Fate is a very interesting game. Not only is it one of the cheapest mainstream RPGs on the market, with the core rulebook coming in at £16.99 containing everything you could possibly need for a game (which is not that cheap – but when you compare it to other mainstream games, it’s certainly less expensive), but it is an incredibly simple and varied game.

One of the things that makes Fate so interesting is that it is not based on a D20 system. Instead, it is based on (wait for it) fate – an fine system in which players skills are modified by dice that just have plus, blank, and minus sides. It’s an incredibly simple concept, and so insanely open, that it is sure to win around most casual RPG players. The simple nature also means that it makes a fantastic introduction to RPGs for non-players.

But alas, this isn’t a review of Fate. Instead this is a review of four very simple cubes – the Ancient D6 Dice Best For Fudge and Fate Systems review. Yes, it has a long name, but that aside – let’s take a look at these dice in more detail.

The image you can see above – those are the dice themselves, but this is the packaging they came in – please note that the book behind the box is the Fate Core Rules. It felt appropriate

The container…

Okay, so box wise, this is not the nicest of containers compared to some of the other Q Workshop dice (I actually reviewed their Tech Dice as one of my first reviews, which comes in an great box). This is instead more like a booster pack. Four dice is the smallest number of die you need to play a game of Fate, so this contains everything you may need – however, it could be displayed better.

That being said, the dice themselves are really nice. I’m not sure I would necessarily describe them as Ancient, but they are good. The dice have a yellow border around each side, with the symbol both in the centre of each side and in the corners. This is bar the blank side, which is obviously blank, only with “O” in the corners. The “+” symbols are Templar-esque and the whole typography is to my taste. I don’t know what you think, but do let me know in the comments below.

The image of the dice again.

Aside from that there are occasionally wobbly lines, which add character and the “ancient” feeling, although sometimes they do look like someone just slipped when designing the corners.

So, why the Ancient Dice?

The reason why I chose the Ancient Dice is very simple. In the UK, these are the only ornate dice you can get for Fate on Amazon. Instead, there are several sets of different coloured plain dice (I also bought a pack of the Vampire Dice – which are red, black, and purple), but I like to have custom dice when I am a Dungeon Master/Games Master. They make me feel special – so I got these.

There could be a larger range, but I realise the number of people who play Fate can’t be as widespread compared to those who play D20 systems. Q-Workshop do a few more sets, but they are either this ancient style (with different colours) or techno.

Let’s get down to business –

Finally, in my other dice review I mentioned that sometimes dice, when produced quickly or cheaply (or both) can end up with air bubbles in them. This throws the roll off (no pun intended) and so there is a test we can do to check to see how fair the dice are. We roll one die one hundred times and see the result. In this case, since there are only three options, there should be around 33% of the rolls for each result. We look for an error margin of +/- 10 on that when rolling so few dice (we would be better rolling 1000 times, or 10,000 times) and then we have a rough idea of how fair the die is. If a die comes up 60/100 times one side, then we know something is off.

So, here we go –

Plus – 28
Blank – 34
Minus – 38

Minus was rolled 38% of the time, and Plus was rolled 28% of the time (percentages are so easy when you roll something 100 times). This is +/- 5 either way so well within our margin for error. Then again, what did we expect? Q-Workshop make great dice and I highly recommend them as a company as a whole. This post isn’t sponsored by them, but I do recommend paying their site a visit. It’s a dice haven.

So there we have it – a fairly quick review because I want to get on with playing the game.

So, gamers and RPG-ers, what’s your favourite designed up dice set? Which is the set that you just love to break out whenever you get a chance? Let me know in the comments below.

Published by Luke

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