I dislike proprietary dice like the ones used in the currently hot Star Wars: Edges of the Empire.

Why have they re-emerged at this time in the hobby's history?
Are they going to be a trend for the foreseeable future?
Are they really worth the added trouble?
Have they ever been done well?

Anti - piracy measures. And I hope they don't catch on - for example, I didn't buy DCC because of them (though I might give it a try now given the Android add).

I like the Edge of the Empire dice system because it wraps up ability, difficulty, and circumstance all into one dice pool with no target numbers with 2 numerical axes (Success/Failure, Advantage/Threat) and two possible switches (Triumph, Despair)

It packs a ton of information into one roll. Could it be done with standard dice? Probably, but it would be a lot more complicated and probably need lookup tables.

I really have nothing against it, and I think the reason as Emp. Norton says is because they do stuff easily that you can't with just numerical dice.

If it were anti-piracy or an effort to jack up prices on accessories, I think it'd (mostly) fail. Between web apps and just using a marker to customize dice, it's pretty easy to avoid the official dice if you want to. I guess it's hard to make a d30 from scratch, but a d6 marked 1-3 twice for the tens digit, and then a d10 for the units will do the trick.

Quote from: Arminius;726963I really have nothing against it, and I think the reason as Emp. Norton says is because they do stuff easily that you can't with just numerical dice.

If it were anti-piracy or an effort to jack up prices on accessories, I think it'd (mostly) fail. Between web apps and just using a marker to customize dice, it's pretty easy to avoid the official dice if you want to. I guess it's hard to make a d30 from scratch, but a d6 marked 1-3 twice for the tens digit, and then a d10 for the units will do the trick.

Pshaw, D30s are easy to find, it's those D24s that are problematic . You're probably right on the anti - piracy measures  - I meant more that it opens up another revenue of profit (gadgets), that can be closely controlled by the distributor of main product.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945I dislike proprietary dice like the ones used in the currently hot Star Wars: Edges of the Empire.

Why have they re-emerged at this time in the hobby's history?
Are they going to be a trend for the foreseeable future?
Are they really worth the added trouble?
Have they ever been done well?

I can sticker regular dice and DIY most any standard d6 proprietary dice.



As for why? Because it means more sales someone believes.
Be glad they arent random collectible.

Quote from: Omega;726972I can sticker regular dice and DIY most any standard d6 proprietary dice.

Off-topic:
Is that a Roborally variant?

Quote from: Dirk Remmecke;726978Off-topic:
Is that a Roborally variant?

RoboDerby Express. A free Print-n-Play game for the "One Sticker Sheet" PNP contest. Its based off RoboRally and was originally called RoboRally Express but got hit with a C&D or just asked not to use the title by the current owners. SJG?

Mine are just dollar store pipped dice with the stickers attatched. You can also get blank dice from a UK shop and even indented blank dice specifically for stickering.

Stickering other dice tends to be a nuisance though getting the shapes and scales just right.

But aside from that. As someone suggested in the thread. It does also make for a viable pirating stopgap since DIYing the dice isnt going to be a common skill or interest.

I could be wrong, but I think there's a side of every gamer that enjoys weird widgets that give a game its own feel, provided they don't overburden the player.  Maybe some games push that a little too far.  But to most of us who got a boxed D&D basic set way back when, even those dice seemed proprietary at the time!  At least I know I hadn't seen them before, back in 5th grade!  But that made them seem particularly awesome.

Quote from: furious about elfgames;727007I could be wrong, but I think there's a side of every gamer that enjoys weird widgets that give a game its own feel, provided they don't overburden the player.  Maybe some games push that a little too far.  But to most of us who got a boxed D&D basic set way back when, even those dice seemed proprietary at the time!  At least I know I hadn't seen them before, back in 5th grade!  But that made them seem particularly awesome.

I think you have a strong point for many gamers, but I feel just about the very opposite. One of the reasons I enjoy RPGs is because so little is needed. The more esoteric the materials (including booklet-sized character sheets) the less I feel I can take the game seriously.

//Panjumanju

Quote from: Rincewind1;726964Pshaw, D30s are easy to find, it's those D24s that are problematic .

Au contraire, one can compose them using a d6 and a series of coinflips!

It's only the prime-sided dice that really give trouble.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945I dislike proprietary dice like the ones used in the currently hot Star Wars: Edges of the Empire.

They suck.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945Why have they re-emerged at this time in the hobby's history?

Gimmicks intended to boost profits for game manufacturers.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945Are they going to be a trend for the foreseeable future?

I sure as fuck hope not.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945Are they really worth the added trouble?

No, they are actually an added barrier to entry for games that use them.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;726945Have they ever been done well?

No.

Quote from: Arminius;727023Au contraire, one can compose them using a d6 and a series of coinflips!

It's only the prime-sided dice that really give trouble.

If I have to use more than one dice, and it's not part of a mechanic, I call it problematic . First world problems, I know, but for me, emulating dice with other dice (unless they are same shape and'd just require me to make a table/set a rule what score stands for what, like with using normal d6 for Fate dice) is a bit..clunky. Clunky enough to be something that turns me away from a product.

What jeff37923 said.

Quote from: Rincewind1;727028If I have to use more than one dice, and it's not part of a mechanic, I call it problematic . First world problems, I know, but for me, emulating dice with other dice (unless they are same shape and'd just require me to make a table/set a rule what score stands for what, like with using normal d6 for Fate dice) is a bit..clunky. Clunky enough to be something that turns me away from a product.

I ain't gonna disagree on that.

On the other hand, this is the 21st century. Many of us regularly carry around devices capable of rolling any number of dice, with any number of sides. I like rolling dice, I like the feel of them, but "I don't have any dice with me!" Is a solved problem.

(I know how random number generators work, and how entirely random they aren't, but for our purposes they'll do fine.)