When we find allies as precious as gems, who also have gems, well it's worth shouting about! And so it is with the colorful math rocks I discovered when I needed dice for my first campaign. Some of you know I have been learning how to play Dungeons and Dragons. It's been touted for many fun experiences and helpful brain exercises. I was first underwhelmed, then later intimidated by, this game for a long time,;but I decided to bite my bullet loaded with social and bodily anxieties, and give it a go. What were the chances my disabilities would let me? Would my brain fog prevent me from making the decisions I need in a timely manner? Could my monotonous discomfort spill over in the form of taking too many breaks and interrupting the game? Should my character be a boring avatar of my lameness, or a predictable super-able champion wish story? Because I had not yet played, I still thought in this digital way.
To me, this was another possibility, one of experiencing the rare state of enjoyment for me again, albeit at the end of a long list of other previous possibilities that failed. But I had spent a long time preparing myself, I didn't just jump in blindly
and chance corrupting my efforts before the tender leaves were a little weathered! Three or four Lone Wolf games. Five years' worth of the Critical Role and other podcasts snarfed down in just over a year's time. Then a trusted
friend and DM/GM gingerly walking me through the game mechanics and
options... I had to work hard to make room for the reality that it could turn out, and that I might have a good time. That hadn't happened for a LONG time, since certain disabilities grew in their power to make my life suck, and the whole world became my enemy. Those of us beaten down by life know.
I say this because someone has to. Nobody can tell you where, or when, or why you still come up with some try. I know it hurts a lot to see that part empty. Sometimes you need to rest until you can come up with the tiniest amount of it, even if that takes a long time. Try to see forward when you are looking back at a defining moment, and ask what you would like to remember? That I let my emotions fly, and how hard it was to clean up after that hurtful hurricane, or maybe that I held my poker face for just a few seconds here, a couple minutes there, until the moment changes again and someone or something else is in the spotlight, After a few successes, I began to be able to rely on a little bit of consistency in the world again. Each day I asked myself if I was ready, and each day the answer was No. Until it wasn't. One day my answer was yes.
And so no shit, there we were, reaching through the interwebs to put together a little group of people who also wanted to play a tabletop game (who ended up being all veterans, what do you know). The learning and social interaction, both in-game and out-, has been tremendously awe-inspiring and enjoyable, and given me every chance to virtually work on my cloak (referencing previous post The Traveler's Cloak on mental and physical self-work). Although I will admit the more stories I hear about people gaming it, the luckier I feel to have such a great group!
And if you are on some path or other that uses gaming dice, do I have the nerds for you!
They are fans of D&D, travel, and all things nerdy! Female and LGBTQ owned! You can see their shop HERE at their supply store, but make tea and cookies! There are pages and pages of glorious photos, videos of rolling dice, and links to communicate with them about something you might have in mind... they are mercifully raising the happiness quotient of the world, one set at a time (or more, like me...)!
These dice are great to handle, if you have a feel for that sort of thing like I do... the struggle is real! Fear not, these do not disappoint. They look delicious, of course, each in their swirly-dirly way, but are surprisingly substantial and still dynamic, both in hand and on the table (or in the tower). Out of respect for the dice, I did not photograph the gift sets, only my own (after I got their permission). They are mesmerizing and I find myself searching for excuses to roll them out of game, so I used the 8 elements of the Bagua to create a divination game for my Druid Monk. Dice happened to be one of her proficiencies to boot, so now she gets social interaction activity points by doing "readings" for players -- in game and out!
A review of the dice by name --
HELLISH REBUKE looks like how red-hots taste, warm red magenta sparkles that just POP on the map boards
PURIFY embodies magic trapped in resin... each rainbow-y iridescent facet just looks like miracles are about to happen. It is tempting to underestimate them, but they are also sharp-edged and serious!
HEALING WORD are nice rolling, and have a sparkly peachy warm glow that could equally end up being mistaken for candy -- but you wouldn't be able to look at them in your mouth.
PLANE SHIFT is currently my favorite dice to use, on account of the larger-sized dice, medium edges, and gothic font - these are a joy to roll, easy to read, and OH YES look just like labradorite, my favorite stone. Dude.
ZEPHYR STRIKE is red pearl swirled with white pearl, with ribbons of silver flake twisted throughout -- sharp-edged and weighty, like precious cuts of old polished granite gemstones.
ELYSIUM is a wonderfully curated color palette of soothing greens, yellows, and purples, and so smart in a color theory way too, as some might notice. Looking forward to more artful options in this style of combining sets! I shall make inquiries...
EVOCATION are pretty incredible to get lost in, good thing for me they were a gift to someone else, I wouldn't get anything done! They are like faceted water of various depths, and a solid on the high number on each die, which are easy to note in the heat of battle. And so pretty.
GENTLE REPOSE are my favorite dice to handle, and I play with them for no reason - rolley polley edges, white and amber whorls gleaming like petrified agate, with surprise pink sparkle. They are complicated and fascinating, comforting to hear and feel, and relaxing like ASMR. They are pictured here, so lovely...
Pass on to anyone looking for special dice for their game, character, friends, or any of a million reasons. The variety of price points let me spend what I was comfortable with for the players in my current campaign, sets for my druid monk and her in-game game, and for rolling out my dungeons. That's right, I'm goin' for it!
The thing about voting with our dollars is that we get to spend resources on a quality product that pays forward to underrepresented groups to boot, instead of lining corporate pockets. So few pockets have personality as it is. Hooray for finding such a gem amidst this pandemic!
Great Job!!!
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