[Alea Iacta Est]
Le d20 des Romains
Dans Wired
Romans Used 20-Sided Dice Two Millennia Before D&D
By Dave Hinerman EmailJune 15, 2008 | 6:00:00 AMCategories: Games
D20Many 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. As the auction catalog notes that several polyhedral dice are known from the Roman era, but remarks, " Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used."
I wonder - how do you say “critical hit” in Latin? (Ed. note: “maxima plaga”)
The seller acquired this die from his father, who picked it up in the 1920s in Egypt. Sounds like the beginning of an Indiana Jones movie, doesn’t it?
(Thanks to Marty for the pointer. Photo from Christie’s web site.)
En pierre taillée visiblement
Waaa… Respect…
Christie’s
On a pas le prix ? Comme ça, pour voir…
Triz dit:En pierre taillée visiblement...
L'article parle de dé en verre...
Quand je pense qu’il y en a qui râlent parce que leur jeu coûtent plus de 20 euros…
Sherinford dit:Quand je pense qu'il y en a qui râlent parce que leur jeu coûtent plus de 20 euros...
C'est les mêmes qui râlent contre les dés, peut-être ?
Joli Budnic.
Je savais que les Romains etaient amateurs de jeux de dés (eux… lol) mais de la a jouer avec un dé a 20 faces.