Tiny dice

Do you dread being caught diceless when someone unexpectedly proposes a game? Are business meetings fraught with anxiety for fear of a client suddenly asking you to teach them D&D, but then realising you didn't bring a d20? Is your home life suffering because you're accusing your loved ones of stealing your dice when you can't locate them? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you should do what I did. Get gifted a set of dice so small they fit into a case no larger than a pocketwatch.

A player in my local gaming group very kindly bought a set of tiny dice for each member of the group. I don't know where he got them, but I suspect it was from the Internet. There's nothing particularly special about this implementation of tiny dice, so I'm not recommending a specific brand, I'm just praising the concept. The dice set I got came in the case of a pocket watch, which is awfully handy (and also troublesome, because it makes me choose whether to carry an actual pocket watch or dice), and each die is about 5mm (that's half a centimetre, or about a quarter of an inch. It's a full set, including a d4, d6, d8, 2d10, d12, and d20. The d20 is the largest, at 8mm.

12 reasons you need tiny dice

I have at least d12 scenarios in my head when I might need dice in situations when I hadn't planned on needing dice.

1. A roleplaying game spontaneously breaks out
2. A wargame unexpectedly erupts
3. A decision with several choices must be made, and you think randomness ought to decide
4. A random seed is required for something
5. You've acquired a game book like Fighting Fantasy or Lone Wolf
6. You left the house this morning without your dice bag
7. You've been asked for your geek credentials
8. You're being chased by goblins and would give anything for caltrops
9. You're writing the obligatory "what is a roleplaying game?" introduction for a rulebook, and need reference for a quick sketch of a dice set
10. You brought exactly one dice set to the game this evening, and they've all rolled under the couch
11. Death itself has challenged you to a game of chess, and you want to counter with a roleplaying game instead
12. You've been asked for the time, so you get to take out your "pocket watch" and open it and then pretend like you'd forgotten it wasn't a clock but a set of tiny dice

And that's just off the top of my head.

So far, none of those scenarios have ever happened, but nevertheless I was living in fear that they would happen. My set of tiny dice provides peace of mind and confidence in the face of a dozen potential game-related disasters.

Get some tiny dice

I admit that in practise, these probably qualify as novelty dice. I've used them, but only rarely. When I'm actually playing a game, I use dice that are anywhere between 1 and 1.5 centimetres in size, because those are common and easy to read. Still, for the psychological benefits alone, tiny dice are well worth the investment. Find some, buy them, take them everywhere you go. You'll always be glad you did, even though you'll likely never actually need them the way you thought you would.