Dice are fun. Any gamer will tell you that rolling the dice is an important part of the game. Some gamers feel lucky, some unlucky. The polyhedral shapes have become symbols of the hobby itself, so closely associated with the game have they become. Venders turn the dice shapes into jewelry and make dice from precious stones. We gamers buy special boxes and nice bags in which to store and transport our dice. A favorite die can take on almost "magical" significance and many gamers are somewhat superstitious in regard to dice and dice rolling. An etiquette has formed around dice and their use. Touching another players dice is generally frowned upon. There is little question that dice, whether the traditional shapes shown above, plain six-siders, percentiles or the so called "Zocchi dice", are a big part of the game.
Dice are used to "roll-up" a player's character to be used in the game. White Box and many later editions and systems use 3d6 rolls to create the six attributes which together with hit points (also rolled), class, race, alignment and a name make up the PC. For some, the name given is the only real feature of "personality" the PC may have. White Box gives no instruction on how much or how little the players should flesh out their PCs and so this is left to interpretation. I find it entertaining to speculate on personal features of the PC based on the die scores. Looking at relative scores in strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, wisdom and charisma can, with a little imagination, form a mental construct of the PCs strengths and weaknesses to guide role-playing the PC as an imaginary someone distinct from the player. Drawing again from imagination or events in actual play, add a few quirks and a backstory and a fully fleshed out fictional "character" can be created.
White Box uses die rolls to determine the outcome of many in-game situations. Combat plays a large part in the mechanics of White Box and both the Chainmail and alternative systems rely on die rolls to determine who is hit and how badly. Rather than simply calling for a die roll and stating "hit" or "miss", the game can greatly benefit from voicing the at-table action in more descriptive terms. "I swing my axe at him." followed by, "He steps aside, avoiding your wild swing." or, "Your axe connects, biting through armor and drawing blood." Let the dice be your guide to improvise a more narrative description of the action and game mechanic becomes story.
Saving throws and any other die rolls the referee calls for can be handled in a similar narrative manner. The dice may provide the numbers, but verisimilitude is greatly enhanced by a verbal description of what the dice roll implies. The art of converting numbers into verbal description on-the-fly is going beyond the rules as written for most games, but I find it adds immensely to the enjoyment. As a result of role-playing games, I tend to take this mental approach into other tabletop games such as board games and my friends and I will frequently entertain ourselves with improvised, detailed descriptions of whatever the dice or cards may suggest during a game, thereby creating "story" amidst play.
Gamers can enjoy the hobby in many different ways and I see that as a great strength of White Box and other systems that they can be played for a variety of effects depending on style of play. If die rolls are what you want, the game can be played just that way. I have found letting the die roll be just the beginning of a mental process involving imagination and improvisational story telling is something I enjoy even more. Why just beat the dragon and take its stuff when you can "Stabbing the dragon in its weak spot, you inflict a mortal wound. The beast writhes in its death throws, showering all with coins and jewels from its hoard. At last it lies still and you gaze upon the mound of treasure, wondering how you can get all this back to town?"
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