Any tabletop RPG player knows that when taking a trip to the games store, it becomes about resisting the urge to buy a new set of dice. When there is nothing else that interests me in the store, I always look at what dice are available even though I already have a couple sets at home. My first set that I ever bought was the 4th Edition Premium dice set that came with a neat bag that had Dungeons and Dragons embroidered on it and 4 six sided dice compared to the normal 1 that comes with most sets.

Dice in role playing games like dungeons and dragons are a crucial piece in the overall experience of playing a tabletop game. Rolling a die in a critical moment and having a success that everyone else at the table can look at leads to moments of triumph or even hilarity and failure. Rolling dice tends to add a level of enjoyment and fun to the game for all the players and not just the one rolling the dice.

It’s for that reason that I have been driven to madness at a couple of my campaigns in 2018 when for the first time in a long time, some of my players where running dice rolling apps.

I fully intend to sound nit picky and harsh on these dice rolling applications. They add nothing to anyone else and listening to the die roll with through a speaker when they are sitting at my table is enough to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

For one reason, I as the Dungeon Master cannot confirm what they rolled unless I ask to see every time. As the Dungeon Master I should reserve the right to ask for my players to roll physical dice so I can see the results. I reserve the right to fudge rolls behind my DM screen to add tension, fine tune a battle that is turning out to hard or to easy if necessary. My players should not be doing that back to me and the lack of visibility on their rolls allows for them to do that.

Another reason I don’t like these apps, is that no one can see what the heck they rolled until they say something as well. Players cannot watch the die turn over to a 20 for a critical and cheer or turn to a 1 and laugh their asses off due to the circumstance their fellow player has just fallen into. The app takes away from the immediate bite the roll on the table offers cause everyone sees the result at the same time and reacts to it.

So in the end, please just roll some dice. This isn’t a video game, the have games in the same realm for that. Just buy some dice that you care about and roll.