Why you should buy spindown D20s

Let's talk about spindown D20s and how we can use them to their fullest potential. If you don't know what a spindown D20 is, a regular D20 has the numbers 1 through 20 scattered around the die in a non-sequential order. A spindown D20 is in sequential order so the 17 is next to the 18, is next to the 19, is next to the 20. How could that benefit us? Well…

Counters

Let's start with what numbers were invented for. Counting. What could we count with some spindown D20s? Count the parties stock on torches, count the enemies hit points left, count the amount of creatures in a swarm. Why would you need to keep track of this stuff on a dice of all things? Convenience. Stop taking away time during the game scribbling and erasing in your notes. Need to keep track of multiple things at once? Get a red die for the goblins HP and a green die for the amount of arrows it's carrying.

Timers

Now timers are really where you're gonna get your money's worth with some spindown D20. Combat rounds are obvious but there's much more than that. How many turns has that torch been lit? How many minutes does that spell last? How many hours till the guards patrol this street again? Keeping track of time is often the most tedious part of being a dungeon master and we often forget to mark something because there's always so much we have to keep in our heads. When a physical object is sitting in front of you and it's as easy as turning it to one side, you'll never go back.

Trackers

If timers are the bread and butter of spindown D20s, trackers are the garlic. Trackers aren't an amount like counters or a when like timers. Trackers are an if. Is your party on a heist? Set your D20 at 4. Everytime they make noise, move it down. When it gets past 1, the guards are alerted. Is your party at a fancy dinner, trying to persuade a noble to sponsor their next adventure? Decide the likeness threshold, we'll say 10, and set the die at 5. Everything they do to convince the noble either raises his likeness or lowers it. If it gets so low, you can have him kick them out. You could even have a BBEG whose power is in her name. Start the die with nothing and over the campaign, if they say her name 20 times, they summon her.

Spindown D20s are such an easy and fun way to keep track of the things you never even knew you could and should. I hope you found some value in this post. I'd love to know what you think in the comments. Bye now!