Apr 30, 2024
Gaming Dice.
I learned a lot about edges and light and color relationships here.
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seen from United States
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seen from Venezuela
Gaming Dice.
I learned a lot about edges and light and color relationships here.
Lou Zocchi has died at age 91 (Feb 17, 1935 - Apr 15, 2026).
Lou was the founder of Gamescience, a game designer, publisher, and distributor, and a designer of dice. He also entertained at cons as a magician and ventriloquist. Above:
Lou Zocchi with puppet Woody Knotts.
Some Precision Dice by Gamescience purchased uninked from Lou in person at a game convention. These dice are known for their sharp edges, not having been tumbled as part of an inking and cleaning process. His designs improved the randomness and durability of polyhedral dice at a time when some other brands were visibly irregular or disintegrated quickly.
Some of Lou's dice inventions, the D3, D5, D14, D16, and D24, which came with a sheet of suggested uses and which now are used in games like Dungeon Crawl Classics.
The infamous Zocchihedron, the D100, a spherical die with loose weights inside.
Oh thank gods 🙏😭
You know, it was a really special moment in the Mentopolis finale when Brennan told Alex to roll d100 for one of final important rolls of the game, signifying the power of hope and doing the right thing, and I think it was really inspired for Brennan to bring that back for Rekha to roll a d100 for how oily her character's skin was.
Dice Breakers!
You guys seem to be enjoying my Slightly Obscure D&D Character Questions; So I'm gonna introduce you to Dice Breakers! I've made about 700 of them so far, so I'm gonna make this a series. Send me a private message if you want to make a contribution, and tag me in your answers! I love hearing about everyone’s OC's 🥰
What are Dice Breakers?
Dice Breakers are big ol' list of (d)icebreaker questions that you can use to share fun facts about your OC's/DND characters. PC’s can roll on this table and, as their characters, share some fun facts about themselves with the party or NPCs.
A great way to pass the time when traveling long distances, or after setting up camp for a long rest!
1. What unusual talents does your character possess?
2. How generous is your character? Especially to those they don’t know?
3. What is your character’s scent?
4. What’s something that reminds your character of home?
5. What is something your character regrets?
6. What is something the party doesn’t know about your character?
7. What’s something that grosses your character out?
8. Describe your character’s current relationship with the PC sitting to your right (or your current impression of them)
9. What’s in your characters pockets right now?
10. What song would your character sing at karaoke night?
11. The player character to your left and the player character to your right are both telling your character two different versions of the truth. Who does your character believe?
12. If your character weren’t an adventurer, what kind of life would they lead?
13. How did you react the first time your character saw someone/something die?
14. Tell me about one trinket your character possesses
15. What colors are associated with your character?
16. When was the last time your character felt like they lost control? What happened?
17. What’s your characters favorite food/drink?
18. What advice would your character give to a younger version of themselves?
19. Describe a moment where your character felt like a villain- Do they regret it?
20. How does your character imagine they will die?
21. Does your character have a romantic partner? Any exes?
22. What does your character do with their gear when sleeping?
23. For what would your character sell their soul?
24. If your character had a warning label, what would it say?
25. What makes your character feel safe?
26. What interests them outside of battle? Any hobbies?
27. Describe your character’s personal hell.
28. Can your character visualize actual concepts in their head? Or are they just vague thoughts?
29. Describe an irrational fear your character might have.
30. Describe a moment where your character felt like a hero. What did you think about it?
31. Has your character ever been in love?
32. What is something your character doesn’t have enough of?
33. What is something your character trying to improve about themselves?
34. What does your character hope never changes?
35. What really annoys your character?
36. Does your character care about how they’re perceived by others? How do they change themselves to fit in with other people?
37. Does your character see the mug as half empty or half full? Also, what’s in the mug?
38. Is your character a clean person or a messy person?
39. If your character could open a restaurant, what would it be like?
40. How does your character dress when invited to a fancy party?
41. How does your character process grief?
42. What does your character view as pitiful?
43. What is the greatest lie yourcharacter has ever told?
44. Does your character have a rival?
45. What is something your character cannot resist?
46. Have they ever counted their steps while walking?
47. What’s broken in their life?
48. What would your character’s Zodiac sign be, following stereotypical astrology?
49. What is the best name they could think of for a cat?
50. What is your character’s favorite spell? If they don’t use spells: what is their favorite personal weapon/combat/maneuver/skill/etc.?
SOOTY BEARDS IS OUT! Come get your dwarves and your beard oil! Help us slow fund a physical release! https://plusoneexp.com/pages/sooty-beards
Plus One Experience
What is Sooty Beards?
A setting zine about a fantasy dwarf-hold crossed with a decaying American coal town. People are leaving and things are falling apart. If something doesn’t change–if things can’t change–it’ll become a ghost town soon.
Sooty Beards Features:
8 Run-down urban and wilderness areas complete with “What Used To Be Here?” And “What’s Here Now?” tables to bring out the weight of ages.
8 Strange, Dual-Statted Creatures to populate your dying coal town with, whether your game uses d6 or d20.
Dozens of quirky, narrative items to discover, from screaming lanterns to steampowered ballistic sportballs.
A “Why Did You Even Come Here?” table to give your characters quick, easy, and miserable motivations for visiting the crumbling city of Vesallberg.
More than 20 evocative pieces of art and a beautiful map of Vesallberg by Charles Ferguson-Avery.
CREEPING DEPRESSION
Instant talking canaries! Just add booze!
A glossary of useful terms to get you speaking like a native ‘Berger in no time.
A supplemental bonus book with d66 backgrounds for Vesallberg locals, compatible with TROIKA!
What People Are Saying
“An evocative portrait of community decay in the form of a TTRPG setting -- the troubles of these dwarves in their failing mine resonate strongly with the concerns of the modern day. Bleak in the best way. One gets the sense that this text is just the tip of the Vesallberg, as it were; hints lurk throughout that there is much more going on beneath the surface. (What is up with those *cats*?)”
- Dr. Mac Boyle of The Maniculum Podcast and Marginal Worlds TTRPG
The Creators of Bridgetown have done it again. They’re created a grim, nay whimsical–nay grimsical – setting that makes me wish I could grow a beard.
– Asa Donald of Backwards Tabletop
Ah, Vesallberg, miserable rock, “titanic triumph and miscreation”, a dying city stripped of resources, but full of beards (and the ecosystems within them). A wonderfully horrid place to visit, from the Slag Hills to the Deep Delvings. Come for strange misadventures among the Koljar Dwarves, Big Folk, and Scrawny folk. Stay for the deep, dark, hilarious writing; the whip-smart Politics(™); and the amazing illustration. Once you arrive you may never be able want to leave.
—Adam STATION, An Infinity of Ships, Make 100 Bastards
"How do you communicate background and lore in an RPG without it becoming a slog through a textbook? Quotes, cool tables, beautiful maps, and evocative art. This book makes it easy to picture the dwarf-hold of Vesallberg!”
-Joshua McCrowell of His Majesty The Worm
“This is like Veins of the Earth but with more life and less crunch. I really dig it!”
-David Schiduan of Technical Grimoire
“Welcome to Vesallberg, the Phoenix of the Wetlands™! … How’d that sound? Too corny? It’s too corny, isn’t it. Oh, that’ll send ‘em running away even faster. Stupid, stupid…!”
-Dent Pigiron, Newest Head of the Visitor Center
From the Team
From Furtive Goblin
Like most of my projects, what would eventually become Sooty Beards started as a half-joking mashup of X and Y shared with my friend John. In this case the “X” and “Y” were “Khazad-dûm” and “a dying coal town”, which turned out to be the magic words. For the next year he and I threw ideas back and forth and built the doc up, but soon I found myself in my first ever leading role with final say on what our team did. A fun idea became my first test as a game designer. And if you find yourself interested in picking up a copy of your own then hey, thanks for helping me pass.
From John Gregory
Just like Bridgetown, Furtive Goblin came up to me and said “Hey, I’ve got an idea!” And I responded, “I shall assemble The Team.” And, well, once again some of the Very Vilest Viziers have come together to give you something weird and bleak, a mix of dark humor, social commentary and dwarves being dwarves. Pulling from somewhere between my Appalachian coal-town ancestors and Furtive’s literal experience living under a rock, I’d like to think we’ve made something that will speak to that yet burning coal in your soul.
From Tony
I had 2 people message me asking if I could help Furtive get a zine published. I was already interested and then… they mentioned beards. At one point they tried to give me a “developer credit” but really Furt, John & Charlie did all the work and it’s beautiful, grimm & whimsical all at the same time. Each level of design layering on the next, to create something more than the individual parts. At the end of the day, unlike Vesallberg, I think people will flock to this project because of the earnest love that the creators have for what they have made, and each other. It’s great to be the 1st fan of a project, but it’s just as good to be the 3rd fan.
Follow Up
If you have additional questions, would like to schedule an interview, set up a time to play with us, or have any other questions please feel free to reach out via email to [email protected]
