When it comes to RPG groups, there's always at least one dice goblin.

In my group, that's my roommate. I also have entirely too many dice, but in my defense, I'm the one running my campaign, I'm the Dungeon Master, so like. It's different. Probably. Anyway, um. This one was prompted by said dice goblin roommate.

Sometimes, it's important to remember that the Kaibas live in another world, financially, than basically anybody else.

Damn rich kids.


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For the most part, Mokuba did his level best to not act like a celebrity when he went out in public. He dressed casually, he avoided any kind of entourage whenever he could, and most locals knew better than to accost him in public.

Rare and rarer was any paparazzo willing to risk Seto's wrath anymore.

Few things brought out the rich kid in him like restock day at Turtle Games. While he didn't clear out the stock, he had more class than that, he was more than ready to put down truly obscene amounts of money whenever something interesting caught his eye.

He bought statues, board games, comics, jigsaw puzzles. He bought posters, t-shirts, wargame miniatures, battle maps. The only thing Mokuba never bought was Magic & Wizards cards. To hear him say it, "Niisama owns every card that's ever been printed, and he's proud to keep that going; me buying my own packs would be redundant."

Most of the young Kaiba's money, however, went to one item in particular.

And he was never more snobbish, never more particular, than when he picked out this item.

Connor leaned close to Rebecca and said, softly, "He's been staring at those dice for five minutes. Do we, like . . . say something?"

Rebecca shook her head. "He has a process. Let him be."

"Yeah. Big man's fine." Joey Wheeler came up to their side of the counter and leaned against it. "Y'all need anything in particular? Questions? What's gotcha 'round these parts today?"

"Mokuba found out Connor's never played a tabletop game and he got all serious," Rebecca said. "Unless I miss my guess, this weekend's going to be an event to remember. He said something about the whole club coming around to his place."

Connor was nodding. "I've always wanted to play RPGs. You know, with dice and stuff. At a table. But I've never had anybody to play with." He didn't say that he'd never had friends before, but the sentiment hung heavy in the air.

Joey turned his attention to Mokuba. "You couldn't have picked a better pal, then. My gamemaster, you ain't met him yet. Name's Ryo. Runs four campaigns. Man's nuts. He says there's one GM he'd ever seriously consider being a player for, and that's Kaiba. Lemme tell you, that shit means something. Ryo ain't easy to impress when it comes to his specialties, you get me?"

"Somehow," Rebecca murmured, "Bakura never struck me as the kind of guy who'd be into the hobby. GMing is a performance. He's always so quiet."

"Yeah, well, y'know what they say about the quiet ones. Gotta watch out for 'em."

"A performance," Connor murmured. "I guess that makes sense. The books I've read always talk about the gamemaster being a referee."

"Yup. That's one part of it. But they also gotta set the stage. Players only gotta pay attention to one character. Their own. GM's gotta handle everybody else." He paused. "Didn't you play a campaign with a buncha Moku's friends already? With Kaiba's pods."

"It's not the same," Rebecca said. "I asked him about that, too. Mister Kaiba asked us before we started that game, if we were familiar. Connor said . . . kinda."

"I mean, I'm familiar!" Connor protested. "I've read a whole buncha books about them! Y'know. At the library. Alone."

Joey snickered. "All right, all right. I ain't judgin'. Listen. Kaiba's pods are special, I ain't gonna pretend they're not, but few things make up for the traditional setup. You'll see." Joey stood up. "Now, then. If you're gonna be playing a game the right way, you gotta have some dice."

"Isn't that what Mokuba's doing right now?" Connor asked, pointing.

"Yeah, yeah, but that's different. Mokuba's a discerning customer. He's lookin' at the specialty shit. Hand-carved stuff. Gemstones and metal, all that. From local artisans, y'know? Pretty sure that's above your pay grade. If you want something a bit more yours 'n my speed, you're gonna want to look at some of these acrylics over here." Joey pointed. "C'mon. I'll help ya find somethin' special."

Connor nodded. "Okay."

"Oi! Kaiba!" Rebecca called. Mokuba looked up. "If you pick up a bill bigger than my grandpa's salary again, I will kill your character this weekend. You hear me?"

Mokuba waved her off.

"Has he done that before?" Connor asked.

"Twice."