Battery-less electronic dice for all your D&D needs
posted Sep 29th 2011 9:04am by Mike Nathanfiled under: misc hacks
[Anthony] is a big fan of Dungeons & Dragons, but he thought the game would be far more fun to play with an electronic die rather than the traditional fare. Electronic dice are nothing new around here, though we can’t help but like his design.
He wanted to keep his electronic die as small as possible while ensuring it would last an entire gaming session, so rather than use a battery to power it, he opted for a super capacitor instead. His 1F 5.5V cap keeps the PIC18 and 22 SMD LEDs chugging along quite nicely without ever requiring a break in the action for a charge.
The electronic die looks great, and give him the choice of rolling a 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 20 sided die with a simple push of a button. While a bit less interactive than tossing a die on the table, we certainly wouldn’t mind having one.
You know what would be REALLY REALLY REALLY cool?
Imagine an electronic dice device that can read your brainwaves so you can use your thoughts to influence the outcome.
That would be a great help when dealing with a kibbitzing assasin who wants to roleplay a dweeb who is out to kill EVERYBODY.
Saving throw against being turned into a 6″ tall little crap-flinging butt monkey… FAILED!