Dice Tray for Tabletop Gaming

Hello fellow nerds!

And to those of you who aren't nerds, welcome to you too! But this is primarily a post for nerds. Specifically, nerds who play Dungeons & Dragons like me.

A while back, my boyfriend Nate and I got into a web series on Geek & Sundry called Critical Role. It's an awesome show where a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors get together to play Dungeons & Dragons. This show is what got me interested in the game and, more specifically, in playing it. Nate and I have played through a few different games with friends over the years. But, when we moved into a new place last year, we decided to get a little more serious.

By a little more serious, I mean he BUILT a gaming table...


And he did a damn good job. This thing has color-changing LED lights around the sides and is freaking fantastic for D&D games.


Oh, did I mention it's also a dining room table? The top is removable to expose the gaming set up underneath. But by day this baby is a really beautiful dining table made out of high-quality wood. Here you can see my lovely set-up for Christmas dinner.


But I digress. Because this post is about dice trays. After Nate built this table we started hosting D&D sessions at our place. As a result, we've been playing more often. And a good player certainly needs a trusty dice tray to keep dice from rolling off the table and whatnot. You want those crits!


I love the amazing dice trays from Wyrmwood Gaming. The craftsmanship is amazing and their pieces are of such high quality. One of Nate's friends got him a Wyrmwood dice tray as a birthday present a few years ago.

This got me thinking that I wanted a dice tray of my own and, as much as I would LOVE to have a Wyrmwood, that's just not in the budget for me right now. So I set out to make my own. My character is an elven druid and I wanted to make something that fit her character. I found a tree-looking frame at Michael's and used that as the base, adding green felt and stenciling on a gold leaf and vine pattern. I love how it turned out and it works great! I've been using this tray now for about a year with no complaints. I just love how unique and personal it is to my character.

Plus it was super simple to make.

One of my friends who is also in our D&D party had a birthday so I decided I'd also make her a dice tray as a present. Her character is a human paladin and, as with my dice tray, I wanted this one to be unique to her character. This time, I chose a more simplistic tray with a cleaner look using black felt and a silver stenciled-on designed I thought looked like it could be a holy symbol.

I love the idea of theming these trays after the characters who use them. It allows for some creativity. You can do something similar to the designs I have here but I encourage you to get creative too and experiment with new designs that fit your characters.

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 ~ What You Need ~

Wood tray or deep picture frame
Felt (color of your choice)
Paint pen (color your choice)
Stencil (pattern your choice)
Scissors
Ruler
Hot glue gun

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~ Directions ~

Step 1: Measure the inside of your tray or frame. Cut the felt to fit those same dimensions.



Step 2: Lay the stencil out on the felt you just cut and use the paint pen to trace the pattern.


Step 3: Using the hot glue gun, adhere the felt to the bottom of the tray or back of the frame. Allow to dry completely.


And there you have it, folks, a snazzy new dice tray. Hopefully, it brings you good luck and you'll role many crits in all the boss fights.

Good luck on your adventures!