DnD dice materials: resin, gemstone, glass and wood compared

Choose plastic or resin for everyday games: they are light, easy to replace and fine on any mat. Choose metal for weight, and gemstone, glass or wood as display-worthy sets you roll gently on a padded tray, because their makers say hard surfaces chip or scratch them.

DnD dice materials at a glance

“Not stated” means none of the sources we used published it. Treat any weight claim on a listing for those materials as the seller’s own.

Plastic dice: the standard set

Plastic is the material of mass-produced sets. Chessex casts its dice from a hard thermoplastic in molds, paints them, and polishes them in a rock tumbler, according to a 2016 buying guide on Athenopolis. The tumbling removes paint from everywhere except the recessed numbers, and it also rounds the edges.

Die Hard Dice lists a typical plastic set at about 1 ounce (28 grams). That lightness is why plastic dice roll farther than metal ones. If you are still working out which seven dice a set includes, see what dice you need for D&D.

Resin, sharp edge and liquid core dice

Handmade resin dice are poured by hand. Dispel Dice describes its dice shells as translucent hand-poured resin, sometimes tinted with pigments for a color gradient. It describes sharp edge dice as having “corners and edges that are crisp and well-defined.” The retailer Bards and Cards says its sharp edge resin dice are “hand polished to keep their beautiful sharp edges” and are not tumbled.

A reviewer at Arcane Eye found Runic Dice resin sets tough enough for a full campaign, with points he compared to “the pointy end of a Rogue’s blade.” Dispel Dice adds that hard surfaces such as glass, stone or hardwood can chip those corners.

Sharp edge vs rounded edge dice

The difference comes from the finishing step. Tumble polishing, used on mass-produced plastic dice, rounds the edges (Athenopolis). Hand polishing, used on sharp edge resin dice, keeps them crisp (Bards and Cards).

Dispel Dice claims sharp edges stop a die quickly and give “a more even distribution” of results, and says casinos use only this style. That is a maker’s claim. We found no published test comparing sharp edge and rounded dice from the same batch.

What is inside a liquid core die?

Dispel Dice places a hollow sphere of distilled water, mixed with pigments, glitter, mica powder or mylar, in the center of a translucent resin shell. The maker says its liquid core sets are balanced because they are sharp edge dice.

How to clean resin dice

Dispel Dice gives a short routine:

1. Mix a mild solution of dish soap and warm water.
2. Wipe each die with a soft cloth.
3. Use a soft-bristle toothbrush in the numbers and design grooves.
4. Dry the dice fully.

The same page warns that long exposure to cold makes resin brittle, heat warps it, and sunlight discolors it. So a hot car or a sunny windowsill is a poor place to leave a set.

Resin, sharp edge and liquid core dice sets

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Metal dice in brief

Metal is the heavy option. Die Hard Dice puts its zinc sets at 4 to 5 times the weight of plastic, and makers advise rolling them in a tray. The details, including hollow sets, tungsten and a fairness study, are in our metal dice guide.

Gemstone, glass and stone dice

Gemstone dice are made from natural stone. URWizards describes them as “hard, but they can be brittle,” and gives firm rules:

• Always roll on a soft surface, such as a tray with felt or leather lining.
• Never roll two gemstone dice together, or roll them with metal or harder resin dice.
• Clean with a microfiber cloth; for more, use lukewarm water and a very mild diluted soap, then dry at once.
• Avoid harsh chemical cleaners, abrasive scrubbers and ultrasonic cleaners.

Norse Foundry’s care page covers gemstone and glass together. It advises a padded mat or a tray with a padded insert, and says to avoid unpadded wooden trays and glass, wood or metal tables. It also says to skip dice towers and dice cups, because the repeated impacts raise the risk of damage.

Glass behaves much the same. The Arcane Eye reviewer called Runic Dice’s glass sets delicate and warned against rolling several together, since they can chip as they tumble.

Gemstone, glass and wooden dice sets

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Wooden and bone dice

Artisan Dice makes wooden sets and also works in bone, antler, horn and mammoth ivory. Its FAQ says the dice are machined from solid stock one at a time, using CNC machines plus hand finishing, so they “do not have vacuum pockets like injection molded dice.”

A Gaming Trend reviewer found an Artisan Dice olive wood set, with brass inlaid numbers, “considerably lighter weight than expected.” Light dice roll farther, so a tray with walls helps.

For odd shapes and collector pieces beyond the standard set, see our dice wall of fame.

How to check whether dice are balanced

The saltwater float test is the best-known home method. Gareth Branwyn described his attempt in Make: in 2015:

1. Dissolve salt in room-temperature water until a die floats. He started with 6 tablespoons in 1/3 cup, then needed close to half salt, and found Epsom salt worked better.
2. Float the die and spin it.
3. Repeat many times and note whether one face keeps ending on top.
4. Rinse and dry the dice afterward.

Branwyn noted two limits. Many of his dice would not float however much salt he added. He also observed that translucent dice tended to look more balanced, perhaps because flaws inside them are visible. Metal dice sink, so the test does not work for them. Treat a float result as a hint, not proof; a long run of recorded rolls is the fuller check.

Every material here fits into a full seven-die set; our DnD dice sets guide covers how to choose one.