Elder Dice and Infinite Black Playmat Review
Infinite Black is a business started by fantasy/horror illustrator David LaRocca and game creator Heath Robinson to create their own Lovecraftian products. I backed their Elder Dice campaign on Kickstarter, and the rewards arrived this morning in the mail. Let's take a look!
Let's begin by unrolling that playmat. It will serve as a backdrop for the rest of the photography. Playmats are popular among gamers because they keep your game materials off the table, make it easier to pick up cards, and cushion dice so they aren't as likely to skitter across the table when rolled.
My pledge was for one set of green polyhedral dice and a set of blue d6 dice. The playmat and a red d20 were add-ons. The dice all have gold numbers, and the highest numbered side on each die is replaced with a symbol. The green dice have the Elder Sign from H.P. Lovecraft's work, the blue dice have the Elder Sign from August Derleth's writings expanding upon the Cthulhu mythos, and the red die has a small glyph of Cthulhu himself.
The dice are well made, and they feel at least as good as any other dice I have bought in game stores that were made by established companies. The numerals so far all seem clear and consistent. My only complaint is that the gold paint is a bit difficult to see on the red die if the light is dim, but the contrast is fine on the blue and green dice.
The box for the green dice is a nice magnetized case that has room for all of these dice and more, and it is nicely illustrated to resemble a book from the exterior, and has eerie art on the inside. When closed, the magnets make a satisfying click as they secure the lid.
I don't know whether these dice are likely to be available at retail, but keep an eye on the Infinite Black website if you're in need of a new set of RPG dice. And admit it, if you're a gamer, you always need more dice. These are a great option if you want something unique. If you need a playmat, this one is at least as good as the ones from Ultra Pro and other big-name playmat producers. Again, definitely recommended if they are ever made available on the site.
I will really like to get this, when do you think it will be available? Or perhaps you could always mention me whenever you think this is available. Although, I will always make use of the website as you have said.
However, about the gold color you will surely get use to it as time goes on. Thanks for the review.
It's not a matter of getting used to it. It's just that if you play D&D in a dim room, they'll be hard to read due to the lower contrast. They look cool, and they aren't the hardest dice to read, but it's something worth considering.
Dude, those Cthulhu inspired elder dice are sick. I've never been super heavy into tabletop stuff, but hell, I'd like to own some dice like that anyways, even if it was just to keep my hands busy, lol. You could always paint the gold numbers on the red die to make it easier to see? I think that might have been a poor choice on the makers part, as even I would tend to agree that unless you're in a very well lit room it looks like it would be hard to see easily.
Ah, I hope this doesn't come off like me shilling or anything. But, I'm running a gaming contest if you'd be interested in entering. You're into quite a few different formats of gaming, so I'm assuming you must have a pretty entertaining or interesting story you could tell (Which is what the contest is about) :)Plus, you know, free SBD's for the winners.
Again, I hope this doesn't come off as spammy. Just trying to get people in the gaming community involved and thought it was a fun contest idea, as it gives a writing prompt where people can talk about something and make some content that they may not have done otherwise. If this at all comes off spammy, my bad, man. Didn't know if you were on Steemit chat or anything where I could message you on there.
Repainting the glyphs would be a royal pain. When the dice are manufactured, the paint is applied as a giant spot on each side, and then the dice are run through a tumbler to polish the sides and edges.
I will take a look at your contest for sure.
Oh, jeez. Yeah, it would probably just be easier to deal with it as it is rather than trying to paint over it in that case. At least it's just that one red die and not all of them.
Cool! I'll look forward to reading your entry if you decide you're interested :)