Minimum number of dice

[Stefan]

Stefan, dude ... you can get the juju recharged on dice! Yeah, it's true. I read it on the internet (which is a series of toobz) so it simply must be true.

In point of fact, I can do it for you.

All I need (:twisted:) is your credit card number ...

AWESOME. This is the news I have been waiting for, obviously, what did you call it, the "internut" thing had to be invented first! I have a metric butt-load (as opposed to an Imperial butt-load) of dice that have "gone bad". The idea of recharging them will save me millions in the long term I feel.

How is the recharging cost calculated?

Many, many thanks,
S.

[northrundicandus]

Nonsense. Everyone needs lots and lots of dice. Duh.

Amen to that. Tons of dice rule. One of the groups I played in had a 1 gallon bucket in the middle of the table chock full of random dice. This was the community pool.

Oddly enough though we played Rolemaster more than anything, so most of the time all we ever rolled was a pair of d10s.

[Jeffery St. Clair]

I only use the seven-dice set when I DM, until someone cranks out a mighty fireball/lightningbolt/coneofcold/flamestrike/whatnot.

But you need those extra dice to chuck at those players who make atrocious puns or devise elaborately inane combat plans just so their fighter can avoid swinging their sword through another goblin.

[AxeMental]

Lots of dice, its the only way to play. The old ones from the 70s are by far the best (our damned dog chewed up all but a half dozen or so). I hate the sharp unbouncy ones...useless. THe next worse are wooden.

[JDJarvis]

Almost any I go on a trip of more then a day I've got 3d6, 1d4, 1d8, 1d10, 1s12 and 1d20 on me so i suppose that'd be the minimum number of dice for me... of course I have A LOT of dice.

[T. Foster]

Zero dice fetishism here. Except for a couple of vintage sets bought from Noble Knight a couple years back and a bunch of six-siders I picked up at a liquor store I'm still using the same 2 sets of dice (a purple set and a black set) that I've had for probably 20 years -- I got the purple set ~1988 and the black set a year or two later. I did pick up a pair of %ile dice, including one of those new-fangled d00 dice, and a pair of d6s with skulls in place of the 1s, in 1992 (when I started my Mythus campaign) and I'm fairly sure those are the last dice I bought at a hobby/game store. (No wait, I bought a set of black d6s with red spots ("Traveller dice") in 1996, in anticipation of my ultimately short-lived T4 game).

No one else in my old group from the 80s-90s had a dice-fetish either and it eventually got so only 2 of us -- me and one other guy -- brought dice to the sessions at all and everyone else (4-6 of them at any given session) bummed off one or the other of us when they needed to roll something.

I'm not sure why that is. I think it maybe had something to do with polyhedral dice being such an unambiguous and instantly recognizable "geek badge" -- unless you're a grade-school math teacher, there's only one reason you're ever going to own a set of polyhedral dice, and (especially in the 90s -- before D&D had picked up even the modest level of retro appeal it now holds) that wasn't a group you generally wanted to be associated with, so we all strove (consciously or otherwise) to define ourselves as "people who play a game" rather than "gamers," IYKWIM.

[Stonegiant]

I fully admit to having a dice fetish

[AxeMental]

I only use the seven-dice set when I DM, until someone cranks out a mighty fireball/lightningbolt/coneofcold/flamestrike/whatnot.

But you need those extra dice to chuck at those players who make atrocious puns or devise elaborately inane combat plans just so their fighter can avoid swinging their sword through another goblin.

Funny, we have enough 20 sided dice (of various colors) for everyone to have their own D20, yet everyone always wants the same one (red) because its percieved as "hot", and somehow magically able to role more high roles (and I have to admit it does seem better ) even the blood thirsty DM (whoever is up) typically grabs the same one.
Ditto for the "good" d8s, d10, etc. People really feel this stuff makes a difference -crazy. On trips I take (2 d20, 2 d10, 2 d8, 4 d6 (pc generation), 2 d4, 1d12)

[Brad]

I do have to ask. Why would you want to carry less dice than say the "standard" 6?

I asked the initial question mostly because I don't always have my dice with me when I "need" them. Not really a dice fetish, but I certainly do like buying them for stupid reasons, but the biggest would be to support my local gaming store. They provide gaming rooms so I feel somewhat obligated to spend *some* money there; I mail order all my books. Certainly not a bucket, but I have enough to fill up a 2 liter Coke bottle...

Usually when I'm writing up something, I'm at a computer where I can use any number of methods to electronically generate numbers, but they just don't have the same appeal as rolling dice. I have an app for my iPhone "just in case", but for whatever reason it doesn't do it for me. Physically rolling dice is just "better". I suppose Craps tables could have a random number generator and the shooter could push a button, but for whatever reason they stick with dice.

[Mythmere]

Actually, these days I only keep one set of dice in front of me; the Zocchi dice I bought at Owlcon. Because only Zocchi dice are truly randomized! That's what the sales pitch says. So ... same dice fetish, different form.

[Zulgyan]

I love wodden d6s, have like 60 of them.

[Stik]

You can play D&D with one die.
All you really need is a d20.

Use it as a d4 (1-5=1, 6-10=2, etc)
As a d6 (1-3=1, 4-6=2, etc up to 16-18=6 and re-roll a 19 or 20)
As a d8 (1-8 = 1-8, 9-16 = 1-8, and re-roll anything 17 or higher)
As a d12 (1-12 = 1-12, and re-roll anything 13 or higher)
As a d100, you roll the d20 twice. The first roll will be the 10s place, the second would be the digits.

That being said, I have about sixty dice in my dice bag.

[Algolei]

I have six containers of dice, grouped from most to least necessary. I need my minimum collection of 1d4, 3d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 1d20; I like to have my secondary collection, a sack of about 30 various types; I carry my backup tube of 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12 and 1d20; I own another backup tube of the same types; I store my old dice that I don't carry with me anymore; and I keep a peanut butter jar full of really old dice that are essentially unusable due to poor manufacture, damage from play, or were never used much in the first place (like my two crystal d30s--I hate crystal dice! and I've got three other d30s that aren't crystals).

But you need those extra dice to chuck at those players who make atrocious puns or devise elaborately inane combat plans just so their fighter can avoid swinging their sword through another goblin.

Yeah. I used to use 6-siders to represent monsters on the tabletop. One game had 6 orcs fighting the party. One of the PCs wasn't in the room with the others, but he was still telling everyone what to do, who to help, that sort of thing. So I said:

Me: Suddenly orc #6 attacks Richard!
Jon: But it's my turn.
Me: Orc #6 has a special ability that let's him attack Richard right now.
Richard: But I'm not even in the room.
Me: Sure you are, you're sitting right there!
Richard: Okay, sure, I'm in THIS room, but my character isn't in the room with the orcs.
Me: Then he should shut up! *pelts Richard with the d6 representing orc #6* Orc #6 hits Richard for talking! Shall I roll 4d6 damage now?

(Actually, that happened more than a few times. )

[DuBeers]

Actually, these days I only keep one set of dice in front of me; the Zocchi dice I bought at Owlcon. Because only Zocchi dice are truly randomized! That's what the sales pitch says. So ... same dice fetish, different form. :D

I remember that! I use the the dice set (blue) I bought at that some Con. Augmented by a red set bought from the factory.

[Mrk]

Nice to see there's a few others who only like to own the minimum amount that's needed. Another factor to why I don't have a lot of dice is the majority of it is made from poor materials and bad finishing methods that don't give you an honest random probability when you make a roll. That's why I only use dice made from GameScience who make the best on the market.