For the love of God, we know about the Roman d20!

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

OK, the comic at the link above was almost certainly inspired by the auction, so i guess merging these is a reasonable thing to do...

 

[HellHound]

That is a sweet piece of glass.

I'd love a few more photos of it, just for the chance to be able to make replicas... hire Koplow or another die company to make a few hundred and use them for the upcoming FVLMINATA d20. The original FVLMINATA had cool roman numeral d8s that I think Koplow made (maybe Chessex?)... these would be the cat's meow for the d20 version.

 

[diaglo]

i tried bidding yesterday. it gave me a false ID error.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Here's a pic of another ancient d20. I think the original poster said it was Egyptian. There's also a couple d6s in there, and is that a d12 there in the middle? Look at the scale. That d20 is almost 2 inches wide!

 

[DiFier]

Here's a pic of another ancient d20. I think the original poster said it was Egyptian. There's also a couple d6s in there, and is that a d12 there in the middle? Look at the scale. That d20 is almost 2 inches wide!

yup that looks like a d12 5 faces up two to the sides and 5 down. interisting design

 

[the Jester]

i tried bidding yesterday. it gave me a false ID error.

I knew you would bid on it. I actually thought, "Wow, a dnd item diaglo doesn't have!" when I saw it...

 

[Skade]

You can buy very similar designed pieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are clear glass, and intended to be paperweights. They do have the same symbols on them.

 

[HellHound]

Thanks for the tip, Skade.

I will definitely look for them at MOMA next time I'm in the same part of the US.

I *really* think these would be a great touch for FVLMINATA d20... someone wrangle up one of the writers and drag their butts in here, ok?

 

[Zander]

Here's a pic of another ancient d20. I think the original poster said it was Egyptian. There's also a couple d6s in there, and is that a d12 there in the middle? Look at the scale. That d20 is almost 2 inches wide!

Merak,
They're for auction on Ebay.

The Ebay auction gives details, but to answer your question: yes, that's a rhomboid d12!

According to the Louvre museum in Paris, the d20 for auction on Ebay is based on an Egyptian one. The one for auction at Christies was brought back from Egypt as well. It could be Roman, but my feeling is that the Louvre is right. Both the Ebay one and the Christies ones are probably Egyptian. The Louvre claims the Ebay one is Ptolemaic (323 - 30 BC). It's possible, but I have my doubts about that. I suspect it's later, perhaps when the Romans had more influence in Egypt, hence the confusion.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Man, I just hope they used 'em for something more interesting than gambling.