PolyHero Wizard Dice!

Who the heck is PolyHero?

Great question! PolyHero is a unique game design company that burst onto the scene in 2015 with a Kickstarter for a brand new imagining of your typical 7 polyhedral set. Unlike your typical polyhedrals, however they were themed around the character you play. The 2015 set was designed for warrior type characters. So, it had a d20 shaped like a shield, a d6 shaped like a sword, the d10s shaped like gauntlets, etc. In that Kickstarter, they also released their first tabletop game, Knight Fight. As you might expect it was designed to be used with the Warrior set of dice. Since then they’ve released the set we’re reviewing today (themed for Wizards) and they have a third Kickstarter running right now, in December of 2018 for a Rogue-themed set!

Wizard Dice?

Exactly. Take a look at those crazy guys up top and tell me they’re not magic. Better yet, take em to a game, leave them on the table for people to look at, and tell me the same thing. I went with these for the review, because I really liked the idea of the Wizard Hat as a d20. The D20 is iconic for Tabletop RPG’s and obviously a Wizard Hat is the most iconic aspect of Wizardry, combining them is intuitive. And as you can see, phenomenal. That said, the hat is an add on, so you’ll have to pick it up separate if you’re as big a fan as I. The normal set will cost you $30, and the hat $7, plus shipping. So let’s open it up!

First Impressions

They came in their own, Clipper Strip packs, which strikes me as a touch, unusual. Even if I was a hobby store, I think I’d want sets these cool to be featured a touch more. Doesn’t affect my enjoyment at all, but much to my surprise, the plastic packaging is actually a resealable bag, and I totally tore through one before realizing it. Don’t make the same mistake! Pull the cardboard and staples out, and it’s way easier.

These are brilliant. Truly genius. I like cool things. This immediately won me over. BUT, the first thing you notice, once you get them in your hands, is their size. They’re gargantuan. Despite my expectations, 7 of them fit through my dice tower, but a smaller dice tower may not work. The Hat, though, has to go by hand. Between the cleverness and the size, that’s the entirety of first impressions. Those are just to dominating to really notice other aspects.

What do they really look like?

Do they work?

Short answer: Eh… maybe? Long Answer: We did a Chi square test on them, the explanation of which was very kindly written out by some generous soul over on Stack Exchange. This is the test that asks us to do what we love: Roll Dice! The results of the test have been recorded here. It’s not great. The D20s both fall within an expected range. Same with the D6 and the D4. The other dice were tested significantly less. but the results rolled on them were fairly suspect. This does not mean they aren’t fair. It doesn’t mean they aren’t random. Just be aware that if randomness is extremely important to you or your RPG table, these are not your best choice.

Define Gargantuan

There’s really no reasonable comparison for the D4-12, as they are so drastically different in shape from your standard polyhedrals. The d20s though. Oh boy. Here’s the “Orb” placed between a standard Chessex die, and a Koplow Games Jumbo d20 (That is an affiliate link, and purchasing anything through it may net me a commission). The hat is even bigger. Ultimately they’re pretty par for the course as far as how big these dice are. They are noticeably large.

How do I know it’s cool?

This is a fair question. Cool is particularly subjective. So for science, I took it to several D&D adventurer’s league games. i never got an opportunity to use them, because people fawned over them so much they got passed around the table. Feedback was universally positive.

What’s wrong with the hat?

Let’s start with the obvious. It’s a top. It’s smart. It really is. But if your GM asks you to roll a check and it takes 120 seconds for it to land on a number your character is going to die. Soon. And the whole table will be cheering and high-fiving. So you can subvert that issue by giving it minor spin. 3 rotations ought to be as random as 3,000 after all, right? That is probably true, and through the test outlined above this had an extraordinarily low average deviation from expected values. It seems random. However, I’ve had the die for 2 weeks. I don’t know how to read it. Look at the picture below.

I would have called that a 3 during testing. Seldom does it land so cleanly with two of those little pegs perfectly touching the surface, though, and even when it does, it takes rigorous investigation to observe. Occasionally it spins its way onto just one peg, which we have to define as landing cocked. And when it takes a bunch of time to land on a number, and a bunch of time to read, the last thing you want to do is re-roll it. Additionally, since when is the number on the bottom of the die the one we count? We have tom because trying to read the top one is a bit of a fool’s errand, as there’s little to differentiate the uppermost three numbers. And what if the top stops spinning with the number resting on the table directly opposite you? Do you get up and re-position along the table? Do you have someone inexperienced read it for you? Both of those options strike me as… less than ideal.

Should I buy it?

Let me say emphatically: this is one of the best Tabletop RPG related uses of $30 I have committed to. It’s not perfect. But it is a perfect gift. It’s also an amazing conversation starter. These are probably the coolest dice in my collection, and they’re comparable in price to the zinc alloy dice that are incredibly popular. Pick up a set at PolyHero’s Website.