Romans Used 20-Sided Dice!

Ok, so this isn’t necessarily RPG-related, but I find it interesting that the Romans actually created twenty-sided dice from glass for use in an as-of-yet undetermined game.

Many of us geeks take great pride in the ability to recite the history of role-playing games based on the 20-sided die, but what about the history of the die itself? Apparently it predates the original Dungeons and Dragons by almost two millenia.

Christie’s, auctioneer to the rich and famous, sold a glass d20 from Roman times. It was included in a collection of other antiquities that sold in 2003. The markings on the die don’t appear to be either Arabic or Roman numerals, but it’s probably a safe bet that it was used in a game of chance.

Maybe groups of legionaries would get together for a little role-playing action in between invasions?

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