Review: Crystal Caste Dwarven Metal Dice
I hate plastic dice. I always have, but I have never had the resources to upgrade. Getting older does have a few perks. The most notable is a fatter wallet. With the additional resources in hand, I decided to get a set of dice that was different . I wanted to sit down at a table and have a unique set of dice. Besides feeding my ego, it made the problem of losing dice go away. I researched various types and styles of dice, including having custom dice manufactured. None of them really lit my egomaniacal fire. In the end, I chose an off-the-shelf solution from Crystal Caste .
Behold! The dice bag..er…box of Trask!
This is a complete set of the 16 mm Brushed Steel dice . I also picked up a few extra d6 in the 12 mm size. I know most of you have seen these dice in the case at a game store or at a convention booth, but looked at the price and moved on. I think that is a mistake. I will not lie, they are expensive at $40.00 for the 16 mm set displayed above. The d6 were $5.00 each. Regardless of the expense, rolling plastic dice are annoying. They jump about like a frog on methamphetamines. These hit the table, roll just enough to ensure randomness and then stop quickly. There is also a certain joy from throwing a dice that hits with some authority and comes up “20.” Not quite the same feeling as swinging a sword, but if you close your eyes and wish really hard…
These dice are solid. Sadly, I do not have a scale sensitive enough to weigh one, but they are significantly heavier than plastic. This gives them a nice heft when thrown. This also is their major drawback. Do not roll them hard on a nice wooden kitchen table. Dents ensue. I use a dice tray to save nicer tables and reduce the “THUNK” when these babies land. Additionally, the numbers are very easy to read. The black contrasts well with the silver, for those “low-light” games.
They come in copper, brass and brushed steel colors in both 12 mm and 16 mm sizes. 16 mm is the “regulation” size most gamers use.
My only issue is buying single dice. I would desperately like to buy single dice, but it does not appear Crystal Caste has them on the site. I use far more d20 than d8, so picking up a couple of extras would be nice. Perhaps they will offer this in future.
So, if you are a gamer with some cash lying around, check out these little baubles. Your character is swinging steel, shouldn’t you?
Full Disclosure: I am not affiliated in anyway with Crystal Caste. I do not get a thin dime from this review, nor for any redirects I send to their site. I actually wrote this review because I genuinely like their product.
