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SECRETS of BLACKMOOR: The True History of Dungeons & Dragons

Created by The Fellowship of the Thing

The movie is available now at http://movie.secretsofblackmoor.com Watch it now!

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Update: Amazon, DVD's, Posters, and Tonisborg!
almost 4 years ago – Sat, May 16, 2020 at 12:32:07 AM

We have a lot going on on our end, although it may not seem like it on your end.

"Secrets of Blackmoor" as it appears on Amazon Prime

 We're now on three movie platforms for online streaming (thanks to your support!). All the DVDs and T-shirts got shipped. Posters are on their way, and much more are packed up and ready to go. We're hoping we get more reviews on all the platforms and that you go out and talk to other gamers who have yet to hear about the film. To many, movies seem like these things that magically appear in little boxes. Many of you waited for a long time to see this one. And once you've seen it, well, you've seen it. It may even seem a bit short now that you've had a chance to watch it. We're still shaking our heads in amazement over being the first to make a documentary about D&D history.

Chris temporarily closed seating area at his coffee house doubling as our shipping department

 That is the real clincher of it all. How come the tiny crew with the tiny budget is the first team to complete a D&D film? If you look through Kickstarter, there are many D&D movies. Several got nearly four-times the funding we did. It even goes back to Dave Arneson's never-completed documentary "Dragons in the Basement" from the early 2000s.  And then there's also "D&D, the Documentary," "The Great Kingdom," & "The Dreams In Gary's Basement."  Who knows what other films are out there? All of those films began production before we did. We know the people involved with the other movies. Many of them are highly-experienced documentary filmmakers. We don't want to direct any personal criticism because they're all good people, we like them, and we understand the struggle in making a film happen. Yet the burning question needs to be answered: How did the odd couple team of Chris and Griff do it first? The answer is simple: We're too stupid to know any better.

 This is the only answer we've been able to come up with. That's it! It took a long time, and we got a movie finished because we're goofballs who had no clue what we were getting into. The film began as an accident. In the beginning, Chris would say, "how long do you think before we have a movie?" I would reply, "oh, it'll be done in a year." Then it was three years. Then after five years, it was, "oh maybe another six months?" You've seen us make these proclamations in our Kickstarter updates, "you'll get the thing in (put dream scenario timeline here)."  Then as always, we'd blow our deadline, and you had to wait longer. The thing is, we always come through and deliver the goods. We're sorry you have had to wait. We have no excuses. The same can be said for the last item on the list, "Tonisborg." The book got way behind schedule because we bit off more than we should have. Yet, the book is still being worked on, and it's inching closer to completion. As with everyone, we got sucked into all the real-life issues of COVID -19. Not having published a book before, we've made a lot of ridiculous promises about delivery dates.

All we can say is: We've blown all of our delivery date predictions - just as with the movie, so as with the book - we're the goofballs that just keep on going until the job is done! We're working on it. The extra production time is making it a better book.

The real-world facts are as follows:

-Dan and Griff are nearly done combing through the draft for errors

-There were a lot of errors

-We have all the artwork for it

-We're very close to doing the layout

-We have no idea what kind of delays will occur to get the books printed.

Any estimate for delivery is just a guess. Many have asked for PDFs. We will not be doing PDFs any time soon. Once PDFs are created, they end up on torrent sites, and every kid in the world then adds the book to their collection of PDFs, killing sales of physical copies. Anything you see published in PDF form has likely run its course on actual book sales.

"The Comeback Inn" forum

 Also, did you check your email? All of the Tonisborg Kickstarter supporters should have received an email directing you to join the Blackmoor Forum on "The Comeback Inn" website. There is a hidden members only forum there for Tonisborg Referees. You can even chat with Greg Svenson, the original Tonisborg designer, who is already posting there.

Many Thanks,

Chris and Griff

"Emergence of Blackmoor Posters" are Shipping Monday!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Apr 05, 2020 at 01:16:07 AM

"Emergence of Blackmoor Posters" are Shipping Monday!

Here's Griff deftly packaging over 1000 posters for shipping. We're sending these out starting on Monday. There's a not-so-small surprise with the posters - we upgraded them, but we're not going to tell you what we did. You'll have to wait until you open the package!

Most everybody has received their rewards. We still have a handful of people that need replacement DVDs/Blu-rays, T-shirts, and other items - we're working on getting those out Monday as well.

We greatly appreciate your patience.

 Stay Safe!

Griff and Chris

We're almost done shipping!
about 4 years ago – Sat, Mar 07, 2020 at 09:38:53 PM

Many of you already have them and many more will get theirs shortly!

Photos sent to us from all over the world from people like you

 We've been receiving many photos of your Secrets of Blackmoor shipments. We love it! We now have shipped almost all the DVD's, Blu-ray's, Dice Bags, and T-shirts. We are holding back shipment on just 23 orders awaiting Dice Bags. Those should be here around March 10th. 

We're seeing more people post pictures of their rewards online, and you should be bragging a bit - you were the ones who took a massive risk by backing this project - It's time to show off because you've earned it. You were there watching movie drafts from the beginning! Sharing your experience with your friends by posting on your own social media and tagging us really helps promote the movie as well. If you haven't already, please help get the word out. If you do share, please cut & paste this link to our movie into your posts: 

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sobfinal

FYI - "Emergence of Blackmoor Posters" are shipping this week, and "The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg" book is getting close to complete as well. 

Thank you all so much for being part of this successful Kickstarter! We appreciate your support!

- Chris and Griff

Griff and Chris during our first shooting trip in May 2014. Photo by Ryan Swan

Packing and Shipping Continues
about 4 years ago – Sun, Feb 23, 2020 at 02:04:36 AM

Working away. Getting things packed and shipped. Here's what 400 packed DVD's and 1 exhausted director look like. We should have everything but The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg book shipped by the end of this week.

Don't forget about the posters! 

We're shipping the posters separately - so keep an eye out for a 9"x 12" flat mailer. It will have your "Emergence of Blackmoor" posters. Yes, we said "posters". As a “Thank You!” for your patience, instead of the original 11” x 17” “Emergence of Blackmoor” poster, we upgraded it: Now it’s two 11" x 17" posters printed on both sides…and there are two sets - so you can either pass one set to a friend or hang them together on a wall to display all four sides using one of these suggested configurations:

Thanks!

Chris & Griff

Rewards are Shipping - Please check your email for tracking numbers
about 4 years ago – Thu, Feb 20, 2020 at 02:06:13 AM

You've waited and waited...

and waited and waited...

Yet the time has come. 

Pretty Colors

Our office looks like a disaster zone.

if you look closely you can see the most important thing in this image - the coffee cup.

Lots and lots of coffee!

By the end of the week we hope to have an empty office again.

Right now we are shipping; DVD's; Blue Rays; 6 different sizes and 5 different colors of T-shirts; and Dice Bags.

Please look for an email with tracking info. We have tons of stuff we're shipping as quickly as we can.

If you get an incomplete order - for any reason - let us know. We're working long days on this and our brains get a bit fried, but we will make sure you get what you ordered.

Thanks for sticking through this for the long haul, Chris and Griff