I need help finding a shop that makes custom dice of any kind!

Hello, im very glad i found this sub because of what im looking for.
I created a game and i need help because i need some custom made dice for it, not so much about what they will have on them for display but the materials they are made of.

I made this post yesterday about what i need but i didnt got the info i was hoping for so im gonna give it a try here.

The TLDR version is that i need someone to make metallic, wooden and stone/marble dice for me along with the regular plastic or resin ones. Do you know of a shop that does this or is capable of doing it?

in DiceMakingby NOTanOldTimer

55%

mrs-hoppy

What is it you're wanting exactly? Handmade bespoke dice? Or just a manufacturer of mass produced dice who can make what you're after? What are you expecting to pay per dice, and how many do you want?

I've personally turned a few people down in the past when they've asked about me making the dice for their game or Kickstarter. Because not only can I not produce the quantities they want, but they can't afford my prices! And going from your previous post, you're looking at a very low unit cost!

If you go to different producers for different materials, you need to consider what moulds they're using because I'm guessing you'll want them to all be the same design. If I were you I'd search up some dice manufacturers (I'll be honest, you're probably looking at Chinese companies that mass produce) and send them an email! A lot of the online shops will sell different material dice as well.

I wish you the best with your search!

Claerwen94

That's some honest and accurate advice there, OP ☝🏽 I think this is the most realistic approach.

NOTanOldTimer

realistically, there are
the 2 metallic ones
the 2 wooden ones
the 2 transparent ones (resin)
1 marble/stone

and these would be the custom ones, the rest are just colored plastic ones. I contacted some manufacturers and got 2 answers so far and they are VERY expensive, for example, the metallic ones are at ~30$ each and the wooden ones are at 15-20 each. Its way more than what i was expecting. And bulk orders wont be pretty either with 10-15% drop at these numbers.

As i said to someone else that commented, i will probably get what i need for my prototype because it will get the spotlight and actually use them to play with my friends a bit and see what's up and if they actually make the game experience better. If the feedback is good then i'll see what will happen from there, if its not, then "oh well"... more money in that black hole that is called game development....

Chinese companies are very VERY cheap but they offer the standard things, for example with one company i contacted, they only do plastic dice (any kind) but only plastic, thats why their prices are 0,30 cents per die for bulk orders.

I will go to a convention for tabletop games next week in my country and see what's up there and if i can find and talk with manufacturers and other designers about this.

MenagerieToys

Dice Maker

VERY expensive, for example, the metallic ones are at ~30$ each and the wooden ones are at 15-20 each.

I'm curious - for completely custom dice in what could technically be called "exotic material" (since dice are usually plastic), how much would you expect to pay?

NOTanOldTimer

for a single die? 5-10 euros. Considering that in my country the average pay per hour is 4,5€ its a very reasonable price to think a die will have, but 30$? yea i dont think so... All these prices are very american salary centric and we cant afford these things with ease here. For you it sounds fine because thats how much you make in 2 hours (15$ average salary) but imagine having to work a whole day just to buy 1 die.

for me the 30$ die costs as much as a 120$ die would cost to you.

Phtevenhotdunk

Your odds of finding a one-stop shop for your list is pretty slim. You'll have better luck splitting up the job, find one person for metal dice, one for stone, another for resin, another another for wood.

NOTanOldTimer

-1

do you know any shop that is making metallic ones? and another that is making wooden ones? and another that is making stone/marble ones? :D

MenagerieToys

Dice Maker

and another that is making stone/marble ones?

Hedron Rockworks makes bespoke stone dice. Go check out how much he charges for a D20. That might give you a better idea of what some of these things cost and why.

NOTanOldTimer

-4

oh, and because one person opened a store and sells dice in outrageous prices that means all of them are like this?... I sure im glad not every car costs as much as a Bugatti then....

(also, who the fuck buys a die for 5 thousand dollars? who is this product for? Because its certainly not for common people)

mamatreefrog1987

15h

A friend once told me that if something is too expensive for you, you're not the target customer. I remember this in all aspects of business that I go into. Also, stone is not an easy material to work with.

Custom items are always more expensive because they're specifically made to order for the individual buyer. You're talking about buying customized items in specific materials, and that's fine! But you're going to pay for the specificness of the orders you make, because you're paying artists for their art. Perhaps you should consider other options? Plastic may not give the feel that you want, but it wouldn't break the bank on a prototype of a game.

HSPersonalStylist

So I read the previous post and all those looks could be achieved with resin but it's the quantity and price combination that you'd need to look at. Like someone else said the set for just one game would start at $200. So if it's a one off game you're making for yourself and friends to play AND you're willing to spend that amount on dice for it, cool. If you're looking to do a Kickstarter and or mass produce these games a factory would be the better solution.

ShadyScientician

Even if you were looking at custom resin alone, a very cheap material, you'll likely be spending upwards of $200 just on the dice for one copy of the game. Do you think you could profit off that? Especially since you're looking for materials like wood that aren't easily mass produced?

You'll probably want factory-made plastic dice.

NOTanOldTimer

Seems like the most cost effective thing to do is get plastic dice but colored as wood/metal/stone. But then it will look so cheap it will lose quality

DvDCover

Keep in mind that you are designing a prototype TTRPG. The feel of the dice is not something you should currently focus on at all, but rather making sure that the rules and the flow of the game is as water-tight as possible.

NOTanOldTimer

these have been finished years ago, for personal reasons i dropped this whole thing but now im looking to bring it back and i have opened a bunch of tasks that i want to do and one of them is having different dice for the characters.

MenagerieToys

Dice Maker

If you want "quality" you pay for it.

PhillyKrueger

Reading through the comments on your other post, with the numbers you're throwing around for costs, no custom shop will touch that order. You're looking for 2 different types of wood, stone, metal and 6 different styles of resin for $5 a set with a potential bulk discount?

Even the etsy drop-shippers would take a loss, considering they're throwing out 85% of their sets. I honestly doubt overseas mass production would even be able to fulfill an order like this for a price like that. There's a reason why you typically only see components like this in $200-400 deluxe editions.

NOTanOldTimer

-2

seems like i wont even be able to put together a set to be honest, i talked with 3 dice manufacturers i found through youtube and like for metal custom made dice (just 1 mind you) they want almost 30$... so if i need two its 60$ plus shipping... then for wooden ones its like 15-20$.... I wasnt expecting these prices at all... i mean like 5$ was the most i was imagining for a single die but 30? It's just a die....

I dont mind spending much for the prototype since its gonna be on the spotlight but seems unlikely for this to happen in a large scale order. I just cant afford it... Seems like the person in the other post that said it seems like a kickstarter milestone was right.

Unless i go with full plastic ones and just order the corresponding colors, then the price drops to cheap change... we'll see, for now i will try to put together what i want and keep a list and costs. Next week there is a tabletop convention in my country and im gonna go for the first time to see what's up, maybe i will meet manufacturers that i havent even heard of in my country there and have more options.

mrs-hoppy

You say "It's just a dice.." but if you go find videos of how these metal and wood dice are made you'd understand why!! Handmade dice are a luxury, made by people who spend many hours from start to finish. I wouldn't sell a handmade resin D12 for less than $10-$15! I totally get you want this set to look good, and having an example set for your prototype is a great idea. But you can get pretty good effects with just resin so I think you need to start there.

DvDCover

Oh lord, okay. Here is a very quick rundown on making a single custom dice:

The very first thing needed is the dice master itself. If that is something you can provide, then I would need to have it shipped to me. If not, it would either have to be designed, and 3D printed. 3D printing a single dice in resin can at best take 4-6 or 10-12 hours depending on exactly how fine you want it. The cost of this would be roughly 1-2 dollars worth of material, maybe. Afterwards, it will need to be polished. Which can take maybe around an hour if done by hand.

Next, you need to create a mould. This alone would set me back maybe ...hm, between 5 or 15 dollars in material, depending on the quality of the mould (reuseable or crappy once-off). Not to mention the time spent creating the mould itself, which can take maybe 20 minutes X2 depending on the mould itself.

Next would be the casting of the dice itself. For a normal sized D12, that would maybe cost me 2 dollars worth of resin, and maybe 30 minutes from start to finish.

Then we have the curing, which can take another 24-48 hours depending on the resin used.

After that, it will need to be polished. Either fully or partially. This depends on the silicone that was used, and the quality of resin, the quality of the master and whether the planets are properly aligned that day.

Then there is painting, of course. The amount of paint used is insignificant so I won't even count that, unless you want me to use specific paint. Time spent painting it properly thought can be ...i dunno, 30 minutes in total including clean up?

So, by itself, I would charge you 30 dollars or more for this, depending on how you want it made. And that itself would be with a "loss" on my end.

MenagerieToys

Dice Maker

And that itself would be with a "loss" on my end.

That would be a huge, unsustainable loss if you did it habitually. This guy wants completely custom dice made of non-standard materials for a game he's designing that he's presumably wanting to sell himself, but he's completely unwilling to actually pay prototyping costs.

The reason dicemakers are passing on his pitch is probably because they're insulted by what I'm imagining is an absurd lowball offer.

NOTanOldTimer

-1

OR (check this) we dont all live in rich countries and the prices i hear for a piece of plastic is INSANE.... and no wonder people are preferring china as a manufacturing place because of the unreasonable prices you guys are throwing around. Take your country's average hourly salary and multiply it by 8 hours for a single days worth of pay, WOULD THAT PRICE BE REASONABLE FOR A DIE?

YOU specifically have gone to all my comments making fun of me for wanting reasonable prices according to what i get but if you were in my position you wouldn't even comment....

So, kindly, STFU because i didnt "PITCH" anything, i just asked if you guys know a shop that makes custom dice from the materials i wanted and you acted like i wanted them for free.....

ShadyScientician

Look, if these materials are cheaper in your country, why don't you just make them yourself for a fraction of the cost of importing it from a high purchasing power country?

I get things manufactured in the US is very, very expensive, but that's because everything in the US is absurdly expensive. We have to sell at those prices to make up for the sheer cost of our set ups ($200 resin printer, $150 pressure tank, $200 air compressor, $50 random pneumatics, then of course the $0.10 plastic and $200 of labor).

If your country has all of these materials and labor for cheaper, buy domestic. You should never outsource anything to a country with higher purchasing power. If your country doesn't have this specialized labor and material, buy bulk non-custom dice from china like most board games do. Hell, I MAKE dice and I still buy bulk dice when making boardgames for friends.

MenagerieToys

Dice Maker

It's just a die....

So learn how to make it yourself then.

NOTanOldTimer

Oh..so the 30 cost becomes 130 because of all the equipment i will need and material i will waste with trial and error.... Smart advice!

nonotburton

Dice Maker

So, I've got some questions.

Why do your dice have to be made from things other than plastic? How does that actually matter to your game mechanics?
You can create the aesthetic of marble and metal with plastic.
The reason wood and marble are so expensive is because you have to cut the dice out of an existing block of material. This means that 1) there is waste material that can't be used, 2) the manufacturing processes for those two materials is different (saw vs water cooled saw) plus, with the wood, there's post processing to sand and finish the die.
I'm not even sure how they make metal dice, but whether it's a water jet cutter, 3d printer, or smelting die cast process, it's going to be more expensive than injection molded plastic, especially for a small production run.
Metal and marble dice are going to mess up your customer's table because they are harder than many table surfaces. To avoid complaints, you should also provide a thing to roll dice in, further driving the cost of your game up.

I'm not trying to poop on your dream. I actually want you to succeed! I'm just saying, there really needs to be a tangible benefit for having exotic dice in a game, especially when you can achieve the same aesthetic with plastic dice.

NOTanOldTimer

Yea, to my surprise prices were not as "normal" as i was imagining them to be (surprise surprise). Anyway, to answer your questions

Because they will feel like you are actually playing that character instead of it just looking the part, i mean you play a Knight and your die is heavy metal instead of just a plastic metal colored looking one, you will feel its heavy, that its a grade higher than just a plastic one, same goes for the other characters, its just an aesthetic touch that will make the game overall look better in my opinion.
I dont want that
Yea i knew all that stuff i was just not expecting a single die to be that expensive, let alone wanting to order a lot of them of that specific kind
Smelting in clay casts or even welding it with soldering equipment for more detail, there are a lot of ways
the board itself solves that problem because its big, it will get dented but its ok.

Dont worry you are not demoralizing me more than the prices :)

sofazebra

I think you should consider throwing a cheap dice mat into the box. Both metal and resin dice are meant to be rolled on something, as metal will break what you’re rolling it on and resin will slowly buff from scratches and damage. If the dice dent the board that means you’ve got a very limited number of plays on that board, and if you’re just making it for friends that’s different but you should be careful about expecting customers to buy a game they can only use a few times that damages itself.

DvDCover

22h

For point 1 and 2: You can achieve a close approximation by mixing resin and fine grained sand with silver coloured Mica powder. Same goes with resin and fine sawdust, i suspect. You WILL need a pressure pot for this to cure properly, but what you will end up with are dice that look, feel and "handle" the same as dice made from metal or wood.

BlacksmithOk6202

22h

I didn't want to pay $150 US for 9 glitter dice for Star Wars Armada.. Soni made my own...

$300 for pressure pot $200 for vacuum chamber $200 for Air pump $200 in materials $300 in lost materials learning...

And I finally got my dice.....🤟.....

I should of just bought the cheap $150 US dice ..🫣...

But I now can make anything I like.....

ComboAcer

I know ur looking for actual metal and wood, but I offer custom epoxy dice on Etsy, and I would be willing to negotiate a much more reasonable price than what you've said you've been quoted for the 6 custom d12s if u wanted!

It also sounds like ur not in the US? So we'd also have to nail down international shipping just so nothing's a surprise after all's said and done