December 4th is National Dice Day. I’ve already posted most of my dice in previous blog posts. So instead of showing some more dice, I thought I’d break open the seal on a dice holder I obtained several years ago.
This is the Dungeons and Dragons Red Dragon Die Keeper that was sent out in a Loot Crate back in 2018 (at least, that is what the copy-write says on the box). I don’t recall how I obtained this. I didn’t get a Loot Crate, it was part of some trade or a gift where I obtained some other geeky items at the same time. Since it wasn’t the primary thing I wanted in the trade, it went on the shelf for this fateful day. I walked past it just as I was thinking “what should I blog about for National Dice Day?” I’ll take the inspiration where I can.
The box is a little over three inches wide and just under three inches tall. Red is a very prominent color for the packaging. While I was looking this over, I was curious of how much this collectable would have set me back. I couldn’t find it on Amazon, but on Ebay it appeared to be between $15 to $30 US.
Just before I opened up the package, I noted that the text stated that it included one figure and one D20. That’s kewl. The last dice keeper/jail that I reviewed didn’t have any dice with it. There is a protective plastic sleeve that comes apart (after a little bit of effort) to reveal the figure and die.
As you can probably see, there is some detail on the scales on this figure. Not a lot of color. It’s a dark red with yellow eyes. On the bottom of the base it confirms that this was made in China for Loot Crate, but it was designed in Los Angeles. So this is a Southern California Dragon. DUDE!!!!
I wanted to see how it would work as a dice keeper. There is a horn/growth sticking out from the bottom of the dragon’s chin. It took a bit of work to get the D20 situated in the keeper. Don’t expect a quick in or out if you are using this at the table. It’s a light plastic figure, but I was worried that I was going to snap off the front part that holds the die in place.
I noticed how light the D20 felt. It was then that I realized the D20 was also smaller than what I was use to. So I pulled out a D20 from my standard Chessex dice set and compared them side by side. The black D20 rolled OK, but not being part of another set, I don’t know if I’d get a lot of use out of it. I’ll keep it with the figurine to keep the two parts together instead of adding it to my dice bag.
Conclusion: The figure looks kewl. I could see myself placing this down on a battle mat before my unsuspecting players. The die is nothing special. It’s just there as part of the set. As a dice holder itself, well it will hold a die, but like any dragon, it won’t give it up easily. So display or figure, not really a quick grab from the holder device. I don’t think I would have paid more than $15 for this. But I am happy that I have it in my collection.
Happy National Dice Day everyone. Now I need to write up a scenario where the party encounters a dragon. Hmmm…
Do you have any questions about the Red Dragon Dice Keeper? Feel free to ask me about them. This article is open for discussion on the TardisCaptain dot Com Discord server. You can also email me at Carl (at) TardisCaptain.com with any comments.