Line #16 ComicBook/DiceMan


1	[[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/diceman3.jpg]]
2
3	->''"Enter the Diceworld...it's DEAD easy! No brains or batteries required!"''
4	-->-- '''Series tagline'''
5
6	''Dice Man'' is a short-lived {{Gamebook\|s}} comic spinoff of ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD''. It ran for just five issues but featured many famous characters from the comics including ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'', ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'', ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'' and ''ComicBook/{{Slaine}}'' as well as the original character Rick Fortune, the eponymous "Dice Man" of the title -- a psychic HardBoiledDetective with a pair of magical dice that can grant him supernatural powers. The last issue featured a parodic adventure of UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan.
7
8	The series consists of five issues.
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10	* Issue 1 – Three adventures – Judge Dredd in ''House of Death'', Nemesis the Warlock in ''The Torture Tube'' and Sláine in ''Cauldron of Blood''
11	* Issue 2 – Three adventures – Hammerstein of the ComicBook/ABCWarriors in ''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine'', Rick Fortune in ''In The Bronx, No-one Can Hear You Scream!'' and Sláine in ''Dragoncorpse''
12	* Issue 3 – Three adventures – Torquemada from ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'' in ''The Garden of Alien Delights'', Rick Fortune in ''Dark Powers'' and Rogue Trooper in ''Killothon''
13	* Issue 4 – Two adventures – Sláine in ''The Ring of Danu'' and Rick Fortune in ''Bitter Streets''
14	* Issue 5 – Three adventures – Rogue Trooper in ''Space Zombies'', Rick Fortune in ''Murder One'' and Ronald Reagan in ''Twilight's Last Gleaming!''
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16	Some of the stories would later be featured as bonus content in anthologies featuring the the characters in question. A year after the series came to its premature end the writers of ''Twilight's Last Gleaming!'' would publish the similar ''You Are Maggie Thatcher – A Dole-Playing Game'' in book form but the format has not been revisited since.
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18	Not related to the 1971 novel ''Literature/TheDiceMan''
19	----
20	!!Tropes:
21	* AlienGeometries: The demon Astragal in Rick Fortune's adventures has six faces, but you can only ever see three of them, the same as a die (dice). Wotan's Spear, an artifact in ''Dark Powers'', shows impossible angles to other dimensions within it's crystal structure.
22	* AtomicHate: The most likely outcome of ''Twilights Last Gleaming!'' (assuming you pass the SecretService test) is being nuked by the USSR. It's actually very hard to avoid nuclear armageddon in the game.
23	* BackToBackBadasses: The cover of issue 3 but not in the actual adventures -- see CoversAlwaysLie below.
24	* BatteringRam: Dredd has the option to use his "Lawmaster" bike as one in ''House of Death''.
25	* TheBerserker: Sláine can call upon the "warp spasm" in ''The Ring of Danu'' -- a berserk battle fury allowing him to defeat one enemy (or group of enemies) automatically. He can only use it once in the adventure.
26	* BodyHorror: Trying to bullrush your way past the napalm trees in ''Killothon'' leads to your gruesome death as a tree branch spears you and it rapidly grows through you seeking nutrients.
27	* Creator/HieronymusBosch: ''The Garden Of Alien Delights'' features several homages to Bosch's work -- if Torquemada's purity rating drops too low he can end up transformed into a version of Bosch's iconic "Eggman".
28	* BusFullOfInnocents: Naturally the battle in ''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine'' takes place close to an orphanage full of children. If you make poor choices you can end up accidentally nuking it yourself...
29	* ChainsawGood: A variation in ''Killothon'' -- a large scorpion like creature called a "saw-jaw" has a biological chainsaw instead of claws.
30	* CityNoir: Two of Rick Fortune's adventures take place in depression era New York City.
31	* CoolCar: Nemesis's Blitzspear in ''The Torture Tube''.
32	* CoversAlwaysLie: Issue 3 shows Rick Fortune, Torquemada and Rogue Trooper back to back surrounded by weapons aimed at them but there is no crossover in the stories inside, which is understandable. It's unlikely that Rick Fortune (who opposed Nazis) would have much truck with the facist Torquemada and Torquemada would most likely have considered Rogue an impure deviant due to genetic alterations he has while Rogue for his part hates corrupt authority figures. While Rick and Rogue could conceivably be on the same side, their vastly different life experiences not to mention the huge temporal gulf (Rick being a 1930s private investigator while Rogue is a supersoldier from the far future) would make such a pairing fraught to say the least. Issue 4 shows Astragal wearing a suit and hat and firing a tommy gun -- he does neither in the adventure inside.
33	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Ronald Reagan is characterised in this manner in his adventure.
34	* TheDandy: "Spats", one of Lady Die's henchman in ''Bitter Streets'' is known as a snappy dresser. You encounter him in a barbershop while he's getting his hair done.
35	* DeadlyRotaryFan: Rick Fortune can end up losing his head to one in ''Murder One'' if his strength is low enough.
36	* DeathRow: Screw up badly in ''Bitter Streets'' and you can end up here...and there's no way out except the electric chair.
37	* DeathTrap: Torquemada puts Purity Brown in one in ''Torture Tube'' as bait to draw Nemesis out.
38	* DownerEnding: No matter what you do, at least one member of the clone family you are trying to save is killed in ''Space Zombies''. Also very likely in ''Twilights Last Gleaming!'' as it's very hard to avoid nuclear armageddon no matter what choices you make.
39	* EagleLand: Pretty much Flavour #2 in ''Twilights Last Gleaming!''
40	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Most of the creatures (and some of the vegetation!) you encounter in "Hell-Hunt Jungle" in ''Killothon'' fit this trope.
41	* EvilDoppelganger: Elfric transforms himself into an evil duplicate of Sláine in ''The Ring of Danu''. The player can kill him with a special ability or item but otherwise ends up in a MirrorMatch fight to the death.
42	* FailedASpotCheck: If the ''player'' doesn't pay proper attention to the artwork in ''Killothon'', Rogue can come to a very messy end courtesy of a tripwire and booby trap.
43	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Almost true in ''Twilight's Last Gleaming!'' -- it's extremely hard to keep Reagan's Popularity rating high enough and his SanityMeter low enough to avoid being executed as an imposter while simultaneously keeping the International Tension rating low enough to avoid nuclear armageddon as actions that increase popularity and/or reduce sanity tend to increase tension and vice versa. It's also impossible to save all three members of the clone family in ''Space Zombies'' -- one or two of them (depending on your choices) will always die.
44	* {{Fanservice}}: Some of the female characters in Sláine's adventures are drawn like this -- the Maiden and her nymphs in ''The Ring of Danu'' and Ukko's ex-wife Pona is in an inexplicabally {{Stripperiffic}} outfit in ''Dragoncorpse''. Killjoy fufills this role in some of Rick Fortune's cases.
45	* FantasticRacism: Torquemada in ''The Garden of Alien Delights'' is violently prejudiced against all non-human lifeforms.
46	* FemmeFatale: Very much present and correct in Rick Fortune's adventures -- with the very subtle names of "Killjoy" (a heroic one) and "Lady Die" (who threatens a henchman with fingernail removal in one scene).
47	* FilmNoir: Rick Fortune's experiences fall squarely under this trope for the most part.
48	* HardBoiledDetective: Rick Fortune is a classic 1930s version with a supernatural twist.
49	* TheHecateSisters: In ''The Ring of Danu'' you meet three aspects of the titular earth goddess Danu -- the beautiful maiden representing Spring, the aggressive and violent woman representing Summer and the ugly withered crone representing Winter.
50	* {{Hellhound}}: Black Shuck, the demon dog makes an appearance in ''The Ring of Danu''.
51	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Heinrich Himmler appears in Rick Fortune's adventure ''Dark Powers'', he can't be killed but you do get an opportunity to smack him around. His subordinate Wolfram von Sievers also appears in the same adventure. UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler does not appear, but his poetry forms part of the plot. Also caricatured versions of UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher and UsefulNotes/MikhailGorbachev appear alongside Reagan in ''Twilights Last Gleaming!''
52	* HulkSpeak: Volgo in ''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine'' has such stellar lines as "VOLGO KILL GOOD!". Hammerstein lampshades this.
53	-->"...reflecting that dialogue isn't exactly Volgo's strong point..."
54	* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: "White Bone Road" leads to "Hell-Hunt Jungle" in ''Killothon''.
55	* ImmuneToBullets: Judge Mortis in ''House of Death'' can't be stopped by standard rounds. Dredd deals with the problem by switching to high explosive shells. Later in the adventure Judge Fire is immune to all Dredd's bullet types. Some of the enemies Rick Fortune has to deal with can't be hurt by bullets either and neither can Astragal the three headed demon as some unfortunate gangsters may discover depending on die rolls.
56	* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Rick can try this in ''In The Bronx, No-one Can Hear You Scream!''. Success depends on whether he has a particular power of the Dice of Destiny active.
57	* KillItWithFire: Judge Fire tries to do this to ''you'' (as you're playing as ComicBook/JudgeDredd) in ''House of Death''. If you succeed in the adventure, you use Judge Fire's own fiery trident to destroy Judge Death's body and you burn the titular house to the ground in the epilogue.
58	* LifeMeter: Called different names in the different adventures but present in all of them except ''Twilight's Last Gleaming!'' -- this relies on a SanityMeter, a Popularity rating for Reagan and an International Tension rating governing how strained relations between the USA and the USSR are.
59	* LuckBasedMission: Irritatingly present in certain adventures -- failing to roll over or under a certain number leads to instant failure and/or death.
60	* MirrorMatch: A possibility in ''The Ring of Danu'', see EvilDoppelganger above.
61	* NamedWeapons: Sláine's axe is called "Brainbiter". Judge Dredd wields a "Lawgiver" pistol and rides a "Lawmaster" motorcycle.
62	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Three members of Elfric's Wild Hunt in ''The Ring of Danu'' are called "Gut Ripper", "Gizzard Squeezer" and "Ghoulie Grinder". Also "Lady Die" from ''Murder One''.
63	* NoSwastikas: Averted -- they are shown prominently in ''Dark Powers''.
64	* OccultDetective: Rick Fortune takes on cases involving magical artifacts, zombies, demonic transformation and other similar phenomena.
65	* OffWithHisHead: Failing to deal with the "saw-jaw" when you first encounter it in ''Killothon'' will come back to bite you later in the adventure -- it brings down a bridge you are on then beheads you while you lay helpless after breaking your back in the fall. Also Volgo can bite Hammerstein's head off in ''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine''. It's also how you deal with Judge Fear in ''House of Death'', kicking him down the stairs to be decaptitated by a tripwire activated blade. Rick Fortune can also meet this fate courtesy of a ceiling fan in ''Murder One'' if his strength is too low.
66	* OldDarkHouse: Croglin Mansion in ''House of Death''.
67	* OneHitKill: Judge Death can do this to you in ''House of Death'', either automatically or by random dice roll depending on how well you are doing in the adventure at that point.
68	* OnlyUsefulAsToiletPaper: Rick can say this to a pulp novelist in ''Murder One'' about his books. It doesn't go down well.
69	* OurDwarvesAreDifferent: Sláine's sidekick Ukko is based on older legends of dwarves than the Tolkien types. He isn't bearded and wouldn't know honor if it came up and bit him, being a seedy and unpleasant thief.
70	* ReligionOfEvil: The Brotherhood of Baal from ''House of Death'' qualify, worshipping the AlternateUniverse Dark Judges and trying to bring them into Dredd's universe.
71	* RiseFromYourGrave: Played with -- Rick Fortune wakes up in an open grave after falling into it during a fight in a cemetery and subsequently being knocked out during the prologue of ''In The Bronx, No-one Can Hear You Scream!''
72	* RocketJump: Averted -- if you chuck a grenade at the ground to try and give yourself extra lift while flying an autogyro in ''Killothon'', all you manage to do is kill two members of the clone family you are trying to save in the blast, followed by your own death shortly afterwards as the remaining member tries to kill you before you both die when the autogyro crashes.
73	* SanityMeter: Rick Fortune has one in all his adventures as does a secondary character in one. Ronald Reagan has one too with the twist that having it falling to zero or below doesn't end the game. Rogue Trooper has a variation -- if your "hero points" are too low at a certain point in ''Space Zombies'' you snap under the strain and die gruesomely at the hands of your zombiefied former friend.
74	* {{Sidekick}}: The dwarf Ukko is Sláine's sidekick in his adventures. He's not a very pleasant guy but is useful, able to pick locks and find treasure though, he can lead Sláine into trouble.
75	* TapOnTheHead: Happens twice to Rick Fortune in ''In The Bronx, No-one Can Hear You Scream!'', once in the prologue and once during the adventure.
76	* TelephonePolearm: Volgo tries to smash Hammerstein with a telegraph pole in ''Volgo The Ultimate Death Machine''.
77	* TheManyDeathsOfYou: As standard for {{Gamebook\|s}}-type games there are MANY ways to die in all the games.
78	* ThirdEye: Elfric, your principal opponent in the Sláine adventures, has one.
79	* ThoseWackyNazis: ''Dark Powers'' takes place in 1930s UsefulNotes/NaziGermany
80	* TriggerHappy: The SecretService in ''Twilight's Last Gleaming!'' are disturbingly quick to open fire if they are not sure you are actually Ronald Reagan.
81	-->"You know SecretService rules -- yeah, no warning shots!"
82	* VillainProtagonist: Torquemada in ''The Garden of Alien Delights'' -- to say Torquemada is not a nice guy is an understatement.
83	* TheWildHunt: Your arch-enemy Elfric leads one of these against you in ''The Ring of Danu''.
84	* YourHeadASplode: If you fail to gain control of Astragal in ''Bitter Streets'' in the final confrontation, your only option is to chuck a grenade into his mouth and blow his head up from the inside out. If you don't have a grenade at this point...

Context ComicBook / DiceMan