The shot I conceptualized for the Triangle challenge, and then discarded as being too likely to be overdone. This was a severe error, as nobody else in the challenge used 4-sided dice at all. In retrospect, they're only used for RPGs, and that's probably not all that common after all. Since I wanted to see how it would have come out, I went ahead and set up the shot anyway, well after the entry period had passed. I have also posted the full size version.
For those curious about the title, there's a folk song of dubious quality but excellent humor value to old RPG players called "The Mage is Always the First to Die", which is actually something of a credo in most RPGs, mages being remarkably fragile. They use four-sided dice to determine the amount of damage they can take or dish out. If someone was rolling up a fifth level mage in this shot, he scored only 6 hit points on the roll... half as much as a lucky first level fighter.
I found a copy of the song on the web (previously uncredited, but now apparently authored by "Jinx from jinx.com"), and have mirrored it locally.
Update: Jared found what might be the origin of this in the Google cache of a MSN group, dated 2004.02.29 12:19 AM, and credited to "MS Xero", whoever he may be.
Update 2: "Jinx from jinx.com" has posted a comment claiming to be the original author, and I'm happy to credit it to him.
Song info
I'm grabbing the song right now. If I can find out who the artist is, I'll be sure to let you know!
Remember Casa de Chaos, where I used to live? They're the kind of people who more than likely either will know who did it, or did it themselves. 
--
Hello, My name is Linus Torvalds. You killed my process. Prepare to die.
Right!
Well, nobody there seems to have heard of it, so I dug around a bit on the net and found several references to the song, all uncredited. I also found a Google-cached page of someone claiming to have written the song who posted the lyrics to a beta MSN group (it no longer exists). On that post, they went by the name "MS Xero." The URL is (long URL reduced to this text by the editor) in case you're interested. Looks like the song was purely a fan work, and apparently nobody wants to take credit for it.
--
Hello, My name is Linus Torvalds. You killed my process. Prepare to die.
Thanks
... for the link. I've updated the description.
Always the first to die author
Hey guys,
I saw on your site you were looking to credit who wrote "Always the First to Die". It is absolutely amazing to me that my song has spread like it did. I wrote that song in 1998 and used to play it at work for my geek friends. As a lark, I recorded it at my cousin's house because he had some equipment setup, but I honestly don't remember sending it to anyone, MAYBE one or 2 people. So, we were at GenCon this weekend and I heard a guy say he had heard the song "Always the first to die". I remarked that I had written a song called that and to my absolute shock, he started SINGING THE WORDS. I was beside myself with disbelief. So, 5 minutes of googling later revealed that it is indeed out there, circulating. I even saw a flash movie someone made!
So yeah, it was indeed me. You can credit "Jinx from jinx.com", that would be great. It's the only song I've written about D&D (thus far), and one of the only songs I ever wrote.
Jinx
jinx.com
Can I PLEASE have the tabs
Can I PLEASE have the tabs you used for "Always the first to die"? Its a kick-ass song and I would like to learn it.
Thank you
-Ryuu
Dungeon Mistress
Try contacting the original author
That's not something I would have, but you might try the feedback form on the author's website.
Always the first to die
The song has been around for a bit. I first heard it in 2001, and have yet until now found where to download it. The friend who let me listen to it is long since moved on. Its great, for any of us gamers who know people who play mages. One of the best DnD songs or sound peices I have heard to date, I hear there are a couple other good ones. The others tend to be.... well annoying after a while. "I cast magic missle on the darkness!" and "If there are girls there I want to dooo themmm!" have been used way way way too often.