Story Cubes: A Random Plot Generator

I came across these cubes when reading this post over at the Core Mechanic.  Tom’s article was a fascinating read, but I couldn’t help but notice the graphic.  The cubes intrigued me and I went to their site to see for myself.

What are story cubes? From The Creativity Hub: Can you can tell a story that begins with “Once upon a time…” using all 9 face-up images on the  dice? Rory‘s Story Cubes™ comes with nine six-sided dice for a total of 54 images, all packed into a portable pocket-sided box. Every roll results in one of over 10 million combinations for you to use as the starting point for a story or conversation. Rory’s Story Cubes™ is both a great family game and excellent teaching tool, with most fun to be had from ages 6 and up.

These cubes are marketed to teachers, educators, parents and other related professions as a way to promote creative thinking.  I wondered just how useful these were as a GM tool.  At 12.95 pounds (exchange rates vary), I decided to get a set for myself.  They arrived today.

These are high quality cubes.  Made of standard die material each of the images is embossed into the face of the cube.  PIT #3 (age 10) is completely fascinated by these cubes.  Even if I DON’T use them as a GM tool they were already worth the money spent.

Just as example I rolled the 9 dice.  I rolled a rainbow, footprint, flashlight, cane, evil shadow, magic wand, arrow, fish, and question mark.   OK that’s a random plot if I ever heard one.  Don’t believe me?

After the storm, the party followed tracks into a dark cave.  One of the magic users tripped and released his inner dark side.  After attacking the rest of the party he vanished into the dark recesses of the cavern.  The party was able to decipher runes on the wall and determined that the only cure was a rare fish that lived within the cave. 

The cubes ship from England but are worth the wait.  Two pointed ears for these GM tools.