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My first Dungeons and Dragons set was in a red box (purchased around 1989 plus or minus a couple of years). The dice that came with it were of multiple colors, some of which I cannot remember. From conversations with friends, I understand that the color scheme was consistent and standard.

The ones I remember are:

  • 20-sided die: orange with black numbers
  • 6-sided die: red with white numbers
  • 4-sided die: green with white numbers

I cannot remember what color the ten-sided dice were, and I am unsure whether my memories that the 8-sided die was purple and the 12-sided die white are correct.

Was there such a standard coloration in D&D products of that era, and if so, what were the other colors?

amacleod
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I actually remember my whole set as gray-blue and came with a white crayon to rub in the number depressions to make them stand out better. I believe it was the revised version from Tom Moldvay in 1981.

An interesting thread on boardgame geek reveals that there were various versions of the original red box with differently colored dice: https://rpggeek.com/thread/608903/dice-came-original-and-first-edition-dampd

Mike Mitrovich
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  • Yes, mine were a rather horrible mottled red/pink – Dale M Sep 06 '15 at 23:58
  • That was not the 1983 "Red Box" edition though. – SevenSidedDie Sep 07 '15 at 00:03
  • I do remember gray-blue dice with sharp edges from a friend's set that I borrowed in the early or mid-80s. I think by the time I got mine, they had started shipping with the multicolored dice with their numbers already painted. – amacleod Sep 07 '15 at 14:54
  • I don't recall the colours of the dice in the box set I purchased in, um "mid-80s" (probably 1986 or 1987), but I do recall that they were not regular (the D6 has 4 rectangular and 2 square sides, the D12 and D20 were "squished", can't recall the D4 and D8 being true or warped) – Vatine Sep 07 '15 at 15:24
  • The dice that came with that boxed set were, as I recall, low quality compared to the ones I already had. It appears that I gave them away, as my search this weekend through my various bags of dice didn't find them. Recalling the colors arrives at a blank ... but we can blame that on my advancing age. – KorvinStarmast Sep 14 '15 at 12:34