Feel like reading about the evolution of Dragon Bagon dice?
If not, leave now. This is your last warning.
Custom Dragon Bagon dice weren’t a planned product in the way that Dragon Bagons and Bagthulhus were. They began as a fun and very simple add on to bridge the gap between some higher cost kickstarter stretch goals.
My original intention was to simply do a custom Dragon Bagon D6. I only had a rough sketch of what the emblem might look like, with the design goal of referencing the spikes and head shape present on actual Dragon Bagons, assurances from a dice supplier I’d worked with before that they could do what I was asking, and a quote.
For all that the D6s were well received and multisets were repeatedly requested. I compromised with the option of adding another ‘bridging’ stretch goal to also have custom D20s made up, again with quotes and assurances from the dice maker I had worked with in the past.
Because once I have a design rattling round in my brain I can’t stop, I started developing the dragon head emblem further. The first two images are the first mock up and the final product. As I explored the capabilities of laser engraving I began to expand from simple linework into slightly more complex shades experimenting with negative space, which yielded results I was much happier with. I was a web and graphic designer before the Bagthulhus and Dragon Bagons ate my life, so coming back to 2D graphics was refreshing.
I came back to my followers and backers for feedback on the options I came up with several times, occasionally making adjustments in the middle of the night because apparently my brain doesn’t want me to sleep.
And then the samples from the manufacturer started coming in. They were not a good match to the photos I had provided of the colour and effect I wanted (and my followers had approved). After trying two or three times, I started looking for another manufacturer.
After some time I found one through my sewing manufacturing contacts (surprisingly enough). They were able to provide much more suitable samples, but they also weren’t interested in doing single dice rather than multisets and their minimum order was much higher than what I was originally quoted. I realised I had to bite the bullet, and since multisets had already been requested by plenty of followers, it was worth it to get a higher quality result.
The final decision on the design came from narrowing it down to three options based on follower feedback, and then factoring in the preference of the manufacturer for easiest production. I still wonder if I should have gone with a more solid shape and relied on negative space for a more solid finish, but I still love the final design.
So, it cost a lot more, and took longer, but the result was worth it. Every die has a dragon head emblem on the highest face, which is quite unusual, they have a subtle shimmer and a certain dark intensity to them that I adore, the sets I kept for myself only try to kill me a few times per game, and rolling a natural dragon is pretty damn sweet.
Also, turns out bulk dice are heavy. They take up the least space of any of our stock but they weigh the most by a long way.
If you’d like to enjoy the draconic fruits of my odd brain and strange luck, you can order a Dragon Bagon multiset of your very own here
