Every color imaginable and some you’ve never conceived. They can make your evening one of triumph or betray you without warning, crushing your hopes and dreams. They can even kill you.

 Each Demotic series also represents a number (which would label the sides of the die). Found in the Dakhleh oasis (one of the seven oases of the Western Desert), it is thought to have been used for divination (cleromancy – divination with dice) rather than gaming.

 ## Rome

 Though younger in provenance, Roman d20s were found by archeologists before those originating in Egypt, at least as far as we know. Because the markings on them were neither Roman nor Arabic numerals, many assumed that the dice were used for gaming–specific games of chance. 

 They come in a variety of sizes. Poured, molded, and carved from every and any material you can think of (and some you probably shouldn’t). 

 Every color imaginable and some you’ve never conceived. They can make your evening one of triumph or betray you without warning, crushing your hopes and dreams. They can even kill you.

 ## Egypt

 ![Egyptian dice](https://i.imgur.com/xI180FD.jpg)

 The object believed to be the world’s oldest d20 (found to date) is from Ptolemaic Egypt (304-30 BCE). Housed in the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art), it is carved from serpentine, a stone that is usually green, yellow-green, or brown-green, and gets its name from sharing a color palette with snakes. 

 Serpentine was thought to protect against disease and black magic; it was also a common offering to the gods as well as a protection against venomous creatures. 

 ## Rome

 ![Rman dice](https://i.imgur.com/VrkSBOa.jpg)

 Though younger in provenance, Roman d20s were found by archeologists before those originating in Egypt, at least as far as we know. Because the markings on them were neither Roman nor Arabic numerals, many assumed that the dice were used for gaming–specific games of chance. 

 If one google “Roman gambling dice,” however, the pictures that come up, including those in frescoes from the period, all depict men gambling with cubic dice (d6s).

 They come in a variety of sizes. Poured, molded, and carved from every and any material you can think of (and some you probably shouldn’t). 

 Every color imaginable and some you’ve never conceived. They can make your evening one of triumph or betray you without warning, crushing your hopes and dreams. They can even kill you.

 These little pieces of plastic, metal, and wood have decided many an elf’s fate over the years, but where do they come from? Were they always used for games or, like the Spanish playing cards that evolved into tarot suits, did they once have a more portentous presence in the world?

 ## Egypt

 The object believed to be the world’s oldest d20 (found to date) is from Ptolemaic Egypt (304-30 BCE). Housed in the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art), it is carved from serpentine, a stone that is usually green, yellow-green, or brown-green, and gets its name from sharing a color palette with snakes. 

 Serpentine was thought to protect against disease and black magic; it was also a common offering to the gods as well as a protection against venomous creatures. 

 Each Demotic series also represents a number (which would label the sides of the die). Found in the Dakhleh oasis (one of the seven oases of the Western Desert), it is thought to have been used for divination (cleromancy – divination with dice) rather than gaming.

 ## Rome

 Though younger in provenance, Roman d20s were found by archeologists before those originating in Egypt, at least as far as we know. Because the markings on them were neither Roman nor Arabic numerals, many assumed that the dice were used for gaming–specific games of chance. 

 If one google “Roman gambling dice,” however, the pictures that come up, including those in frescoes from the period, all depict men gambling with cubic dice (d6s).

 They come in a variety of sizes. Poured, molded, and carved from every and any material you can think of (and some you probably shouldn’t). 

 Every color imaginable and some you’ve never conceived. They can make your evening one of triumph or betray you without warning, crushing your hopes and dreams. They can even kill you.

 These little pieces of plastic, metal, and wood have decided many an elf’s fate over the years, but where do they come from? Were they always used for games or, like the Spanish playing cards that evolved into tarot suits, did they once have a more portentous presence in the world?

 ## Egypt

 The object believed to be the world’s oldest d20 (found to date) is from Ptolemaic Egypt (304-30 BCE). Housed in the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art), it is carved from serpentine, a stone that is usually green, yellow-green, or brown-green, and gets its name from sharing a color palette with snakes. 

 Serpentine was thought to protect against disease and black magic; it was also a common offering to the gods as well as a protection against venomous creatures. 

 Each Demotic series also represents a number (which would label the sides of the die). Found in the Dakhleh oasis (one of the seven oases of the Western Desert), it is thought to have been used for divination (cleromancy – divination with dice) rather than gaming.

 ## Rome

 Though younger in provenance, Roman d20s were found by archeologists before those originating in Egypt, at least as far as we know. Because the markings on them were neither Roman nor Arabic numerals, many assumed that the dice were used for gaming–specific games of chance. 

 If one google “Roman gambling dice,” however, the pictures that come up, including those in frescoes from the period, all depict men gambling with cubic dice (d6s).