What are your dice superstitions?

[Heliomance]

Most gamers have some, right? Little things you like to believe about your dice. Some people believe that dice get jealous if you let someone else touch them, and will roll badly for a while. In my uni gaming group it was firmly believed that misbehaving dice could be convinced to roll better by being kept in the bra of a female player for a while as incentive. What are your favourite superstitions?

[hymer]

Mine is mostly that if a die (especially a d20) rolls badly four or so times in a row, it goes back in the dice bag for the night.

[Keltest]

Do not use the black dice that a player we shall call E brings to the table. Its not that theyre bad for anyone but him or anything, but it makes him feel bad when you get 3 natural 20s after he gets his 4th single digit roll in a row.

[Mastikator]

That I only get high rolls if high rolls are bad.

[noob]

I am convinced I remember more the 1,2,3,4 results on D20 than the other results.

[Spore]

I am not really superstitious but the amount of bad luck my set of grey dice has wrought upon me has discontinued my rogue in favor of a character that isn't so reliable on good rolls. I call them the trolling dice. The d20 rolls an 8 when a 9 or 10 would have been enough to pass. The d6 rolls exclusively 1 and 2. The dice aren't so much aligned with bad luck as they are just. pure. evil.

[Brion]

That my frosted grey d20 is a hero, so I only use it when there is need for the dramatic.

Example: This past Sunday we were in a desperate fight for our lives (Age of Worms, for those who have run through that). The next round was probably going to see at least one PC death if we didn't bring down the last 2 enemies we were fighting. As luck happens, they ended up adjacent to each other and I was able to get a full round attack in (4 swings for my Oracle's BAB + haste). The grey d20 was summoned. First and second attack hit enemy 1 and took him down, but there was still the other standing, he had not taken too much damage, and I was down to the 3rd swing and expecting to miss... nat 20. To confirm the crit? Nat 20. In the 5 years or so I've been playing Pathfinder, it was the first time I ever rolled back to back nat 20s. Didn't even need the haste attack as the crit dropped him from 80 to bleeding out.

[JAL_1138]

*Several of my dice only roll high in test-rolls and refuse to do so in actual gameplay.

*One particular d20 is a nat-20 factory (it's rolled ten 20s in one game session, four of them were in a row, for example), but goes on long streaks of single-digit rolls after it does so. It's sort of like a barbarian--it frenzies, but picks up a level of exhaustion afterward.

*When the chips are down and my character's fate is on the line, when one roll means life or death, I bust out the old TSR d20 that came with the 5-piece dice set in Holmes Basic. It got me through the Tomb of Horrors in one piece, after all. The old 5-piece set as a whole is nicknamed "The Great Old Ones," but that d20 in particular is "The Great Old One" and the rest go unnamed except as a set.

*Not actually a superstition, since tests have been done to back it up: the rounded-corner, circular-faced d6es with drilled pips like Chessex and Games Workshop sell in bulk will roll more 1s than they should; never use those unless DMing and trying not to TPK. Check out this test someone did on it. 144 of this type of dice rolled 1000 times averaged 29% 1s, instead of the expected 16.66667%.

*Also not a supersition but backed by tests, Gamescience d20s will roll slightly but statistically-significantly fewer 14s than they should if the sprue-mark on the 7 face isn't trimmed flush (e.g., with an emory board or Xacto; sometimes they come already trimmed well enough). If it is trimmed properly, they're fine. To be fair, Gamescience themselves tell you to trim it.

*D20s that roll low for too long get switched out.

*Odd one: dice should never be kept in any container made and/or marketed for that express purpose, for example the cheap velvet dice bags game stores sell or the graphic-printed ones found online. Never use those. Dice should be kept in improvised/repurposed containers, like Crown Royal bags, tackle-boxes, tupperware containers, jewelry-boxes, ammo cans, etc., even if it's just a Ziplock bag, it's still better than something somebody's actually selling as a "dice bag." Makes no sense at all, I can't even properly articulate why; could be more of a "back in my day, dagnabbit, dadgum whippersnappers, ten miles in the snow uphill both ways, etc." bit of grognardism than a superstition, I think.

*Never touch someone else's dice without permission.

*Dice don't like to be separated from their setmates; if you just bring one die from a given set, or even bring most of a set but leave out a single die, it rolls low. Only bring full sets to the game. Don't have to use them, they just need to be there. Exceptions are the 12-piece Gamescience sets that have weird dice like d3s, d5s, d14s, d16s, and d24s with them; the "Zocchi dice" can usually be left out of the set safely. Usually. Other exceptions are mismatched dice taken from a Pound-o-Dice; they seem to have no particular loyalty to the rest of them, except for the one matching set in each pound.

*Use the real thing rather than dice-roller apps if at all possible.

*Check dice for manufacturing flaws (misshapen, misnumbered, air bubbles, etc.) before use.

*The DM's dice hate the PCs and want to hurt them.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I have a black d20 that only rolls high for me, and only when I'm dm'ing. The `black die of the DM` has doomed multiple pcs by now, in one notable case by two twenties on the assassin's surprise round with an anti-materiel rifle.

In another game where I was a player, one of those who had been culled by the black die tried to turn it's power against me now it was her turn to DM...

...Nothing above a nine rolled all session. Do not trifle with the Black Die.

[legomaster00156]

My dice are cursed. It doesn't matter which ones. If I am a player, whether using online dice rollers, apps, or real dice, they will rarely if ever roll above a 10 in a session. If they do, it is almost always for an unimportant roll. On the other hand, if I'm the GM, my dice will roll maximum damage criticals when doing so would instantly kill my players, even though I really don't like killing off PC's.

[Grey Watcher]

I generally don't pay enough attention to my dice to develop superstitions. However, the subject does make me wish there was a reasonably affordable/available, non-destructive way to check if your dice are properly constructed. From what I understand, unless you pay top dollar to get some really rigorously made ones (and by top dollar, I mean what Vegas casinos buy for their tables), dice are quite likely to have flaws (air pockets, inconsistent density, etc.). Maybe that one d20 you hate isn't cursed or spiteful or anything, maybe it's just got a big ol' air pocket right under the one, so that tends to land on top because it's lighter.

[JeenLeen]

In an oWoD: Mage game, I did poorly on my Arete rolls fairly consistently. Also, anytime I played a wizard or spellcaster I tend to roll poorly, even when DMing and the players were fighting one. Other players refused to touch my dice lest they be cursed with similar bad luck.

[Draconium]

Any time I roll a hit that threatens a critical, you can be sure my next roll will be poor enough that I will not confirm. It doesn't always happen, but it's far more common that not for me. There go my dreams of being a crit-finisher...

Also, me and my friend (and fellow DM) have noticed that we roll far better when we DM than when we are actually players. Apparently, our characters are rather unlucky most of the time, but when we're the bad guys, we become very lucky to make up for it.

Oh, one more. We tend to roll for stats at my table - 4d6, reroll ones, take the best three. We don't always have someone roll up three 6's in one roll at our table. But when we do, it's hardly ever just one person - usually, half the group will roll that up all at the same time.

[AdmiralCheez]

We like to "train" dice, so when they're not actively being rolled, we let them sit on the table with their highest number showing on top. The theory being that the die is so used to being in that position, it will naturally want to roll there, leading to more nat 20s and high damage.

[Doublebat]

My players and I took to leaving our d20s in a resting position with the 20 facing upward at all times for luck. Eventually we justified it by concluding this settled any imperfections in the plastic on the opposing side and made 20s more likely.

I also stopped using my fancy hematite dice in favor of the old starter-kit dice, because the hematite seemed to make the most boring rolls possible (minimum damage, no 20s ever, etc).

[Esprit15]

We joke that all five must be bathed in garlic butter after my new set refused to roll above 10 for several sessions until after they fell into some garlic butter that we had with our pizza that night.

Other than that, leave them high side up to remind them how to roll. Don't think about the number you want, or the number that would be inconvenient to roll.

[ZamielVanWeber]

In my uni gaming group it was firmly believed that misbehaving dice could be convinced to roll better by being kept in the bra of a female player for a while as incentive. What are your favourite superstitions?

Now I have a mental image of you sitting at a table with your bra filled with dice.

That aside: I will build shrines to the dice gods with my other dice, with the die to be blessed being the one in the center on the shrine. It is always rotated to the highest number to incentivize the dice gods to bring that number up more often. I did it once as a joke and it worked, so I will do it ever since.

[Fumble Jack]

I try to avoid using the same dice I use when I run a game as I do as a player. My Gm dice are wicked player hating dice, no exception for when I'm a player, if there's a roll I can fail as a player, they will ensure it happens whenever they get used as player dice. When I'm a Gm they love crits & high damage.

[Iannick]

My dice all live in the same Crown Royal bag I got in the early 80s. During game play all sets get laid out as do all the same sized d6s. After every roll they go back to where they were originally set out in. Not sure if this is superstition or OCD, meh waddaya gonna do.

[Zejety]

I generally don't pay enough attention to my dice to develop superstitions. However, the subject does make me wish there was a reasonably affordable/available, non-destructive way to check if your dice are properly constructed. From what I understand, unless you pay top dollar to get some really rigorously made ones (and by top dollar, I mean what Vegas casinos buy for their tables), dice are quite likely to have flaws (air pockets, inconsistent density, etc.). Maybe that one d20 you hate isn't cursed or spiteful or anything, maybe it's just got a big ol' air pocket right under the one, so that tends to land on top because it's lighter.

Have you tried the water thing?
Put your die into a glass or bowl of water. A plastic die should float. Now give it a little spin; if it turns back into its original orientation, then it's not balanced right.

[Grey Watcher]

Have you tried the water thing?
Put your die into a glass or bowl of water. A plastic die should float. Now give it a little spin; if it turns back into its original orientation, then it's not balanced right.

No, I hadn't heard of that. Sounds like fun! TO THE HOME LABORATORY! (You mean the kitchen?) Quiet, I'm trying to be dramatic here.

[themaque]

If it's a combat roll, I'm probably going to fail.
If it's OOC I'm probably going to succeed.

It's just the way my luck seems to work and it doesn't seem to matter what kind of dice or system.

[JAL_1138]

Have you tried the water thing?
Put your die into a glass or bowl of water. A plastic die should float. Now give it a little spin; if it turns back into its original orientation, then it's not balanced right.

If the die is plastic and doesn't float, take it out and fully dissolve a few tablespoons of table salt or epsom salts in the water before trying again (repeat if necessary until the die floats), is what I've heard. The dissolved salts should make the water denser, unless my admittedly-dodgy memory of chemistry has failed me.


EDIT: The float-test is not necessarily a substitute for thousands of test rolls, as the roll-tests of Chessex/Games Workshop pipped d6es show! In that case, the heaviest side ended up being rolled the most, due to the relatively small weight difference interacting with the specific shape of the die face to produce a counterintuitive result.

[Raimun]

I don't have any superstitions about dice at all. If I had, that would imply that I would think my methods don't work and aren't based on cold, hard facts.

Concerning dice, there are three universal, undisputed thruths:

DM of the Rings CXX:Luck Thief:
There are a limited number of “twenties” in any given d20. That is, no matter how many times you roll a d20, you cannot roll another twenty once the supply has run out. These twenties can only be replenished by rolling a corresponding one with the same die. Thus every gamer is duty-bound to protect their supply of good rolls. If a friend rolls a twenty using your die, not only have they stolen your good roll, but they have doomed you to the extra one required to replenish the twenty.

Some players get excited when they roll several twenties in a row, concluding the dice are “hot”. Don’t make this blunder! This is like driving your car for 400 miles without gassing up, and then concluding that your car is a perpetual motion machine. After a few good rolls, pass the die off to an unwitting companion and let them charge it up for you.

Statisticians have known about this behavior for years. They call it “the probability seesaw”. Unlike the bell-shaped curve, in the seesaw system the odds of rolling high or low is directly proportional to what has been rolled in the past. They usually pretend this isn’t true. If a statistician hands you a die insisting that “any given roll has the same odds of rolling a one or a twenty”, it means he’s handing you a depleted die in the hopes of taking advantage of you. Don’t fall for it!


Also, in addition to the above, the dice are powered by Spiral Energy! That is, the better your fighting spirit is, the better you will roll. I am pretty sure Hawking, Einstein and Newton all agreed SPIRAL ENERGY! is a concrete force of the infinite universe.

Number three: Pre-rolling the "ones" out of your dice makes them roll better. I mean, c'mon. How likely is it that a single die rolls two "ones" in a row? You can't argue with SCIENCE!

Combine all three and you will be INVINCIBLE!

[Zrak]

My friend used to use this pair of gratuitously oversized d6 we referred to as "The Heavy Hitters" in part as a joke about their ludicrous size and in part out of a superstition that they, on average, rolled higher than other dice. Honestly, I can't ever remember seeing them roll below a four. Part of me is tempted to write that off as confirmation bias, but the truth is that I was specifically watching for a roll below a four for years without seeing it happen.

We also got an impressionable friend started on the habit of laying out all his dice with the highest number up, as this "primed" them to get good rolls. I used to lay my dice out like that, I guess just because I'm a neat freak, and never really thought of it until he noticed. Seizing on the opportunity, I made up a goofy reason that was equal parts superstition and pseudoscience. Being good/terrible friends, a bunch of the other players joined in backing me up, acting like they'd always laid their dice out like that and he'd just never noticed. As far as I know, he still "primes" his dice, like I taught him.

[JAL_1138]

Hackmaster includes plenty of dice superstitions right in the rules. Kenzerco has the chapter in question up for free on their site, so I don't think there's any problem with linking to it here: http://www.kenzerco.com/hackmaster/d...ds/On_Dice.pdf

[cobaltstarfire]

I have the more common "if my dice roll bad they take a "break" for a while"

Not much else, I like to build towers with my dice too, though I have a feeling that it's bad luck so someone else at a table I played at must have tried to discourage such behavior.

[StealthyRobot]

I've noticed that, as a DM, when pre-rolling skill checks for enemies and NPCs they are quite high. When it comes to attack rolls I can't hit the wizard with AC 11.
And as an interesting man once said, "I don't always hit, but when I do, I crit."

[comicshorse]

I always blow on them when I really need a roll to be lucky
A friend is convinced that not watching the dice roll will get a good result and she even insists the rest of us not watch her dice roll if the roll is especially important

[Grod_The_Giant]

My friend has a "die of pain." When he usds it, it rolls poorly. When I accidentally wound up keeping it for a summer and playing in an online campaign he was running , it rolled AMAZINGLY. We're pretty sure it has it out for him.