Dice and a side of Life Philosophy
Or how I learned the symbolic importance of a 20 sided geometric shape
“Yo Iain if you had to get a symbol in ink on your body what would your go to be?”
For years this question was one that I never truly had an answer for. I’d waver on some TV show or book series but then swat the idea away and shrug. Nothing appeals to me.
To reiterate I dunno if a tattoo would be right for me. Lately, however, the topic of talismans and personal symbols came back up again in my life and I have become a little more aware of designs with meaning to me.
I play a lot of Dungeons and Dragons (DND) and a 20 sided dice is the most important dice in our tool kit when we play. But it wasn’t until I played a lot of games both as Dungeon Master (DM) and player did I come to understand what I think the D20 represents both in play and as a symbol.
Within the world of the game the D20 what you roll to determine the effect of random chance on what your character wants to do. You tell the DM what the intent of your action is…
“I want to try and use my bow and arrow to shoot the rope holding the oil lamp and set the hay on fire!”
…And they determine what skills are likely to be needed to have the intended effect.
“Okay roll an acrobatics check to see how dexterous you are.”
The D20 symbolizes how factors out of your characters control can affect them. From the wind being just right for an arrow to hit a bullseye to you tripping on a stone you didn’t see and letting go of the arrow at exactly the wrong time and shooting yourself in the foot.
In the real world I’ve come to see it as the role of serendipity, happenstance and all those other weird quirks of life. These things shape the laws of possibility and outcome in the universe. We talk about “if it weren’t for x then y would’ve never happened” and I think the 20 is kind of symbolic of that.
On one hand: assurance that you have some control over possibility and outcome. Take your life in your own hands and do what you truly want to.
On the other: once it leaves your hands there’s an element of randomness to be trusted in. Don’t sweat it so much there are forces at play that you might not be able to see.
You hold the key. You can influence the outcome by investing in being smart, athletic, cunning or charismatic and these help steer outcomes in your favour.
But at the end of the day there is still an element of luck, chaos and timing that you just have no say over and you just have to trust that it’s working towards something good.
So when I hold that little piece of plastic, I feel like I hold possibility in my hand. A comfort in uncertain times.
