30 Days of D&D Day 5: Your Favorite Set of Dice/individual die

Favorite die or dice is an interesting question. Some gamers are very superstitious about their dice. We met somebody once who was affronted if another person deigned to touch his polyhedral pieces of plastic. Don't get me wrong; anything that's a repetitive ritual gets superstitious attachments to it, whether you mean to or not. While at the table, and my die is "in repose", I set it down 20 up, regardless of what die I'm using. Maybe it's a mental thing; I think positive, I think 20, I roll higher (you want to roll higher, typically). Maybe it's a physics thing; the plastic settles so the side opposite the 20 is heavier, and rolls higher. Regardless. It's a thing I do. It doesn't mean I don't have dice I lend to people.

Make a Wish

Superstitions are an interesting thing to me.


Perhaps because I'm American, most of them no longer seem to have ties to their original culture. The number thirteen, black cats, green cars, ringing ears...where did all of it come from?  A lot of it is luck based: picking up a coin that's heads up, rabbits feet, four leaf clovers. Luck itself is an interesting concept, especially in that both good luck and bad luck are a consideration. And the notion that things come in threes. Unlucky things: stepping on a crack, seeing a bride on her wedding day, breaking a mirror.

Cultivating an Image

I discussed writing superstitions only a couple of days ago, but wonder if perhaps I jumped the gun.  My main argument (discussion?) was that I didn't want to have writing superstitions, be it about certain objects or situations, because if those objects or situations were removed, I didn't want to find myself unable to write.

Maybe I was wrong, though, and I'll play the devil's advocate here and tell you why.

Very Superstitious, Writing's on the Wall

A lot of writers have superstitions. They use a particular pen, have good luck charms, have little totems that they keep around to aid in the creative process.

While I can appreciate the need (and fondness) for trinkets of that sort, I try to do the exact opposite. I try to be able to write wherever, whenever, however, because I don't want to find myself stuck if I don't have a pair of fingerless gloves on, or if I left my plastic quarter-machine Doberman at home. I really don't want to cultivate precious habits like that, or I'll end up like Roseanne on that episode where she started to go to Bingo games and ended up with all kinds of lucky lighters that she had to arrange in a pattern in front of her.

(Image from Wikipedia)