D&D Dice Set with Outset Numbering (d4 to d20)

A D&D Dice Set for Painting

These dice have outset numbering and edges, with the rest of the face inset. This means that up to three colors can be applied to the dice once printed.

Dice set consists of a d20, d12, d10, d00, d8, d6, and d4.

Painting example: For the purple/gold/black dice I first sanded the dice to a finish such that they registered as fair when I roll-tested them (I used a χ2 test). Next, I mixed purple acrylic paint with varnish and pushed the mixture into the depressed areas. Once dry, I re-sanded the dice so that the purple paint remained only in the depressed areas. Then I colored the edges using a sharpie. Finally, I painted the numbers with a small brush and gold paint mixed with varnish.

 

Fairness

It is possible to (slightly) bias the dice during sanding by sanding the face opposite to the biased face broader than the rest. I found the best way to ensure fair dice is to see-saw between sanding the largest and smallest numbers. (e.g., 1, 20; 2, 19; etc.)

I put a reasonable amount of thought into the dice numbering. For the d20, I used an ideal numerically balanced numbering system described in this paper:

www2.oberlin.edu/math/faculty/bosch/nbd.pdf

 

Base Forms

Platonic solids came from Dan Hienzsch via hackaday.io/project/161211-parametric-platonic-solids-from-fusion-360

Pentagonal trapezohedron (d10, d%) was modified to be fully solid and came from Zdolshin via thingiverse.com/thing:3321836

Printing

The models are oriented resting on an edge. While this makes supports necessary, it seems to provide higher quality and more uniform prints.

The purple/gold/black, yellow, and blue die sets were printed on their edge. The faux metal, green/silver/blue, and red die sets were printed flat on a face. The multicolor set and lone d20 were test prints.

Printing: PLA on a LulzBot TAZ 6 with various layer heights and settings.

Layer height: I had some quality issues on overhangs when I used heights other than the printer's default high-detail height.

Infill: I used the gyroid infill @ 99.999%. (100% just makes everything a wall.) I theorize that since it has uniform strength from all angles it helps the dice roll fair.

Supports: Zig-zag @ 30% density worked well for me

Shell: I recommend a thick shell (~3/4 layers) so the dice can be cleaned up easily.