Posted on Leave a comment

Convention Calendar

Crit Happens Dice on the road! These are the dates we have for conventions and nerdy markets for this year. Come find us to see everything in person and often find some bits that are not in the store!

January

27th = Ellesmere Port, Flea Market Site.

February

11th = Buxton, Jubilee Gardens

17th-18th = Wakefield, Riding Shopping Centre

March

24th = Stoke, Geek Retreat Hanley

April

6th-7th = Stoke, The Potteries Hanley

20th = Northwich, Memorial Court

May

31st = Games Expo, Birmingham NEC

June

1st-2nd = Games Expo, Birmingham NEC

July

TBC

August

TBC

September

30th = Wigan, Robin Park Sports Centre

October

TBC

November

TBC

December

TBC

Posted on Leave a comment

How To: DnD Tavern Décor – Wood Beam Lanterns

My tavern walls are complete (find out how I did them here!) but now I needed some lighting that would be in keeping with the theme and what better than wood beam lanterns hanging over the game table?

With actual wood beam lanterns costing a small fortune (and the weight issue for ceilings) This is a way to get that look cheaper and being able to customise it exactly how you want!

Continue reading How To: DnD Tavern Décor – Wood Beam Lanterns

Posted on Leave a comment

How To: DnD Tavern Décor – Painted stone walls

A DnD room has the ability to set a scene before the dice are rolled and add atmosphere.

While a whole room may seen daunting at first, this painted stone walls dining room was transformed with clever use of ‘plaster’ to give the feel while still being practical for one person to complete. Plus there’s the added bonus that the room doesnt shrink through foam board, and it can be renovated easily back to a flat surface.

Using only 5 paint colours to create the entire look this project was low cost and took about a week (6hrs approximately/day) to complete. A little elbow grease is required to prep the bricks with filler to add definition but the rest is completely paint and applied with paintbrushes and artificial sea sponge.

I also created wood beam lanterns over the DnD table to complete the look and the instructions for that can be found here!

Continue reading How To: DnD Tavern Décor – Painted stone walls
Posted on Leave a comment

How To: Print and Prepare Dice Masters for Casting (Part 1)

If you want to made a dice mould to make your own handmade dice you need something to actually mould. I started out by using generic cheap soft edge dice to make my first sprue moulds before moving on to using sharp edge metal dice to cast in another set of sprue moulds. Then I bought a 3D printer…

I got a printer as I was not willing to pay a fair amount of cash every time I wanted new masters or a new shape for a die. For example, I started with a caltrop d4, now I have a shard and I started with a regular pentagon d12, now I have a rhombic one. I also have a d20 with my logo on it and have a set with a smaller font… So I was looking at the cost of two 7 die sets, two extra d20’s with a custom logo, and two new shape dice. No discredit to the people who do print masters for you, but I wanted the freedom to do all that and not have to pay postage/customs charges and be able to get my hands on them as soon as they were done printing.

So if you have your own printer or access to one, the first part is about how I prepare to print my dice masters and then the second part is about how I prepare them once they are printed and this can be applied to once you print yourself or ones that you purchase.

Continue reading How To: Print and Prepare Dice Masters for Casting (Part 1)
Posted on Leave a comment

How To: Make Handmade Dice Moulds (Part 2)

When getting into the world of handmade dice it can be an expensive hobby to pick up, especially when looking at all the bits of equipment you need if you are going to create everything yourself. Knowing what you need or can make do without helps, know what to do also goes a long way with finding your feet and being able to enjoy this hobby rather than feeling frustrated at the failures.

This article is going to focus on moulds as that is what I currently am making with my new masters. Now, I have made a lot of dice moulds, from sprue to cap, slab (or cake) to individual but my current mould of choice is individual cap. They might have a slightly more silicone intensive creation, but the ability to only cast one die if I need to and only replace what is worn out cuts down costs in the long run. Not to mention a bigger work space for adding inclusions and a bigger surface area for those pesky bubbles to vent.

Dice moulds are not just dump the dice in a box, pour over the silicone and voila! There is work to be done to make sure that the moulds are going to come out crisp and not waste a ton of silicone.

Checking out dice mould making on YouTube is definitely a start, but it pays to remember that these techniques are what work for these creators and may need tweaking to make them work for you, especially if you are unable to get the supplies that they are using. Another thing to remember is that if this is your first attempt, it is not the first attempt of the creator. They know the nuances of what they are making the mould with and have it down to an art so to speak so if youre struggling to get tape to lay flat for example, don’t get disheartened!

Continue reading How To: Make Handmade Dice Moulds (Part 2)
Posted on Leave a comment

Beginners DnD character sheet

A game of DnD might just be the perfect game for family and friends get-togethers.
Get everyone to the table and tell a story that adapts to what everyone is doing, no one is left out, and everyone can be a ‘winner’. 
But when not everyone has played before,  being confronted with a 3-4 page character sheet might put people off before they have even had the chance to cast their first spell.

So, give them a simplified one that walks them through what happens to them. Allowing them to follow the action step by step while still giving them the options to try some creative flair with their chosen character. 

These sheets were actually created and used in a huge 14 newbie player birthday party one-shot. It was chaos but everyone had a lot of fun both filling out the sheet and being able to understand what was going on in combat. 

 

Posted on Leave a comment

Critmas Baubles

Spread the ‘Critmas’ cheer with these d20 style print-at-home baubles!

The file comes with a little blurb on how to print them and ideas for use but for best results the thicker the paper/cardstock used (depending on what your printer can handle) the more sturdy these will be.

You can print them yourself or send the file on to other adventurers who you think might need some decorative crits this holiday season!