Mailbag Paradise!

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive here at the Stronghold.

I received a wonderful package in the mail this morning: my first (and likely only) set of Zocchi dice.

Yeah, I know, they're controversial with some people. After all, when am I ever really going to need a d3, d5, d14, d16, or d24? I mean, really?  When am I going to use them?

That's just it. I may NOT ever use them. But I NEED them. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Hey...dice!

And here they are:

If you didn't know, it appears that GameScience has closed its doors. The website is defunct (at least as far as purchasing goes) and hasn't been updated in a while. There are rumors from online retailers that the last of the d100 (the Zocchihedron) are up for sale. There are also rumors from the same sources that the last of the Zocchi dice 5-sets are now being received and sold as fast as they can get them unpacked. I'm not one to buy into hysteria or rumor-mongering, per se, but you never know. I mean, it's been a LONG time since I've seen a Zocchihedron in my FLGS, and they used to stock them ALL the time.

So I caved in and bought a set. They came all the way from the UK, partly because I trust the seller, but also because I couldn't find a comparable price here in the States. That's right: even with shipping, etc., it was still cheaper to import. I was shocked. Now, I got the uninked set, but that can be easily rectified, even if I have to resort to (gasp) OSR Crayon techniques.

Plus, they're purty. I have a couple other "clear" or "diamond" crystal polyhedron's in my collection, and I wanted some more. My other GameScience dice are ruby red, so these will contrast nicely. These are quite nice to behold, even without colored numbers.

And last of all.... Hey... DICE.

Also purchased at the recent FantasyCon, but forgotten about resting in my pocketses, is my very own, brand-spanking new and shiny d2. Yep. I bought myself a d2. "But why," you ask, "do you need a d2 when you can find any size d2 in your change pocket at any time?" "Well," I would answer, "I don't always have change. I'm a starving business owner."

"And didn't you hear me? It's shiny!" It's for a good cause, too. Proceeds go to my friend Howard Tayler of Schlock Mercenary fame.... Yep, it's an Officially Sanctioned XDM d2! [Aside: Extreme Dungeon Mastery or "XDM" is the book written by Tracy Hickman and illustrated by Howard Tayler. I've written about it before. End aside.] And here it is!

Click HERE to get your own!