More than two millennia before Gary Gygax was even born, it turns out ancient Egyptians were slinging 20-sided dice.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its collection what could very well be the world's oldest d20 die, dating from somewhere between 304 and 30 B.C., the tail-end of the Ptolemaic Period. That explains the Greek lettering, but not how you determine your attack roll.

Made of serpentine, the die was collected between 1883 and 1906 by the Rev. Chauncey Murch, and purchased by the museum in 1910, which offers no clue as to how to roll a saving throw. I think it's Σ plus class bonus, plus ...



(via CNET, io9.com)