Gideon Vance

Gideon Vance is a longtime Dungeon Master, gemstone dice collector, and the writer behind every guide on EpicWinDND. He runs the store and personally reads every customer email.

What he writes about

Gideon focuses on how dice actually behave at the table — not how marketing copy says they should. His guides cover:

• Mineralogy and material science — Mohs hardness, mineral families, why amethyst is Mohs 7 while lapis is 5 to 5.5, what those numbers mean for daily play
• Authentication — how to tell real gemstone from resin imitations using weight, thermal feel, chatoyance, and visible inclusions
• Class-by-class fit — which stone matches which D&D class aesthetically and mechanically (with the dice-count math)
• Honest trade-offs — every stone has weaknesses. He names them. Lapis fears water, chrysanthemum scratches, sharp-edge dice reveal manufacturing flaws
• Probability math — d20 advantage and disadvantage, 4d6 drop lowest, what the actual numbers say about character generation

Pillar guides

• Real Stone vs Resin Imitation Gemstone Dice (2026 Buyer's Guide) — the 6 physical tests to spot real stone
• Mid-Tier Real Gemstone Dice $50 to $85 — the sweet spot between budget resin and premium brand markup
• Best Real Stone DnD Dice Under $70 (2026) — the 7 SKU breakdown by material and class fit
• 4d6 Drop Lowest: DnD Stat Rolling Explained — the probability math behind the default 5e character-creation method
• DnD Dice Probability Guide: Real Odds of a Nat 20 — including the 9.75% advantage and 0.25% disadvantage math

Reference resources

• Stone Dice Knowledge Hub — the long-form reference for every mineral we sell
• Dice Guides blog — 50+ buyer guides organized by material and topic
• Verified real-stone collection — 13 authenticated gemstone SKUs

Contact

For questions about a specific stone, a class-fit recommendation, or anything else dice-related, use the contact page. Gideon reads every message personally and replies within 24 hours, usually faster.

"My only test for whether something belongs on the store: would I roll it at my own Friday night game?"