Review of Coriolis Dice Set

Review Summary: Solid idea behind the pattern, yet a few poorly thought concepts and one unsuccessful execution later, and this set does not come out as appealing.

Blurb from the publisher: 'A set of ten engraved custom dice, designed specifically for the Coriolis - The Third Horizon roleplaying game.

These dice support the game mechanics of Coriolis, but can also be used as normal six-sided dice for any game.'

What you get: Your EUR 16,14 or equivalent will buy you the Coriolis Dice Set, a set containing ten six-sided plastic polyhedral dice for use in the Coriolis - The Third Horizon game line. The product bears the logos of Free League Publishing and Q-Workshop, while boasting of a Modiphius product code.

The side of each rectangular die has a length of 1,5 cm. The background colour is black, while the designs and numbers are white. The numbers are smallish in size, with a height of around 4mm. They are encircled by arabesque designs reminiscent of the floral motifs which adorn masterpieces of medieval Arabian art. Number six is not depicted on the die. It is substituted by a complex design that looks like an elaborate scarab.

The strong points: Each RPG line should have its own dedicated dice, full stop. Historically Arabian art is all about repeating motifs and even more so, natural ones. The idea behind the design is to be applauded.

Unless the dice come poorly manufactured, there aren't many flaws one can find on a set. There are no defects or imbalances when it comes to dice-rolling. I rolled each die around a hundred times, and even though the numbers obviously did not come out as statistically expected, there is nothing to suggest that there are inherent flaws.

The weak points: A naturalistic motif is in theory a great idea for a design when it comes to a setting based in Arabian culture. Alas, the implementation did not get the details right. The mock-ups look fantastic, yet the actual dice themselves do not have the advertised definition. Where the mock-up has different widths in its designs, the lines on the dice themselves are stiffer and less elaborate. The end result is that the motif does not look floral or arabesque, but an amateur attempt of reproducing alien space ships from Space Invaders. The Scarab gets lost inside the numerous details, and at first (and second) glance looks like a human skeleton without legs. The colours are counterintuitive, no matter how their choice was probably based on the hard contrasts of space. Arabia in my mind is a festival of colours, no matter if they come out as relaxing, tempting, or dangerous. Black and white for an Arabian inspired setting doesn't feel right, no matter if the world is a science-fiction/science-fantasy one.

Even worse, and in a fine example of form over substance, the numbers are small. I am not talking about the minuscule six on its respective side, which the publisher still bothered to engraved, I am talking about all the other sides. In suboptimal lighting conditions or from the other side of the table, the dice might not be as easy to use.

I usually comment on how game-specific dice might be unable to readily accommodate other genres theme-wise. These dice however come out so weirdly bland that they might actually be able to pull it off... or not. Sorry, I can't get over the Space Invaders looking at me from every corner of every side. These dice have really missed their target.

Conclusion: The Coriolis Dice Set is plagued by a couple of bad design choices, and ultimately doesn't deliver even on the things it got conceptually right. The numbers are too small, the colours are not what one would have expected for the setting, while the definition of the arabesque art is coarse, almost vulgar. The end result looks like a tribute to the heavy pixelization of the arcade games of yore than a custom set for Arabian Nights in space. A pity, really.

To find out more about Coriolis and Free League Publishing take a look at https://frialigan.se.

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