THIS IS A PRINT-POSITIVE VERSION
Enjoy the full version online at http://www.gamegirladvance.com/archives/2003/12/03/romanus_ludens.html

December 03, 2003
Romanus Ludens

D20.jpg
Next week a 2nd century Roman 20-sided glass die goes up for auction at Christie's.

If you've got 4-6 thousand dollars to spare, I suggest you enter your bid now.

The catalog entry notes: "Several polyhedra in various materials with similar symbols are known from the Roman period. Modern scholarship has not yet established the game for which these dice were used. "

Well, I think *we* all know what game it was used for! But my question is, before the fantasy Middle Ages, in what setting did the Romans play D&D? Ancient Egypt? Biblical times? Babylonian?

[Many thanks to Stephen for the link!]

Posted by jane at December 03, 2003 12:00 PM
Comments

Maybe they played the parts of heroes from their own mythology, although at the time it would've been considered a 'modern' d20 game...

Posted by: charley on December 3, 2003 04:08 PM

They might have just played games set in the Middle Ages and called it sci-fi roleplaying. It would be really neat if scholars determined the actual game they played. Then Chessex (or some dice company, anyway) could reproduce these dice and supply rules for the game. Besides, who wouldn't want a Roman-style die like this?

Posted by: Avenging Dentist on December 3, 2003 04:54 PM

My guess is it was either used for roleplaying or for oracles and psychics. It probably goes at least as far back as the Greeks since Romans took most of their culture anyway. It sounds like a Greek idea when I think about it. Homers epics. The dramatists.

...but 4 to 6 thousand? ugh! Try priceless! It should be in a museum if it really is authentic.

Posted by: Draigon on December 3, 2003 04:56 PM

Ego volo sagittam magicam contendere!

Posted by: William on December 3, 2003 05:08 PM

William, nerdus maximus es!

Posted by: jane on December 3, 2003 05:21 PM

Hoc verum absurdum est. Latinane lingua mortiis non est? Scio se gaudere nimis...

Posted by: Avenging Dentist on December 3, 2003 06:27 PM

Maybe they 'threw lots' for the clothes of christ.

Posted by: Kuchen on December 3, 2003 07:09 PM

alea virumque cano...

Posted by: jane on December 3, 2003 09:44 PM

ona eakspa igpa atinla

Posted by: mal on December 4, 2003 12:07 AM

The best history I've been able to find speculates that the Romans played a role-playing game set in some distant future when people would fly in shining birds, talk to each other with their fingers, and hold small sea-shells into which they could speak & hold conversations at a great distance with others holding similar shells.

Like that.

Posted by: Rob Wittig on December 4, 2003 09:01 AM

Last time I was in Italy, it seemed they were doing a lot of communicating with their fingers, without any magical technology being used at all.

Likewise New York, now that I think about it.

Posted by: William on December 4, 2003 11:33 AM

It would be cool if there were a game based on Roman science fiction. i.e., a game with "advanced technology" as the Romans would have seen it.

(Si alea Romanam sciendam fabulam oriatur, sit bonus. Id est alea cum "altis machinis" ut Romani spectaverit.)

It's really hard to write in Latin when most of the words you know are just the words you'd see in the Aenead or the Gallic Wars because those are the types of things you translated in high school.

Posted by: Avenging Dentist on December 4, 2003 04:54 PM

In response to Avenging Dentist, check out this novel: Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle. It's ancient Greek and Chinese science fiction, rather than Roman, but still a fun read. Everything in the universe really is made of four elements, and so on.

Posted by: Philip Tan on December 4, 2003 11:42 PM

As neat as it may sound, do you really think role playing is the only game that can be played with a D20?

Posted by: dengame on January 9, 2006 02:40 PM
Any links to weblogs that use TrackBack to reference 'Romanus Ludens' from game girl advance will be listed here.


TrackBack: Old dice
Excerpt: Found this post at bothhttp://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice. The dice will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies...
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 04:58 AM

TrackBack: Old dice
Excerpt: Found this post at both http://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice. The dice will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies...
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 04:59 AM

TrackBack: Old dice
Excerpt: Found this post at both http://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice which will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies....
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 05:00 AM

TrackBack: Old dice, games and reality
Excerpt: Found this post at both http://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice which will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies. While looking at Jesper Juul's weblog I noticed a post Who owns the...
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 05:54 AM

TrackBack: Old dice, games and reality
Excerpt: Found this post at both http://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice which will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies. While looking at Jesper Juul's weblog I noticed a post Who owns the...
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 05:58 AM

TrackBack: Old dice, games and reality
Excerpt: Found this post at both http://www.gamegirladvance.com/ and Jesper Juul's weblog, about a 2nd century roman 20 sided dice which will be auctioned on the 11th at Christies. While looking at Jesper Juul's weblog I noticed a post Who owns the...
Weblog: g-one
Tracked: December 7, 2003 06:03 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:16 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:18 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:20 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:21 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:23 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:25 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:26 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:28 AM

TrackBack: incest chat
Excerpt: it techniques node detection.
Weblog: A.M.
Tracked: July 3, 2004 02:30 AM