Tools: Dice rollers
No Wraith for the second week in a row. Sigh. I was throwing up a bunch and one of my players has a compromised immune system, so she and her husband stayed home. I don’t run when I’m down two players, so I just slept for the rest of the day. I miss Storytelling, but I really didn’t feel good and probably needed the rest.
So since I don’t have any game stuff to write about this week, let me introduce you to one of my favorite gaming tools — my dice rollers!
Dice are a time-honored and nerdy way of self-expression in table-top RPGs. One of my friends has a set of tiny, glittery green dice that have been a long-time favorite — despite how easily they get lost between couch cushions or under the table. Aron has a set of ancient White Wolf dice — black ten-siders, with some seriously faded roses in place of the ones — that have been rolled through more games than I can count. A lot of gamers even buy a new set for each character that they play, something that matches their new creation.
But I’ve always been a minimalist, even in my gaming. I don’t like having too many things to clean up after game, or lose if my cat jumps up on the table while I’m Storytelling. As a result, I’m a big fan of digital dice rollers.
Here are the two that I use:
Dicy (free)
I’ll start with the easy one. Dicy is an old, simple little Mac OS X app. It’s no longer being developed and has been replaced by an iOS app, Hedra. But when it comes to rolling on my phone, I have a different app and have never tried out Hedra.
Dicy has a small window, with an icon for each of the traditional dice and a simple multiple-die roller at the bottom that I set with the 2D6 used for Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM). Dicy is basic, with no real bells or whistles, and doesn’t take up much screen real estate.
But while Dicy is fine for BESM — which is very basic, dice-wise — it doesn’t handle lots of dice very well. So when I need to run or play something that calls for big handfuls of dice — like White Wolf or Shadowrun — it’s just not up to the task.
Dice Ex Machina (free/$2.99)
So when I need more dice, I use Dice Ex Machina. It’s an iOS exclusive, as far as I know, but it’s been a well-spent three bucks. The basic version is free, and includes a standard dice screen, plus the dice calculator and some dice sets. But if you pay a few dollars, you can unlock the color themes and some extra settings. (It’s one of the free settings, but I highly suggest turning off the ever-annoying clatter sound effect that so many dice rollers insist on using.)
Dice Ex takes a little longer to set up than Dicy, but it allows for dice sets that include custom highlights for high and low rolls, modifiers, and re-rolling specific dice. Dice Ex can even track things like hit points and arrows, too.
I haven’t been using Dice Ex for very long, and haven’t plumbed the full depths of its capabilities. On the settings screen, you can have the app generate an example fighter that will give you a chance to poke around. It can’t quite replace a full character sheet — but it’s close!
