Comments on the Lou Zocchi's dice videos

[Fandomaniac]

I'm sure some of you who frequent the same blogs as I have seen these, and if not, I have included the video links below. Jeff's Gameblog has also published comments from some of the other dice outfits regarding these videos to get a broader outlook on the subject.

Videos:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR2fxoNHIuU

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxmkWrDbn34

Article from Jeff's Gameblog:
jrients.blogspot.com/2008/12/diceman-cometh.html

What are your thoughts and/or opinion on the importance of absolute randomness of dice rolling?

I do believe that some dice have the odds in favor of rolling higher. I'm sure most of you have "lucky dice" you use for rolling "to hit" and for saves. As a player, I always choose my “lucky dice” when rolling for these. However, as a DM, I always look to roll with a dice that I know gives the most random outcome. Especially, when rolling monster “to hit” and saves. As a DM, I also allow player to use what ever dice they choose (as long as they aren’t loaded) including their “lucky dice.”

I guess my view is that I don’t mind the odds to be a little in favor of the players and the survival of their characters, so the slight deviations of some dice have never been an issue in any of my games.

[jrients]

I tend to agree that I don't mind player's bringing skewed 'lucky' dice to my table. Bringing your own dice is in the Gamer Bill of Rights or something and as long as they aren't outright cheater dice I don't mind the PCs having that small extra edge. But as referee I want to kill the PCs fair and square. ;D

[dwayanu]

Last week, I felt compelled to compare my sharp-edged Zocchi die with the d20 that had just "been unkind" to a fellow player . I came to no sure conclusion regarding the latter's bias -- events may simply have been a blip in probability.

At the extremes, those are often notable events in play! It seemed this poor kid could not roll high; he got three "fumbles" in a row on rolls he'd announced with some fanfare. Then one of his next two rolls was a "crit" -- when (because of the unwise order in which he'd specified them) it did him little good. The sequence offered a bit of hilarity around the table.

There's another fellow who seems to roll critical hits, even two at a time, with unusual frequency. I doubt that our observations are statistically significant, but a bit of mystique has grown about what folks remember.

I would rather have fair dice, but I don't think I pay enough attention to identify skewed ones. I don't have any personal "lucky" dice. Those videos, though, have got me breaking out the good old Gamescience High Impact^TM! Now, all I need is a crayon ...

[Spike]

Thanks for sharing those two videos from GenCon. I have a set of pastel Chessex dice that, while they sometimes turn on me at the worst times, I do not have sufficient evidence that they are loaded toward any particular numbers.

But..on a similar note, a few years ago a friend of mine picked up a set of what they call "Character dice" at our local game store. The set consisted of four heavily-loaded d6s that I feel pretty certain were being sold strictly as a game novelty. You could actually feel that they had been weighted upon closer inspection...but he just dropped them into my hand and said "Roll 'em!" And I did...and I got 3 snake-eyes and a deuce.

Suffice to say, I still believe the player's skill with rolling the dice and luck enters into it..no matter how illogical that may sound.

[jjarvis]

Then man knows his dice and is a darn good tradesman as well. Years back I wrote a letter asking if something from a 15-20 years old ad was still available and sure enough it was. Some of the quickest mail-order business I've ever done.

[blackmoor]

Lou is wonderful. I have known since before D&D. He has been to EVERY single GENCON since year #1. I can't even say that.

As far as lucky dice, I get several requests a year from players, to rub their d2 in my hair "For Luck" And they will always be lucky for them so long as they don't ever, ever, cheat. ;-) (I gave up on their hearts are pure one.)

"We had cheater dice for sale for a while at the local shop. The players that used them lost their characters. And I do mean 'lost'. I have a nice 18" metal ruler.

"The Dark Lord of Game Design"
Dave Arneson

[thegreyelf]

To me the mystique isn't in the randomness, but in the "old-schoolness" off Zocchi dice. When I saw that you could still get sets of sharp-edged, uncolored, pastel dice I knew I had to have them to put in my old boxed sets that came sans dice. Just because.

Alas, Zocchi doesn't seem to sell multicolored sets.

So, I had an idea.

I bought seven sets of dice and mixed them up to come up with seven multicolored sets, none of which had two colors repeated. I then gave a set as a gift to every person in my AD&D (1e) group, and put a box of crayons in the middle of the table.

"Have at it, boys!" I said.

They ate it up. They spent the entire session coloring their dice while gaming. For that session more than any other, we were kids back in the early 80's again. Good stuff.

That was several months ago, and they have used those dice every session since.