his dice collection if you see him. If there's anyone who knows what dice exist, it's him.

Still? I never went away.

If you want to know what dice shapes are out there, check out Kevin Cook's dice page at: http://www.dicecollector.com/diceinfo_how_many_shapes.html

I have some, but not all, of the dice in that table. A few of the odd-sided ones pictured were co-invented by me and are from my collection.

If you want to ask Kevin or other dice collectors questions, check out the Dice Maniacs' Club, the world's largest society of alealogists (dice collectors). The URL is: http://groups.msn.com/DiceManiacsClubakaTheRandomFandom

Hope that helps.