Game Jargon Definition: “Dice Sacrifice”

Dice Sacrifice (noun) - dice sac·​ri·​fice /ˈdīs ˈsakrəˌfīs/

A ritual where dice owners will throw away, or “sacrifice” one or some of their dice, typically through a destructive action. There is a myth in gamer culture—especially in role-playing gamer culture—that once an owner’s dice have been touched (or worse yet, rolled) by another player, those dice have been defiled or are disloyal, and can no longer be trusted to roll for the owner, and therefore must be sacrificed for the greater good.

Acts of dice sacrifice can sometimes be mistaken for acts of Dice Punishment. While the ritualistic forms of destruction may be similar, the intention is quite different. Where Dice Punishment is an act of retribution on the part of the player, Dice Sacrifice is most often seen as an honorable or necessary forced early retirement so that the player and the player’s character may live on to fight another day. Some players even swear that they will avenge their defiled dice. All in the name of good fun, of course.