I've always loved dice. While I don't have a big collection, I do enjoy them. If I'm being honest, dice were possibly the biggest influence into my earliest interest in D&D!
I love the shapes. I love the D20, the D12, the D8 on occasion, and joy of rolling percentiles. In fact, much as I love 5E, and the flexibility of playing online, I do appreciate every opportunity to roll dice other than the D20. Well, except maybe the D4. If you've listened to Episode 2 - Dice Dice Dragonheart Dice!, you know what I'm talking about. Cher does have a point! But I digress.
I want to say that the general dice appreciation of the region manifested a local dice shop! And now that it's here, I'm no longer satisfied with only standard Chessex options.
I determined that I needed to go. I looked up the location. It wasn't far at all, but it was truly a heroic quest to get past the legendary construction that effectively blocked all access. After a good 20 minutes of being rerouted, I finally found myself in front of a flower shop. No worries, it's a deception. Those looking for flowers would be disappointed. Alas, so was I! The shop had closed early that day! Probably due construction. I'd just missed them. Looking in the window, though, I was pleasantly surprised to see shelf after shelf with actual dice!
Fast forward a few months, and a fellow player from one of my games posted about a new local dice. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, so I went to check it out - and ran into another player from the same game! Talk about synchronicity!
I'm amazed at how Dragonheart Dice always has some new accessory in stock, and Cher always has a new special set of dice to tempt her customers. This in addition to a variety of dice from other producers, and a broad selection of Chessex standards. There's also dice trays, books, maps, and Epic Encounters boxed sets, and seems like more often than not, a live play happening in the dungeon (the room in the back).
And the best part? My dog likes it too.
Well, truthfully, I think he just likes Cher. A LOT. Which is weird, cause he's slow to trust, but he took to Cher instantly. When I stopped in to interview Cher, he actually was bumping her hand for attention, and motioning to the corner as if to ask about the lights and things. Then he lay down beside her for the entire interview! You'd have to know my dog to really appreciate how bizarre this is. I mean, people try hard to get acknowledged by my dog, they love him, and say all kinds of things about him, mostly from an stoic distance.
Thankfully, after filling my head with dice and pondering about the Chessex catalog, dice collectors, micro-dice, and animal whispering, my dog was agreeable to leave with me. We drop in from time to time, to check out the always changing stock and accessories, and chat with Cher. Though as of quire recent - the shop is under new ownership! Ah, but that is another story. And have no fear, the awesomeness and the dice and accessories are still there. But that, is another story...
