Article

Electronic RPG Dice Roller

for Role Playing Games

Role Playing Games (RPG’s) are event-driven hence require several kinds of dice, including variants you may never have seen or heard of. This microprocessor-based circuit can generate them all and should delight RPG players.If you throw a die on a tabletop and let it roll for a second or two, you expect it to tell you a random number in the range from one to six. This particular range is determined by the physical shape of the die, which — in its classic form — is a cube. Rolling two or more dice gives a wider range of numbers with a corresponding decrease of the chances that a certain value is obtained.An electronic version of, say, a fistful of dice requires a circuit exhibiting at least a fair degree of pseudo-random behaviour.

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Materials

020005-PCB.pdf

020005-11.zip

Gerber file

CAM/CAD data for the PCB referred to in this article is available as a Gerber file. Elektor GREEN and GOLD members can exclusively download these files for free as part of their membership. Gerber files allow a PCB to be produced on an appropriate device available locally, or through an online PCB manufacturing service.

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PCB

Download Gerber file: 020005-1.zip

Component list

Resistors:
R1,R7 = 47k?
R2-R6 = 470?
R8 = 470? 1W (see text)
P1 = 10k? preset
Capacitors:
C1,C2 = 15pF
C3-C6 = 100nF
C7,C8 = 100µF 16V
Semiconductors:
D1,D2,D3 = 1N4001
IC1 = AT90S4433-8PC, programmed, order code 020005-41
IC2 = 78L05
Miscellaneous:
BT1 = 9V battery
BZ1 = DC buzzer, 5V
K1 = 10-way boxheader
K2 = mains adaptor socket, PCB mount
K3 = 16-way boxheader
S1-S4 = pushbutton, 1 make contact, PCB mount
X1 = 7.3728MHz quartz crystal
LCD module, 2 x 16 characters, preferably with backlight, e.g., PC1602D, LM052L, LM016
Optional: 9-13 VDC 300mA mains adaptor (a.k.a. battery eliminator)
PCB: order code 020005-1
Disk, project source code file, order code 020005-11 (also Free Download)