Shane Plays Podcast Extra:
Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of Dungeons & Dragons

This is a Shane Plays podcast extra, featuring content that was not broadcast as part of the live Shane Plays radio show.

Accidental gaming historian M. Griffith ("Griff") discusses the Secrets of Blackmoor documentary, a five year project involving 10 cities, 200 hours of interviews, and 20,000 photos and documents. Dungeons & Dragons was famously co-created by Dave Arneson & Gary Gygax, but what part did Arneson and his gaming group play in the creation of tabletop role playing itself? There's more to the story than you know!

Show Notes:

Secrets of Blackmoor Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/secretsofblackmoor/secrets-of-blackmoor-the-true-history-of-dungeons

"The GaryCon Draft" - 35 minutes of Secrets of Blackmoor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC4qH-Psvpc

The Blackmoor Archives - Dave Arneson's Blackmoor Discussion Forum
https://blackmoor.mystara.net/forums/

OD&D Discussion forum
http://odd74.proboards.com/

Dragonsfoot Forums
https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/

Empire (PLATO) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_(PLATO)

dnd (video game) - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnd_(video_game)

TOPICS COVERED include but are not limited to:

• This documentary is NOT Dave Arneson vs. Gary Gygax. It’s the story of what happened before they met with Arneson and his gaming group.
• The vital role of Dave Arneson (and his gaming group) in the creation of D&D / fantasy roleplaying
• Preconceptions, misconceptions and headcanon
• Is it Gee-gax or Gy-gax?
• Difference in difficulty / sense of accomplishment between old school and new school tabletop RPGs
• The “Strategos Connection”: Strategos military training wargame book from 1880 and its connection to Dave Arneson’s gaming group
• David Wesley’s Braunstein style miniatures wargaming (pre-Blackmoor proto fantasy roleplaying)
• How direct is the connection between Chainmail and Dungeons & Dragons?
• Is a sapper tunnel a proto-dungeon?
• David McGary’s Dungeon! Boardgame
• Tonisborg, the oldest still existing dungeon map set (publicly known, anyway)
• Griff’s desired death rate percentage per session as DM
• Is it possible to define what a roleplaying game is?
• Hipster D&D
• Where did the Tolkien influence on Dungeons & Dragons come from?
• Would RPGs have exploded into pop culture without Gary Gygax / TSR?
• What types of cons do Shane and Griff prefer?

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