Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
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- LordMortis
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Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
And how they were unrecognizable as dice in about a year?
QA needed to look at a 2000 year old d20 in better shape than an early 80s d20 to figure things out.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-575 ... s-of-time/" target="_blank
QA needed to look at a 2000 year old d20 in better shape than an early 80s d20 to figure things out.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-575 ... s-of-time/" target="_blank
- Pyperkub
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
That is awesome. Gygax must have made his saving throw vs. death back then...
Black Lives definitely Matter Lorini!
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
Also: There are three ways to not tell the truth: lies, damned lies, and statistics.
- TiLT
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Say what? Do people have dice that deteriorate? I still have my first set that I bought nearly 20 years ago, and it looks good as new. Well okay, it looks like crap, but that's merely because of the color choices, not because of wear and tear.LordMortis wrote:And how they were unrecognizable as dice in about a year?
Insert witty comment here.
- IceBear
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
All mine except the one that came in the red box (got that in the early 80s) that you had to color in the numbers with a crayon are fine. That one, however, is pretty bad...the edges are pretty worn and it will roll and roll and roll like a ball before stopping - though it does seem to come up 20 more than my other dice so I've kept it
- LordMortis
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
My first sets of dice were from over 30 years ago and edges rounded and the plastic lightened and the grooves you had to crayon in wore away fast Just a year or two later in Top Secret, etc... the dice included, always seemingly with or pink d20 had numbers that were inked but not into groove and the ink just wore off while the edges rounded, etc...TiLT wrote:Say what? Do people have dice that deteriorate? I still have my first set that I bought nearly 20 years ago, and it looks good as new. Well okay, it looks like crap, but that's merely because of the color choices, not because of wear and tear.LordMortis wrote:And how they were unrecognizable as dice in about a year?
- IceBear
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Yeah, I think those original dice from the early 80s were bad, but I believe those were quickly replaced with better manufactured ones. I was in a remote area so couldn't get more dice until the late 80s / early 90s and those didn't need a crayon to fill in the numbers. Those dice are still good
- Blackhawk
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Those original dice were made of horribly soft plastic. I've still got a couple somewhere.
Not mine, but illustrative:
Not mine, but illustrative:
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
- TheMix
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I may have had those exact ones.
At least, I know I have a yellow 4 and an orange 6.
Not so sure about the other two though.
At least, I know I have a yellow 4 and an orange 6.
Not so sure about the other two though.
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- hentzau
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I'll try and dig out my original D20 sometime soon. It's almost like a marble.
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- Smoove_B
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. My original powder-blue red box D20 is smooth as hell.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
- Archinerd
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I spent way more time drawing on graph paper than rolling dice when I "played" D&D. My d20's still look pretty good.
- killbot737
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
My basic set came with yellow dice and a white crayon. WTF? I colored them in with a mechanical pencil instead. You'd think I would have grown out of crayons by then, but I also own an expertly colored Monster Manual using markers, colored pencil and crayons. The Quasit and Troll were always my favorites.
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- hentzau
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
- Zurai
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Incidentally, the only reason greataxes deal 1d12 damage is that the company that supplied Gygax and Arneson with the dice for the very first boxed sets would only supply full sets of dice, 4 sided to 20 sided. They had to take the 12 sided dice, so they figured they might as well use it.
- LordMortis
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
The idea was that crayons were simple. You'd clumsily fill in the grooves by rubbing the whole surface really hard and then you'd remove the excess with a paper towel.killbot737 wrote:My basic set came with yellow dice and a white crayon. WTF? I colored them in with a mechanical pencil instead. You'd think I would have grown out of crayons by then, but I also own an expertly colored Monster Manual using markers, colored pencil and crayons. The Quasit and Troll were always my favorites.
I couldn't imagine damaging my books by coloring them in. And yet the spines were destroyed on every single one of my AD&D books.
- killbot737
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I just meant there was barely any contrast. You'd think they'd pack a dark colored crayon instead. <shakes dice bag!>
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- LordMortis
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
My Basic set got a yellow crayon with red dice and my expert set got a white crayon with blue dice. Top Secret, Gamma World, etc... all came with numbers painted on D10/D20s.killbot737 wrote:I just meant there was barely any contrast. You'd think they'd pack a dark colored crayon instead. <shakes dice bag!>
- RuperT
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I called 20 sided dice dodecahedrons for 20 years, until I ran into the right toponerd.Zurai wrote:Incidentally, the only reason greataxes deal 1d12 damage is that the company that supplied Gygax and Arneson with the dice for the very first boxed sets would only supply full sets of dice, 4 sided to 20 sided. They had to take the 12 sided dice, so they figured they might as well use it.
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- $iljanus
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I have fond memories of that die. And bad memories of failed saves.
Black lives matter!
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- Holman
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Page 18 was my favorite.killbot737 wrote:My basic set came with yellow dice and a white crayon. WTF? I colored them in with a mechanical pencil instead. You'd think I would have grown out of crayons by then, but I also own an expertly colored Monster Manual using markers, colored pencil and crayons. The Quasit and Troll were always my favorites.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- killbot737
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I don't even have to open the book to know what you are referring to.Holman wrote:Page 18 was my favorite.killbot737 wrote:My basic set came with yellow dice and a white crayon. WTF? I colored them in with a mechanical pencil instead. You'd think I would have grown out of crayons by then, but I also own an expertly colored Monster Manual using markers, colored pencil and crayons. The Quasit and Troll were always my favorites.
There is no hug button. Sad!
- silverjon
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
(I am missing the joke )
wot?
To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?
Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
To be fair, adolescent power fantasy tripe is way easier to write than absurd existential horror, and every community has got to start somewhere... right?
Unless one loses a precious thing, he will never know its true value. A little light finally scratches the darkness; it lets the exhausted one face his shattered dream and realize his path cannot be walked. Can man live happily without embracing his wounded heart?
- Isgrimnur
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
My guess is either demons or breasts.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
- Blackhawk
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
My guess is both.Isgrimnur wrote:My guess is either demons or breasts.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
- LawBeefaroni
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
They didn't all hold up so well.LordMortis wrote:And how they were unrecognizable as dice in about a year?
QA needed to look at a 2000 year old d20 in better shape than an early 80s d20 to figure things out.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-575 ... s-of-time/" target="_blank
FWIW, I have the red ones in pretty much perfect condition. Never used them, replaced them with a new set since I didn't know what the crayon was for and they seemed too hard to read.
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MYT
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I wonder what the weight difference is between different color crayons?
- Holman
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
Yep. The Succubus in the original Monster Manual is obviously just a traced Playmate with wings and fangs added on. This was quite a discovery at age 12.Blackhawk wrote:My guess is both.Isgrimnur wrote:My guess is either demons or breasts.
Remember, we didn't have the internet back then.
Much prefer my Nazis Nuremberged.
- LawBeefaroni
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
There was ASCII "art" on the BBS though.Holman wrote:Yep. The Succubus in the original Monster Manual is obviously just a traced Playmate with wings and fangs added on. This was quite a discovery at age 12.Blackhawk wrote:My guess is both.Isgrimnur wrote:My guess is either demons or breasts.
Remember, we didn't have the internet back then.
" Hey OP, listen to my advice alright." -Tha General
"No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton
MYT
"No scientific discovery is named after its original discoverer." -Stigler's Law of Eponymy, discovered by Robert K. Merton
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- hentzau
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Re: Remember those D20s from Basic D&D?
I was looking more closely at the D20 that I pictured above last night, and was really surprised by the shoddiness of the manufacture, not even counting on the the lousy quality of plastic the dice was made from. The 0 spot that I colored in black (to indicate it was a 20) is extremely concave, and the 0 on the opposite side is just as convex as the other side is concave. No wonder I never rolled any 20's on that freaking die!
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire