Artisan Dice is an artisanal dice manufacturer featuring
products in a variety of stylistic choices and available materials. Operating out a workspace in Mesquite, Texas,
Artisan Dice provides custom made to order dice using modern techniques and a
wide array of choices and options Artisan Dice offers dice in five key
materials, and an astonishing array of potential selections for the discerning
gamer. Keep in mind, these dice are
custom made and have a price range representative of that fact. These
are rough and tumble enough to be used in daily and weekly gaming while
retaining the intrinsic aesthetic appeal that will draw attention from everyone
around the table.
First we’ll start with the selections in wood (and wow is
there a lot of them). We have Druid’s Dice, Arch Druid’s Dice, Gaea’s
Preserve, and Ent’s Dice. Each of the categories lists a wide range
of choices and options, and taken as a whole they represent 128 different types
of wood from an astonishing of colorations and patterns.
The Druid’s Dice
category is the largest category, containing 70 different wood grains (It also
has two assortment categories and a gift card option). This category has what I would categorize as
the most available wood grains, and the price is reflective of the
availability. A single D20 from any of
the grains in this category will set you back $23, while a full playable set (note,
Artisan Dice ships 10 dice to a set, adding 3D6 to a standard set of 7) will
set you back $103.
Ash Wood Grain Druid's Dice (Picture courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Arch Druid’s
Dice steps up the rarity of the wood a degree and the dice are
exceptional. The trees that produce
these materials are harder to find, and the dice bear that cost increase. With wood grains available in a profusion of
colors and patterns, these dice are amazingly pleasing to the eye. A single D20 will set you back $42, while a
full set of polyhedrals will run you $167. With a total of 23 different wood grain
options, this category has some wonderful options for the gamer who wants to
stand out in a crowd.
Bloodwood wood grain (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Gaea’s
Preserve category of wooden dice rarifies the wood grains a step further
into some truly unique materials. There
are 14 different wood grains in this category (1 additional wood grain is no
longer in production as its branches are no longer available) and each one of
them are a work of natural wonder. They
represent another jump in price, coming in at $63 for a single D20, and $273
for a full polyhedral set. These dice
are a conversation starter for sure among gamers, and things that deserve a
dice chest of similar craftsmanship.
Ancient Bog Wood wood grain (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Ent’s Dice
is a smaller category that contains woods of a variety of type and
colorations. Most of these woods have a
dye or stain applied to them and they produce some of the brightest colors in
the wooden dice collection. These dice represent
a step between the Druid’s Dice and the Arch Druid’s Dice in terms of price,
with a single D20 ranging between $36 and $46 (depending on the specific wood
selection) and between $158 to a $473 for a full polyhedral set. Be aware that not all woods in this category
are available for a full polyhedral set.
Thuya Burl wood grain dice and lidded bowl (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The next category moves us from a completely natural
element (wood) to something definitely artificial. The Alchemist’s
Dice category contains four different space age polymers that you can have
your dice built out of. As each of these
categories has their own unique aspects, let’s discuss each one by itself.
The first polymer we took a look at was the Carbon Fiber
Dice. That’s correct, you did read
Carbon fiber, (the thing they make fighter jets and high performance racing
cars) made into dice for playing your favorite table top game. These dice are astonishingly neat looking
with laser engraved numbers, but are among the most expensive dice I have
seen. A single D20 will run you $187,
while a full polyhedral set will run you $536.
Carbon Fiber polymer dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The next polymer we took a look at is the Optically Clear
Acrylic. Unlike most of the dice we’ve
looked at, these dice are transparent, and come in a wide range of color
choices. They have a bright, easy to
read face, and the numbers are laser engraved into the surface. These are a lower price point than their
carbon fiber kin, coming in at $43 for a D20, to $173 for a full polyhedral set
of dice.
Optically Clear Acrylic polymer dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
Second Wind is a polymer blend of acrylic and polyester
resins that create extra bouncy dice.
These dice come in two tone patterns that blend two colors together in
an opaque color pattern. Thirteen
different color matchups with an array of vibrant colors finish out this
grouping of extremely cool dice. They
run $46 for a single D20, to $182 for a full set.
Second Wind polymer dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The last, (but certainly not least) entry in this
category of wondrous items is Teflon.
Teflon dice (because of the specifications of the polymer formula of
Teflon) are quieter dice to roll on a table top, and are unlikely to fly off a
table during game play. These dice will
have a laser etched number on it, but because there are no color options for
Teflon, these numbers will be hard to read, and I recommend that you spend the
extra cash and have them painted at the shop.
These dice weren’t as expensive as I expected them to be; with a single
D20 setting you back $34, while a full set comes in at a very reasonable
$139.
Teflon/PTFE polymer dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The next section of materials, Dragon’s Dice, has always been an interesting one to me as a
player, metal dice. Though there are
only six categories of metal available to have your dice manufactured from,
there are some odd choices in this category.
Coming in at the lowest price point in the group, you have Aluminum dice;
with a single D20 setting you back $30, and a full set running $125. Bronze and Steel dice run $34 for their D20s,
with slightly different price points for the full sets ($164 for steel, and
$168 for Bronze). Copper and Brass Dice are also available, but the material I
think I personally find the most intriguing is Titanium. Due to the effect that heat has on titanium,
the dice take on wildly different colorations, which nets you vibrantly colored
metal dice. With a price range between
$52 and $297, these exotically colored metal wonders are durable enough for day
to day use while maintaining their appeal.
Titanium metal dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Elemental Dice
category currently only has one product available in it, but it’s a
doozy. Black Soapstone is the current
feature, and comes from architectural grade raw materials. This is a material used to make countertops,
fireplaces, pipes (the smoking kind, not the other kind) and other
ornamentation. These dice are of a
higher grade than the Soap stone used in another product and are a much more
durable dice than other higher talc materials.
These dice will set you back $36 for a D20, and $176 for the full
set.
Black Soapstone stone dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Necromancer’s
Dice category has two products, and they are both incredibly awesome. First up, you have Bison Horn, which does not
disappoint. It’s a black material, with
gradients of white and grey. When
polished appropriately, streaks of gold and silver can be polished out of the
material, and they are utterly gorgeous dice.
A D20 will set you back $36, while the full polyhedral set will set you
back $261. The numbering on these dice
is a golden color that is evidently the horn’s reaction to laser
engraving.
Bison Horn bone dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The Second Option in the category is Gator Jawbone. They offer 11 different color pattern choices
for their Gator Jawbones. These dice are
Gator bone stabilized a urethane resin with color gradients forming the
patterns are resin filling the teeth holes from the actual jaw of a recently
farmed alligator, while the white material is the natural jaw bone. These dice are wildly colored, including a
color pattern known as Mardi Gras. These dice cost $63 for a D20, or $327 for a
full polyhedral set.
Mardi Gras Gator Jawbone bone dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
This covers the five main categories of dice available
from Artisan Dice, but there are two special mentions of things that I think
are just fantastic.
First up,
We have the Jack Daniels Oak Whiskey Barrel Dice. Made from the aged barrel that contains Jack
Daniel’s Whiskey during the aging process, each one of these dice is from a
plank of the hand cooped barrel. The
D6s have the charred side for one of its facings, while the rest of the dice in
the set do not. For a quirky little
thing, I think that these are absolutely fantastic for the gamer that enjoys
his or her whiskey. They run $42 for a
D20, and $167 for the full set.
Jack Daniels Whiskey Barrel wooden dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
The other item of awesome and quasi liquor relatedness is
the Scotch Rocks D20. Made from
Soapstone, this set of D20s is perfect for popping in the freezer and then
using for an alternative to ice as a method to cool down your favorite
Scotch. Reusable, and perfect for
keeping your Scotch from getting any water in it, these stones are a wonderful
gift for the gamer with a taste for good Scotch. They run right at $78 for a set of 3.
Scotch Rocks Soapstone stone dice (Photo Courtesy of Artisan Dice)
Artisan Dice also offers limited run items frequently, so its a good idea to check out their website often. I also like that Artisan Dice goes into detail about the material that they are using to make your dice from, and in most cases have videos and other helpful information for you as a consumer. You get to peek behind the curtain, as it were, and see the magic that happens.
Overall, I like the dice that Artisan Dice produces. They are made custom when you order, and they have a breadth of available choices that i haven't anywhere else on the market. There are many companies that produce different colors and styles of dice, but those are mostly injection molded plastics. Artisan Dice gives you the option to order dice that you can virtually guarantee that no one else in your play group (or town, or city, or state) has. even better, to the discerning gamer, even if someone orders the exact same type of wooden dice down to the same wood grain, there is a high probability that your dice are still different from theirs. This means that your dice will be uniquely yours, which is something that i can see appealing to the gamer mindset.
All right folks, that's our write up on Artisan Dice, let us know what you think in the comments or send a note on our facebook page.
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