Ask any Dungeons & Dragons player to talk about their experience and they are sure to tell you about two things; their character and their dice. Dice collections start small but rapidly grow as they generally a cheap accessory that often come with as many superstitions as any hobby instrument. The rise in popularity of tabletop gaming has expanded these accessories into higher levels of investment, such as carved wooden dice sheaths and deluxe accessories and handouts for official D&D adventures.
Now Wizards of the Coast has decided to enter into the luxe D&D accessory market. To celebrate 45 years of D&D (and five years of Fifth Edition) the company is releasing a limited edition set of dice called the D&D Sapphire Anniversary Dice Set.
“When the D&D team realized the sapphire is the traditional anniversary stone for both five years and forty-five years, and that adding a laboratory-created sapphire to a twenty-sided die wouldn’t jeopardize the integrity of a roll, we couldn’t pass up the chance to make something really cool to celebrate the milestones” said Nathan Stewart, VP of the D&D Franchise at Wizards of the Coast. “The team put together a fun product for our fans that includes art and newly updated stats for sapphire dragons, making these classic dragons ready for play in your next D&D session.”
Premium dice are nothing new. The manufacturers of the set, Level Up Dice, are already known for making dice sets out of unusual materials like metal and bone. This product is unusual because it marks Wizards of the Coast’s entry into the high-end D&D marketplace and it featured an actual lab-grown precious stone to mark the “20” on one of the dice.
For those who want to add luxury to injury on a critical hit.
The full set of two d20s, one d12, two d10s, one d8, four d6s, and one d4 are all made from anodized aluminum and the non-jeweled ones feature the stylized ampersand that’s become the logo for Dungeons & Dragons over the past five years in the place of the highest value on each die. Each set comes with a collectors case, numbered certificate of authenticity and a foldout poster with lore on gemstone dragons, which have yet to be officially introduced to Fifth Edition.
The set goes on sale on November 21st directly from Wizards of the Coast starting at 11 AM PST. Not only are the sets limited to 1,974 copies (a reference to the year D&D was created), but they are priced to take a big chunk out of any adventurer’s treasury. $299.99 is a lot to ask for a set of fantasy roleplaying dice. There are those who might criticize the excess of it, but it’s also a sign of the popularity and growth of the game. Older sets of polyhedral dice included in the boxed sets came with a crayon that the owner had to use on the dice to let the wax rub off for better number visibility. Now there are hundreds of options full of color, materials, shapes and sizes.
But only one that wouldn’t look out of place in a dragon’s hoard.
