I have a thing for nice dice. I think I’ve mentioned it a few times on this blog already, but as an avid tabletop RPG fan I love having nice dice to play with. There is something amazing about having dice that match the scenario you are playing that just keeps me buying more.

Well, a few years ago the same friend who introduced me to Munchkin (you can read that blog here) introduced me to Q-Workshop dice. He bought me a set for my 24th birthday, and instantly I was hooked. We played D&D a lot growing up so he got me a set of die with Nordic Runes on them to match the Sword Coast setting. They were, to be blunt, freaking awesome.

What it did was revive a life long love affair with nice sets of die. Q-Workshop specialises in such die and dice accessories, so I purchased a couple of dice bags on Amazon and began RPG-ing properly again using their products as a way to expand the game beyond the game. Coincidentally, I also used them for Warhammer dice, since I played Night Goblins and they had an Orc Style bag.

Today I arrived at work to a parcel on my desk. Last week I purchased the Fate and Dystopia Rising core rule books. Dystopia Rising, to my understanding, uses standard polyhedronic dice (although I haven’t finished reading the rules yet). Fate uses Fudge Die, a type of dice which has become synonymous with Fate over the past few years. In essence, they are two positive sides, two negative sides, and two blank sides.

Being so impressed with the Fate system, and needing dice to play Dystopia Rising, I took to the internet in search of the perfect futuristic die…on a budget of no more than £20. You know, because I’m a cheap skate.

At this point, I would like to say I am not sponsored by Q-Workshop, but if you are reading this and want to send me free dice then please contact me through the “Contact” page of this blog. Like…seriously. Your stuff is awesome.

Tech Dice – in a really nice box.

For those of you who are new to this blog, I usually try and do structured reviews, talking about the concepts, quality, and what it is like playing games. For this one however, since it is a component rather than a game, I will do it a bit differently. Instead, I’ll talk about the quality and the fairness.

Quality of Dice

These are awesome dice. They are plastic dice, each carved with an intricate design in a Portal-esque Sci-Fi style. The box comes with the standard seven RPG dice. These include 1D4, 1D6, 1D8, 2D10, 1D12, and 1D20.

Each number is moulded into the dice, with a font that feels like it belongs on the Nostromo. The edges are etched with a rounded steel look, so much so that the D6 looks like a Science Fiction box. It’s really quite cool.

Tech Die Set (Unboxed)

The etchings are clear and defined, with the only criticism being the “3” on the D20 which is a little bit blurred and misprinted. The rest of the numbers, as you can see by the weirdly specifically focused image above (I used my old Canon camera for these photos as I was worried the phone would not be clear enough) on the D12 in particular. This adds to the feel that these are not just an implement for the RPG, but part of the game themselves. These are not toys, but tools.

A very nice touch is the box. These were not shipped in the standard clear plastic case usual RPG dice are shipped in. Instead it is a designed up box to fit the theme.

Most importantly though, the dice are gorgeous to hold and roll fantastically well. The rounded corners allow for a smooth roll, which feels seamless. This is not one of those sets that just falls out of your hand and flat on the table. They roll well.

How Fair Are They?

I heard a story the other day about a man who cut open a die in Star Wars: Destiny and found air bubbles. Q-Workshop have a great name in the dice making world, so I doubt that would be the case, but I thought I would test it anyway.

So I rolled the D6 100 times.

Okay, so this is a flawed experiment, as realistically 100 rolls is too small a sample size to be fair – however, it should give some idea. In theory, each side should come up 16.6 times. If we roll them we should really allow room for error – so each side should come up 11-21 times if we give it an error margin of 5 either way.

As you can see, all the results were within the predicted parameters. Every number appeared between 11 and 21 times, with the results seeming to be 12 and 19 depending on how the die rolled. That seems more than fair, and they are close enough to be sure that they would even out if I rolled 1,000 or 10,000 times.

D20 Up Close

Conclusion

I love these die. They are a really neat little design and, bar a couple of printing errors they can be considered near flawless in my eyes. They come in a wide variety of colours and have been released made of metal recently.

These die feel the part. You can imagine them as part of an industrial setting, covered in oil, and being rolled amongst beastly machines. The rugged design adds to that, making it feel one with the setting of an industrial RPG. In that way they are fun, being much more than a printed design and becoming an integral part of the game.

I do not regret purchasing these dice, costing me little over £10, and look forward to using them in Science Fiction RPGs. They should really help add to the atmosphere of the game. You can see the full range on the Q-Workshop site or on Amazon.

Do you have a set of die you like to play with? Let me know why in the comments below.

SIMILAR ARTICLE: Q-Workshop Antique Fate Dice Review

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke