Frugal GM Review: Metal Dice from Easy Roller Dice Co.

This is the third and final review of dice & dice accessories I received from Easy Roller Dice Co. I had to save the coolest items for last.

I received two sets of their metal dice and I have to freely admit that I've seen metal dice before and due to the price they never really interested me. Who wants a bunch of heavy-as-hell dice that easily run $35-$45 for a set?

After getting to play with these dice....this guy!

I don't know if it was the novelty, the presentation, or the fact that these dice seem more like my favorite dice I'm used to using.....either way I really liked these dice. I still don't know if I'd ever actually use the dice myself in-game, but the reason why would be more game specific than anything, which I'll get into later.

These two different sets, the Legendary Copper Metal and Gun Metal Serpents Blood, each came with their own leatherette display box. The dice are actually held in place by a foam cutout. Now I've seen dice come in nice enough boxes with foam placeholders, but nothing so nice. It kind of reminded me of a jewelry box, something you'll definitely want to keep. There was some extra foam in the cases as well, for shipping, to keep the dice from marring up the inside of the box. A little touch that was just downright thoughtful.

The dice themselves are 16mm in size and did I mention they were heavy? Each set weighed in at about 4 1/2 ounces. Might not seem too much until you realize that means they are a quarter of a pound or 125(ish) grams. I actually broke out my kitchen scale to weigh these things.

I didn't think these dice were too heavy, just interesting compared to my "normal" dice. I will say though, without hesitation, that if you decided to purchase these dice and use them during your game, splurge for the dice tray. The tray is a bit of a no-brainer when it comes to these dice because they are heavy and metal. Using these dice straight on a table will quickly cause the table top to chip, crack, gouge, etc. depending on construction. You could will do some serious damage if you aren't careful & considerate.

I preferred the gun metal to the copper myself and it looks like Easy Dice Roller Co. is going to be coming out with a bunch more gun metal colors (inking) at the end of next month.

These dice are really cool and I personally think they'd make great gifts. As far as using them in game your results will vary. For me to be able, well realistically able, to use these metal dice in a game I'd need a second matching set of dice, a few extra/other colored d10's, and I'd really like to find some of the odd dice........I wouldn't kill, but would consider maiming for a gun metal d30.

This brings me to my only real reservation regarding Easy Roller Dice Co. and that is the availability of purchasing individual dice. Normally I'd be put off by the price, but I think the quality and the presentation puts these dice on a much better footing than similar-enough dice from other vendors. They feel great, roll well, and are pretty-much brag worthy. You'll have to take me at my word that the pictures I've taken don't do these dice justice.

I fully plan on buying another set of the Gun Metal Serpents Blood dice so I have my required second set and if individual dice come out I'll buy the extra d10's I need to round things out. If not for an up-coming convention I would have placed the order already. I can think of no stronger means of saying how much I like these dice.