[Lord Reevan]

Okay well here's the question. I have the Apocalypse big gun die, the red and black ginormous ones. They are the same colour as my army So I always use them. Now A friend of mine who's into the competitive side of the hobby(we both are, just he takes it anally seriously) claims that big die roll less 1s than any other die out in the market, and the fact that they don't roll means that they are cheating die. When I roll them in groups I shake them up in my hands before rolling them on the table, one might fall on top of the other and basically plant it down before it gets to roll. Every dice can do that just it's more obvious with bigger ones. Now he pretty much demands that I get rid of them for smaller die mainly because, well, he claims I'm cheating with them.

What are your thoughts on this subject??

 

[GrimzagGorwazza]

I think it's a load of old twoddle. I use my big gun dice for my special weapons in my squads and it still hasn't saved me from having to remove plasma gunners frm overheats. Still if he's going to be that fussy about it make a compromise, get a high sided dice rolling tray (i use a sprayed shoebox) and really launch the dice everytime that you roll them, that way they won't go off the table cause they are in a box and you can make sure you get a good spin on them each time.

 

[Captain Galus]

Unless they are loaded dice, I can't see any logical side to your friends argument. Honestly, if he's going to get that pissed about fat dice, I'd use them every game just to spite him.

The only "real" argument he could make is that your fat dice generate more inertia when rolling because of their substantial mass, thus creating a sutation where your "random" isn't the same as his "random."

 

[space cowboy]

Size of the die isn't the issue, but rather the method of rolling. It is far too easy to drop a die that doesn't roll much so that it lands on a number you want (I have a friend who can land a number he wants with 80% accuracy.) So long as any given die is rolling an appropriate amount to randomize the result, there should be no issue regarding the size of the die.

That being said, there are dice that aren't as well-balanced as other dice merely because of how designs on particular sides weight the die, and thus the results. Most dice manufacturers are pretty careful, but they will never be as good as casino dice, and even casino dice are retired fairly often to prevent wear from affecting the outcome of the randomness of the roll.

In the end, just make sure you are providing enough roll to the die to make sure it is a truly random result (even if you aren't trying to cheat when a die just drops) and your opponents should have no issue. If he continues to complain, just be really picky about the dice that he uses and his rolling method. It is also handy to surf the Internet for some facts on dice randomness and rolling method, just so you are even further armed with knowledge.

 

[OrkByTheGraceOfGork]

The description of your rolling technique appears legit. Your friend is full of shit. Say no to whiners.

 

[Azkaellon]

If he whine's just keep getting bigger and bigger dice, Sooner or later he will go craxy. Or just tell him to suck it up and stop bitching.

 

[hippypancake]

hey I use tulalip casino dice now for my 1 d6 needed I do claim that it is my lucky dice as it has rolled 6s four times in a roll

 

[Tzeen Qhayshek]

Make sure to use big pink fluffy ones next game, because the claim that you are cheating is stupid.

 

[5tonsledge]

i have a giant pink dice to roll penetrating damage results when im rolling for 14 armor vehicles. i love it when i kill monoliths with it. its about 2 inches wide and high and super pink it maches my emperors children but yea it rolls weird sometimes what ive notice is you really got to exagerate the rolling motion because they just seem to slide on one side. but yea big dice dont seem to roll as much more surface area so they dont roll when the proper motion is'nt applied. i have played players that use big dice only when they seem to be firing special stuff like lascannons or plasma cannons, they say like its their good luck dice but i useually dont worry about it much because im a friendly player. i would suggest if you are planning on playing in tournaments to keep people from raising tempers just use the same dice for anything no different from the rest.

 

[Vaz]

Ask him to point out the rule in the rulebook.

While shitting in his mouth and telling him to grow some stones.

 

[Necrosis]

I always roll 1 with my big gun dice.

 

[5tonsledge]

yea same with my pink i really have to shake it and roll or else it gets like 1s or 2s. but those slighly large white dice are hella cheap because they can be mastered at slide rolling.

 

[darklove]

The Big Gun Dice are legal for comps, they are official GW dice after all. I have observed, and it has also been reported to me, that these big dice roll low rather than high. For this reason I have stopped using them, your dice should roll randomly.

Your complaining friend is a bit of an idiot though: high rolls mean good AV penetration; but they also mean lots of failed Leadership, Pinning and Moral, and Characteristic tests. Hardly an advantage.

 

[chromedog]

Casino dice roll randomly (when rolled properly and against a rebound surface). They are precision made this way.

Round cornered dice roll decidedly less than average, and have skewed results.

If anything, GW's chessex made dice are cheating dice as they roll worse than you generally want. [Yes, GW don't make dice. They buy them off another maker, just like their flocks and scatters, tools and glues).

 

[Aramoro]

Round cornered dice roll decidedly less than average, and have skewed results.

I'd be curious to see the mathematical proof for this. Casino Dice are only made they way they are due to Federal Law in the US.

Aramoro

 

[chromedog]

It's more than just federal US law.

It's a general principle by ALL of the casinos, globally.

There have been several studies done on the round cornered dice. Some even by math-nerds using their statistics class for the test groupings. They even published their results.

I can't be bothered petitioning the googleplex engine for them though. Statistics bore me more than LOTR.

 

[GrizBe]

Pretty much as point out, unless the dice are weighted, its absolutely bollocks to think that X dice will roll X number more then another, especially with the legit 'shake em around' method your using.

On that though, there really needs to be some sort of dice shaker cup so that you can't get people trying to cheat with the 'dropping them a certain way' method of rolling.

Think about it... who wouldn't have fun rolling dice out of a skull shaped cup for instance?

 

[Stella Cadente]

dice are dice, size, shape weight and all that making a difference when you roll them to me is frankly a load of bollocks made up by people with too much time on there hands and too many crackpot conspiracy theories going around in there heads.

you can roll a dice as big as a TV with rounded edges and a dice as small as a pinhead with square corners and guess what.....the results will still be as random as ever, you can spout all this averages and percentages nonsense all day till your face is blue and the cows come home, the fact of the matter is no matter how long you spend wasting your life with a handful of dice and calculator those dice can and will still F-up all the rubbish you just calculated time and time again.

the only advantage of big dice is being able to throw them at your opponent for thinking such utter nonsense, or get a group of dice in your sock and hitting them over the head with them.

 

[OddJob]

To the OP- this kind of dice hate comes up all the time in other games like bloodbowl. If in doubt just use your opponents dice. He can't complain then can he?

As a side question- why is there so much vitriol in answers to questions like this? If your opponent has a perceived issue then it makes sense to tackle it head on rather than seek to antagonise them further.

 

[bitsandkits]

if your playing competitively you should both use the same set of dice, problem solved