Grumm wrote in Question about B/X Dice:This came up in a conversation over Facebook and I thought I'd check in with the "experts" of Acaeum to see what you all think. I am the original owner of a ninth printing Moldvay Basic box set (the second of four printings of Moldvay Basic, dated 1981) and a third printing Cook Expert box set (the third of three printings, also dated 1981). I removed the original shrink of both boxes so I can guarantee their contents.Now here's the rub: both of these boxes contain bagged dice that seem to resemble the kind of dice elsewhere described as "Mentzer" dice. In particular, they have the elongated eight-sided dice that were typical of the Mentzer boxed sets. Frank Mentzer himself has recently begun selling bags of these dice on eBay and describing them as 1982 prototypes for the 1983 "red box" Basic Set 1 box.So what is going on here? If these dice were truly only found in the 1983 Mentzer set, what are they doing in my 1981 printings of B/X?
aia wrote in Question about B/X Dice:I will check both my 1st printing boxes... Going by heart i remember a similar set... Just a question: if this set should not stay in this version of the game (but according to Frank Mentzer) only in the following edition, what would be the expected set of dice here?
Grumm wrote in Question about B/X Dice:My current theory is that Moldvay/Cook B/X boxes came with two different generations of dice... the typical small d8's with rounded 3's (probably 1st and 2nd printings) and then later the "Mentzer" style dice for the 1981 third printings.
grubbiv wrote in Question about B/X Dice:You are right that the "Mentzer" dice actually predate the Mentzer box sets and first appeared in Moldvay box sets. Also late printings of the Mentzer box sets do not have "Mentzer" dice. So maybe calling them "Mentzer" dice is not great terminology. As far as I know, only "Mentzer" dice and not "Moldvay" dice were sold in blister packs, but the "Moldvay" dice were used in an ad mockup for the blister packs, e.g. GROGNARDIA: Retrospective: Dragon Dice
Grumm wrote in Question about B/X Dice:Does this mean my B/X set is more on the rare side, or was this fairly common for late Moldvay/Cook boxed sets?
