how I made dice for The World, the Flesh, and the Devil

[Paul Czege]

Hey,

Some of you are aware that I'm prepping to run http://www.123.net/~czege/WFD.html">The World, the Flesh, and the Devil in a few weeks. Well, I made some dice and they came out really great and I thought people might want to http://www.123.net/~czege/WFDdice.jpg">see them.

I started with a bag of 3/4" wooden cubes that I bought at a craft store (24 pcs for $2.99). They're pine, I think, but knot-free and look pretty nice. I also got myself some clear address labels from Office Max. They're Avery 15660 labels, 10 sheets...for $9.99! Yikes! But I really wanted clear labels so the grain of the wood cubes would show through.

Both MSWord and Wordperfect have a template for the labels, so it was pretty easy to lay out a page of symbols (using the fantastic The World, the Flesh, and the Devil http://www.123.net/~czege/WFDfont.html">font that http://www.ad1066.com/">Ben Morgan put together a few months ago). I messed with the size of the symbols a couple of times, printing test pages on plain paper until I had them right for the 3/4" cubes. I settled on 48pt type, which sized out to three symbols per label (so 90 total symbols on one sheet). I made 9 red pluses, 9 red minuses, 14 black pluses, 13 black minuses, 15 worlds, 15 fleshes, and 15 devils.

Let me warn you though, when Avery says on the package that they're "laser labels" they mean it. Inkjet ink does not dry on them. I ruined two of my 10 sheets by printing to them on my shitty color inkjet printer. They came out smeary and got ink all over my hands.

So I had to print them out on the laser printer at work, which I guess because it's black and white only didn't give me any red symbols. So after cutting out the symbols and adhering them to the cubes, I used a red Marvy DecoColor paint pen to color in red pluses and minuses.

I'm really happy with how they look. I've got a can of clear acrylic matte spray finish I'm going to put on them. Cross your fingers it doesn't have a weird chemical reaction with the red paint or the label adhesive or something. If you're anything like me, you can't stand to hear a grown man cry.

Paul

[Lance D. Allen]

::laughs:: Good luck with it man. This just goes to show what "Love of the Game" can make a man go through.

Question, though.. If the game is meant to be commercially sold, hardcopy, will there be a page of stickers to modify dice? Also, how will the labels be applied? Numerical dice work off of the principle of all opposite sides add up to the total number of sides plus 1 (ie, 7 for d6's, 21 for d20's.. I suppose d4's and the like are exceptions to the rule). So how would someone making their own dice for WF&D need to apply the labels?

[Paul Czege]

Hey Lance,

If the game is meant to be commercially sold, hardcopy, will there be a page of stickers to modify dice?

Actually, I hadn't thought that far ahead. I think the notion of the game as a commercial product will be determined by my upcoming playtest. If I decide the setting that I'm putting together for my playtest, bundled with the game rules, and with guidelines for gamemastering would be a saleable product, I may go commercial. Even then, I might go .pdf rather than hardcopy. I'm just not sure. If I went hardcopy, and decided I wanted to include stickers, my preference would be for those wet-transfer decals you get with plastic military models, but I have no idea how expensive it would be to get those things printed up.

Also, how will the labels be applied? Numerical dice work off of the principle of all opposite sides add up to the total number of sides plus 1 (ie, 7 for d6's, 21 for d20's.. I suppose d4's and the like are exceptions to the rule). So how would someone making their own dice for WF&D need to apply the labels?

My http://indie-rpgs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15472&highlight=#15472">revised distribution of red symbols on the GM's dice has each die with two red symbols. When I made my dice, I put the two red symbols opposite on each die, and then arranged the rest of the pluses and minuses around the four remaining sides. I tried to avoid arrangements where when you're looking at a corner you see three sides of the same symbol, but sometimes it was unavoidable. If you look closely at picture, you can tell that I arranged the minus symbols so they were perpendicular to each other when you see multiple sides. I liked the aesthetics of that.

Paul

[Lance D. Allen]

I went hardcopy, and decided I wanted to include stickers, my preference would be for those wet-transfer decals you get with plastic military models, but I have no idea how expensive it would be to get those things printed up.

Oh, please don't. I may be the only one in the world who simply cannot transfer those from the paper to the actual model, but I doubt it. I'd end up ruining 9 out of 10 dice, and just having to tell players that "a 6 equals a red plus" or whatever. Stickers are easier, and if made opaque, won't show the numbers or pips through them.

[Paul Czege]

Hey, for those of you waiting for word, my Plastercraft Acrylic Matte spray finish had no adverse effects on the dice. It did soften the red paint, which had dried previously, and as a result I accidentally caused a tiny smear of red. But it scratched off clean with my fingernail and ultimately everything dried up nice, and the dice look nice. Yay!

Paul