The old D-10 Dice...

[tx7321]

I loved the dice that were available when I first got into 1E (late 70s). Do you remember how they were heavier and softer then the dice they sell today. ALso they were 20 sided repeating each number twice (so they made your 1-20 as well by coloring one set of numbers in red. Those........were...the...days........my friend, I thought they'd never end (and then like in 5 years I couldn't find them anyware, they'd been replaced with that "sharp" hard plastic that didn't role worth a crap.)

Anyhow, anyone got a source for these old gems.

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

I have no source but I certainly remember those dice. Black for 1-10 and red for 11-20. It didn't take long for the edges to become rounded off.

 

[WayneLigon]

Anyhow, anyone got a source for these old gems.

Advancing Hordes original 20-siders

 

[T. Foster]

Here ya go. I've bought several sets of these and can confirm that they're exactly what you're looking for -- the crappy soft plastic dice that TSR included in their boxed sets in the 1970s.

Here's a picture:

 

[Delta]

Admittedly, there was something about multi-use d20's that I liked (such as, everything being a Platonic solid). But I do remember my nearly-round percentile dice rolling forever, all over creation before coming to a stop (usually off the table). The modern d10's do at least fix that issue.

 

[BlackMoria]

I still have my original 20-sided d10 from 1974. 4 of the numbers are nearly illegible now due to wear. Heck, that set of dice is probably older than 70% of the board members on ENWorld.

 

[ghul]

College Method

Back in the day, before d20 dice were plenty, we used to often use what was called "college method," which was a d6 and d10 each rolled. 1-3 on the d6 equaled 0, 4-6 equaled 10. Then you added the d10 roll to the first result.

As DM, I didn't mind , but it drove me crazy when they'd roll them one at a time instead of at the same time. Ahh, the good old days...

--Ghul

 

[Tinker Gnome]

How are the dice soft? Are they mushy?

 

[kenobi65]

How are the dice soft? Are they mushy?

Not mushy-soft, but the plastic used in them was not as high-impact as today's dice.

It didn't take too long for normal rolling to blunt the sharp edges. The d20s, in particular, could become practically round over time, and would roll for a long time before settling on a side (as tx7321 notes).

The picture that T. Foster shows appears to be a set of the original polyhedral dice that TSR distributed. They purchased them from an educational-products company; they were originally intended for teaching geometry and the platonic solids, and I don't think they were really meant for the kind of repeated rolling that D&D entails.

A friend of mine still has his set of those dice, which he's used for almost 30 years. They're so worn that they're practically illegible.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

How are the dice soft? Are they mushy?

They were just made from a cheap, soft Plastic (think between Modern Dice and the Plastic the D&D Minis are made of).

These Dice tended to Chip & Deform over time.

Some people I know with orginial d20 that are round, and D4's that are nearly so.

They really got chipped/squished around the edges.

Oh, and due to their less than perfect size, certain dice tended to certain numbers. (Lucky dice if you will; or Cursed Dice).