Jabo

Back to lectricpharoahs dice for a moment...
I was playing this role-playing with some friends of my brother's once. First and last time I played it; it was a Civil-war simulation board game, with rules and such akin to D&D. The game had been started some days or weeks earlier, and I was filling in for somebody who couldn't make it that day. I was given a regiment that had already suffered considerable losses in the skirmish and I'm sure they thought it was insignificant. I played a couple of rounds, and was in the position of losing completely on my next turn and being out of the game.
When it came my turn to roll the dice, was rolling 2 six-sided dice. Before I rolled, I asked the question of the game-master, is there any way to not die, to which the response was, only if you roll double-sixes. I can't explain the feeling I had while I prepared to roll, but it wasn't a normal every-day feeling. I blew on the dice to "warm" them up. It was almost as if I was praying on the dice, and when I rolled, it was a double-six. I rolled the dice normally, although maybe a bit weak for a normal roll. I did nothing to try to cheat on the roll. That double-six set off a chain of events that caused the opponents to lose, when they had a sure victory.
First, instead of me losing my battle, when I was outnumbered something like 8 to 1, I caused that group an moderate number of casualties. Then came the game-masters morale roll, which they failed. This caused them to retreat. When they retreated, all other groups that were in sight range had to roll a morale roll, of which 9 out of 10 failed. The results were that my one roll turned a sure loss into a landslide victory.
The feeling that I had while rolling? It wasn't gas, it felt supernatural. Maybe it's the same feeling a gambler feels when he bets it all, I can't say; but if I were to venture a guess, I'd say this feeling is the basis of many religions. They strive to feel it in their moment of hopelessness. When it comes (if they have enough faith to elicit it) the way is clear.
I'm not a religious nut, by the way, I don't even go to church and spend a lot of my time cursing churches.

BTW, since I was never asked to join in their game ever again, let alone even come to their house, I assume they were a bit perturbed by the outcome of that game. I can't say whether or not they felt what I felt, if even a little, but their expressions were no doubt of disbelief at what they witnessed.