The cubes. We are at the final act of our series of articles that examined and considered these tools of evil (joke !!!).
On our site you can find the thoughts of many authoritative game creators and role-playing informants, respectively Wed e here (we know it is missing here). In this other article instead find my first considerations on the dice.
Now, without delay, I leave the floor to my colleagues and friends directly from Atlantis.
Seeker Y. talks to us about cubes
Yari Montorsi, what is the nut for you?
The Dice is a means of remembering role play. I have had myriads
of players who remembered a particular game only thanks
the dice used in these, first of all the most famous game in the
world*. It is also a very simple way to decide who has won
at the table at the end of the evening, without the Narrator getting in the way.
For you, is the dice a means or an end? How do you think his figure will evolve?
The nut is definitely a means, and by the way a means not too much
important. Half of the games I know are based on this because,
I think scientifically, rolling a dice provides the body with that
feeling of being at risk, of putting something into play without
to be guilty of his eventual failure. It's the discharge
which will inevitably lead us to play slots on the threshold of
retirement.And it is precisely because of everything that will not evolve. Maybe
will add more faces, maybe replace others, but it is almost a means
perfect for its purpose. We are trying with the cards, with the
length of the beard and with the phrases / symbol, but the nut will remain the
main means. Especially the d4. I can't imagine a world
without d4.
Let's give the floor to Seeker S.
Let's talk now with Simone Maccapani. What is the nut for you?
For me the Dado is the thrill of knowing that things could go wrong. It's worrying before doing anything because, after all, even the best of blacksmiths can get a hammer on their finger. The Dado is the unexpected that may or may not exist, as well as the favorable condition that can make the situation clearer to you. It is the stroke of luck and misfortune that haunts you. It doesn't have to be a die. I also get along very well with cards or anything that puts probability and uncertainty into the game.
Is the die a means or an end to you? How do you think the dice figure will evolve?
The dice figure is meant to be read very differently. As we are seeing with PBTAs, there is a problem with "failing" the die roll because the narrative stops. The games of the future will make sure that failing a roll does not block the game with a simple "you can't do it" but carry on the game through its mechanics. I am pleased to note that over time the figure of the dice is simplifying, with mechanics aimed at avoiding its use or simplifying it.
We end this adventure on cubes by giving the floor to Seeker G.
After the interventions of our interviewees, I do not think there is much left to say. And we shouldn't be surprised either, since we are talking about cubes. They are little things, trinkets. There wouldn't be much to discuss, logically. Yet dice have become, in many ways, the symbol of role playing. Or, better said, the twenty-sided dice has become the symbol of role play, also to distinguish itself from gambling, recalled by the poor six-sided dice, which we actually know are good, good and very balanced. Not for nothing, those like me who build maniacally towers of dice strictly use the d6 as a base (and those who use the d20 are evil).
However, for better or for worse, cubes are a symbol of role-playing and perhaps we continue to use them for this reason: because we are familiar with them. Some dice sets have been following us for many years, have now faded numbers and we almost think of them as old friends. In some cases they are linked to the memory of a particular campaign and we almost don't dare to reuse those sets with other characters.
To certain dice we attribute almost magical powers, pointing to them as lucky or unlucky in a completely arbitrary way. I, personally, as my fellow Seekers can testify, have a perennial bad luck with dice, so for me every set is unlucky; Nonetheless, I love them all as if they were my grumpy pets.
But what does all this have to do with role playing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, although (as others and others before me said) the dice give a sense of unpredictability, the role-playing game itself does not need the dice to work. I played diceless RPG (like Undying and Dialects) having a great time and never missing the physical nut. Because in the end the role-playing game needs two things: the game and the role, and neither of these elements is closely linked with the dice. Otherwise, we will be playing various types of dice games, however, after a year of playing online with Roll20 dice or sessions and one-shots of diceless games or, at most, PBTA, sit down at a table and retire out. a whole set of dice gave me an unspeakable wave of serotonin. But it is not the d20 that is magical: it is that when you play a lot with these instruments, memories are associated with them.
Thus, when he holds the d20 in his hand, all the memories of the beautiful sessions lived with him emerge. This is why it will be very difficult to get rid of the dice in the future: because anyone who started playing role playing games will invest them with (hopefully) happy memories and using them will be bringing to the table not only a tool, but a precise set of memories and experiences personal.
Conclusions
Are our dicing interviews over? Hopefully not. We would like others in this fantastic world to want to sacrifice and contact us to keep talking. If you want, if you are interested, you just have to contact us, or on the site or on our other pages and have fun with us talking about your experience with dice
