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Author Topic: Home made Saga Dice  (Read 2149 times)

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Home made Saga Dice
« on: January 28, 2025, 06:06:09 PM »
Hi,

I have on order some blank wooden dice in order to make some Saga dice for solo play. Each face of the die is 20mm and I have previously made the elusive saga dice for myself. I varnish them using an acrylic antique varnish and despite looking a bit rustic I feel that they actually suit the period.
The main Dark Age factions are available to download and print out but I am struggling to find the Irish set and any from the age of Crusades. Does anyone know if these where ever available as a printable download?
The actual dice stocked by Gripping Beast never seem to be in stock so it would make sense to have the pictures available? If it is allowed if anyone has a link to some of the pics to print out I would appreciate it.

Offline Ogrob

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2095
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #1 on: January 28, 2025, 06:53:33 PM »
https://www.studio-tomahawk.com/dl/saga2dices.jpg

The irish use the symbols on the bottom left column, same as scots.

Middle row is Age of Crusades.

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #2 on: January 28, 2025, 06:58:48 PM »
Thanks Ogrob thats very useful, I will be using those

Offline anevilgiraffe

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3411
    • http://anevilgiraffe.blogspot.com/
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #3 on: February 11, 2025, 12:39:09 PM »
do you have pics of the finished product? sounds interesting

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #4 on: February 11, 2025, 09:35:37 PM »
I have glued 3 sets together but I have not yet varnished them! I intend to use B and Q antique pine acrylic varnish to give them a suitably aged and dark age look (hopefully). I will post a pic when they are completed but it will be a couple of weeks as I am off to Lincoln and Nottingham this week. Hopefully I can visit Gripping Beast? Does anyone know if they are open to visitors? The dice cost me £15 for around 30 so its a very cheap way to acquire them.

Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 5271
    • Miniature Gaming
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2025, 08:02:32 AM »
Will be interested to see how these come out.

Back when Saga first came out I made some sets of dice using blank plastic dice, coloured to the appropriate faction colours, with the symbols printed on paper and stuck on. Whilst they worked, they were very much home made looking. For most factions I played I ended up buying the dice.

The only home made ones that worked for me where the Viking dice, where I was able to paint the runes directly on the dice, these looked good.

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2025, 07:05:48 PM »
I imagine that the painted saga dice looked cool! I'm hoping the antiqued look disguises the paper on the die face a little when mine are done. As an aside do Victrix late Roman slingers mix with Gripping Beast late Romans? Also is the Victrix plastic still fragile? I have a box of Griiping Beasts finest infantry on the way and they will need a few extra minis. Lastly do Gripping Beast make a figure that will pass as early Saxon? I do like their figures as they are sturdy and easy to paint... I wonder if they will have any new releases? I can dream I suppose.

Offline Ogrob

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 2095
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2025, 07:32:09 PM »
I don't find Victrix and Gripping Beast plastics to mix that well unfortunately.

When it comes to fragility in Victrix, we're just talking spears. The vikings and anglo-danes are quite bad in that regard, but the Late Romans are a bit better, spears are a little thicker. The new saxons and rus are better still, they've added a bit more thickness still.

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2025, 06:28:03 AM »
Thanks for that Ogrob I may stick with Gripping Beast with the Sub Romans then and try the early Saxons with Victrix in a few months. I'm literally waiting by the door for the Romans to arrive as I have a week off work and run out of figures to paint.... the perfect storm.

Offline SteveBurt

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1391
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2025, 11:57:15 AM »
For home made Saga dice I bought blank dice with recessed faces, into which the stickers go. I varnished the stickers afterwards, and they have last very well and look good as well

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2025, 09:00:31 PM »
I have seen the recessed dice and they do look like a perfect option. I have no doubt in time that mine will wear but it was the dark age look that I was going for. I will begin my board and dice tray tomorrow as my figures have still not arrived. The mistiming of my holiday and my next figure project was entirely my fault though.

Offline anevilgiraffe

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    • http://anevilgiraffe.blogspot.com/
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #11 on: February 14, 2025, 08:59:36 AM »
it was the dark age look that I was going for.

next step sheep spines...

Offline Michi

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4453
  • Hoist the colours!
    • Tableterror
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #12 on: February 14, 2025, 10:00:15 AM »
next step sheep spines...

I cut some dice from shin steak remnants. It works, but it stinks horribly... >:(

Offline ulverston

  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 583
Re: Home made Saga Dice
« Reply #13 on: February 14, 2025, 10:52:40 AM »
Hahaha actually your not too far away with this as I will be putting corner brackets on my table and dice box to "enhance" a medieval feel to the experience. I have very much dropped down a rabbit hole I am afraid.

 

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