Secrets of Blackmoor: The True History of Dungeons and Dragons
release year: 2019
genre: documentary
viewing setting: home DVD 1/21/22
synopsis: This documentary shows the other side of the creation of the Dungeons and Dragons game, the side that doesn't have to do with Gary Gygax.
impressions: This expanded, in great detail, on things I had already read recently in a book called "Game Wizards", namely that Gary Gygax didn't do it all himself. I feel that this documentary is the almost-unknown story of the other main contributor, Dave Arneson. It has good narration and a ton of interview footage with people who gamed with Arneson in the Twin Cities area in the 1960s and 1970s. The gist of it all is that Arneson and crew, in their gaming sessions, made the jump from tabletop miniatures play to free-form adventures in dungeons, wilderness, etc. with unscripted interaction between different characters, to which the referee/game-master had to react and adapt. So there are definitely two sides to this story, and this is one. From the aforementioned book, I got the impression that Arneson wasn't much interested in the business side of the tiny company that would become TSR, and wasn't the best with deadlines and commitments. Still, I do believe his contributions to the genre and the future D&D game were and are largely unknown and unappreciated. This documentary tries its best to rectify that. It also has a lot of value as an archive of interview footage with all these guys who are now in their 70s or older (including Arneson's dad, who has to be in his 90s!)
acting: n/a, but this has priceless interview footage of folks who were there before day 1
final word: Good, and necessary, piece of the history of fantasy role-playing.
back to the main review page