Let The Good Times Roll

Summary

This month our investigation check takes us (Anthony and Josh) on a journey to understand why dice are such an essential and emblematic element of D&D. What is it about dice that makes them so iconic to the game? Of all the paraphernalia and equipment we use, why do we use the dice (specifically the D20) as our symbol? Why do we feel so strongly about rolling honestly? After sharing our initial speculations, we share some responses we gathered from Reddit and the way our questions evolved as we honed in on why dice are so special in D&D. Anthony shares an epiphany which links rolling dice to the release of brain chemicals that occurs when we gamble and can sometimes lead to addictive behavior. This led to an interview with Jason from Critical Dice, an avid purveyor of the dice and their lore, and it’s from him that we learned how polyhedral dice came to be part of D&D. We then sought the expertise of Meghan, a graduate student with a focus in Neurotherapy, to understand more about what goes on in our brains that excites us about rolling the dice. Finally, we process our findings and share our lessons learned with all of you! Join us as we make an investigation check on this obsession with dice and why we keep the games rolling!