Review: We Tried Out Runic Dice – Is it Worth It?

Wall of Fortune | Illustration by Tom Babbey

At some point hobbies transcend mere pastimes and expand to the point where they’re a lifestyle, something you invest time and energy (and money) into because it’s part of who you are, rather than just something you do. Once you’re at that stage of investment, your wallet tends to loosen up to some of the pricier accessories on the market.

Take tabletop dice, for example. Those prerelease spindown d20s do just fine for Friday Night Magic, but they’re not exactly expressive. They don’t need to be, either, but switching to a nice, upscale set of dice is just one of many ways you can invest into your gaming experience. We’re going to look at Runic Dice today and see what sort of dice sets they have on display. Their selection of dice is best suited for D&D and other tabletop RPGs, but there’s something for Magic players, too.

Thank you to Runic Dice for providing the set of sample dice I’ll evaluate for this review!

What Is Runic Dice?

Runic Dice is a veteran-owned business centered in Scarborough, Maine, that specializes in producing high-quality dice for tabletop gamers. Their specialty is D&D dice sets, typically 7-piece sets that include the typical d20, d10, d6, and so on. They’re on the higher end of the price scale when it comes to buying dice sets, but they’re also on the higher end of quality.

They advertise “premium” D&D dice, and as someone who’s lived in enough “luxury” apartments to know that premium is a buzzword with very little meaning, I’m immediately skeptical of this description. But having received and rolled some of these dice myself, I can say with confidence that the “premium” tag is earned here. This is a storefront with a high-quality product.

Why Buy From/Use Runic Dice?

Quality is the name of the game here. We’re talking $50-100 for most of the dice sets you’ll buy from Runic Dice, so there’s an expectation that what you’re getting is well-crafted and worth the purchase. I reviewed one such dice set myself, as well as their website, and it’s clear upfront that Runic Dice is a business that cares about the quality of their product.

Now, there’s a question that’s completely independent of the business: Why do you need an expensive, fancy dice set to begin with? The short answer is that no one needs something like this, but going back to that whole bit about being highly invested in your hobbies, a premium dice set can really up your game if you’re a regular TTRPG player. A dice set can be an expression of oneself the same way a playmat, or deck box, or sleeves can show off part of your personality.

And of course, there’s the gifting aspect of the product, too. Maybe you know literal jack about D&D, but your significant other, best friend, or family member is a D&D fanatic, and you just want to get them a nice dice set as a gift. Runic Dice seems like the perfect place to pick up a quality set of dice for that Magic Missile caster in your life.

Runic Dice: Is Ordering Worth It?

Navigating the Site

Runic Dice’s website is clean and intuitive. You know exactly what’s available and how to navigate the site from the homepage, and there are even featured dice sets from the very beginning you can peruse.

The product line-up is displayed clearly at the top of the page, with tabs for different types of dice sets (gemstone dice, resin dice, metal dice, etc.). Those tabs remain at the top of the screen while navigating the site, so it’s very easy to switch back and forth between different dice styles.

Once you’ve selected a tab, all the different dice sets for that category are prominently displayed with a thumbnail picture, the exact product names, and pricing. Hovering over the thumbnail even converts to another image, so you can get a couple looks at each product without ever having to click one. And there’s a handy filter feature that lets you sort by pricing, in stock/out of stock, and dice set type.

Browsing Product

Browsing products on Runic Dice’s website is extremely easy. Just as a reference point, I’d say this site is even easier to navigate than something like Amazon, which is already a bare-bones online experience.

My review of Runic Dice’s product centers around their gemstone dice, but they have dice made from other materials.

Their resin, liquid core, and metal dice are all separated by category, and have generally lower price points than the gemstone offerings.

There’s also a subcategory dedicated to “Resin Chonk,” or giant randomized d20s, which are priced around $140 on average.

On top of the dice themselves, there are dice trays and dice towers for sale, as well as an option to purchase and send gift cards if you’re having trouble deciding on an item for someone else.

Ordering Product

Since I received a sample product for this review, I’m going to simulate the purchase of the same item to see how the ordering process works.

The purchase options are prominently attached to whatever item you’re browsing. Note that for many entries in the gemstone category, there’s an option to buy a single d20 ($17.99 in this case) instead of the full set.

One thing I really appreciate here is that adding something to my cart displays the cart in the same tab I was already on without having to navigate away from the product page. You could complete the order then and there if you had nothing else to add. You’ll also note free shipping within the US, and that the leather dice box is complementary!

From there, you’re free to complete your order as you would anywhere else. You can pay with credit card, PayPal, or Shop Pay. You’ll also note from the image above that a discount code is applied to my order (Code RUNIC20) for almost $15 off. Not sure where that came from or if it’s part of some temporary promotion, but it couldn’t hurt to try it out for your own order!

Product Delivery

For starters, I’d like to point out that my order was delivered just five days after being placed. Thanks once again to Runic Dice for sending me this sample product to evaluate! The set I received was the Light Blue Cats Eye D&D Dice Set, valued at $71.99 at the time of writing.

The picture above is the product image from their website, which I used as a comparison point. We’ll see how the real thing stacks up, but first comes packaging!

No complaints here. The item arrived in a secure bubble mailer with plenty of wiggle room. Presumably multiple items could have fit in this same mailer.

You can see there’s an extra layer of protection here, with the dice box being placed inside another plastic bag within the bubble mailer. Points for extra effort to keep the product unscathed! And quit eyeballing all the scratches and scuffs on my tabletop.

Now let’s see what it looks like out in the open. The small leather case is really cool; it has two magnets on the inner sides to keep it closed, and it withstands a good shake so nothing comes tumbling out. It’d make a neat display item even if I had no intentions of ever using the dice.

And there they are! The dice pop immediately. They’re vibrant and catch the light perfectly without being reflective, and the numbering is as legible as the product description pic made them out to be. My one and only complaint is that the lid to the leather case doesn’t really stay open; it's constantly setting itself back to a closed position, but that might be by design, and it’s fairly negligible if you’re planning on rolling these dice anyway.

The big moment: Here are all seven dice side-by-side. They’re opaque, the numbering is distinct and prominent, and the Cats Eye Blue is beautiful. One thing that stands out to me while inspecting the dice is that there are basically no imperfections. I know these are advertised as hand-carved, so if that’s true someone out there has a very steady hand. There’s no scratching or scuffing on any of the surfaces, no bleed or defects on the numbering, and they’re smooth to the touch.

The numbers on the faces are engraved, but it’s not a deep cut, just enough to feel the texture as you rub your finger across it. That to me means they’re less likely to get dirty or build up grime over time, as you might expect with a deeper engraving.

If this quality carries over to all products in the gemstone line-up, you're in for a great purchase here. It’s pricey, but worth the expense if you’re in the market for high-end dice.

Oh, and you can kind of use the leather case as a dice tray of sorts if you remove the felt. It’s narrow and the lid keeps closing, but these dice have just enough heft that you probably want to roll them away from your other valuables.

Verdict: Is Runic Dice Worth It?

Keeping in mind that the product I received for this review cost me nothing out of pocket, it’s hard to say anything other than yes, this Runic Dice set is awesome. Putting myself in the shoes of someone who is in the market for “luxury dice” and who paid $70-80 for this same product, I’d be a satisfied customer. I’m not holding the price point against Runic Dice at all because you only make a purchase like this with the intent of splurging on fancy dice in the first place.

There’s also the matter of website navigation, which is independent of the product I received. Runic Dice’s website is intuitive, snappy, and altogether easy to use. It seems incredibly simple to navigate whether you already have an item in mind you need to search up or if you’re just browsing other options.

Roll Off

Mise | Illustration by Mark Zug

It’s easy to be satisfied with something that you essentially got for free, but I imagine if I’d paid for these dice out of pocket, I’d still be very happy with my D&D set. Not everyone needs fancy dice like this to begin with, and the price point is admittedly high, but it’s a hobbyist purchase, so you know what you’re getting into when you’re checking out Runic Dice.

With a wide variety of dice, a high-quality product, and an easy user experience for buying online, I’m giving Runic Dice two and a half thumbs up (half thumb borrowed from my son). Have you ever made a luxury purchase for your hobby? If it was a dice set, were you satisfied with what you got? Let me know in the comments below or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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This post is sponsored by Runic Dice. We will never work with a brand we don't love and trust, and by supporting them you also support Draftsim.