The Great Kingdom

The Great Kingdom Mess

Earlier today, I posted an update about the Great Kingdom D&D Documentary Kickstarter, along with an update on all my outstanding Kickstarters.

The first documentary to fund on Kickstarter was Dungeons & Dragons A Documantary. They also have a Facebook page, but it hasn’t been updated since June.

I missed backing this one, and their KS page is still active. However, their last backer update is from January. They do have some active comments. A comment from November 9, 2016 said, “I think it was said early that, at least with The Great Kingdom, the money is in escrow and if they lose all the backers get that money back, since the money wasn’t transferred from KS to the defendants.”

That is good news, and if true, makes me wonder why the only response to my inquiries didn’t get that answer.

My only concern, is that the credit card I used is expired, and the account number changed. How will KS get the money to me?

MY DESIRE

I don’t care what conflicts these people had amongst themselves. Grow up and make a movie so we get it.

I plan to get my money back somehow. When I do, I will add it to the RPG History Project by Pat Kilbane. Here’s the article I wrote on Multiverse.  I’ve also written about it on this blog here, and here. Fair warning, I like what Pat has done, and will be the biggest cheerleader I can for his efforts. If he gets enough support to speed the process, he could deliver his documentary before the courts settle the dispute between the others.

There is also the Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons. I did not find a Kicstarter for this. I assume they have all the financial backing they need, as I have not seen any mention of crowdfunding for them. I don’t see any mention of a release date.

And the Secrets of Blackmoor movie project. Also on Facebook.  I assume they also have all the financial backing they need, as I have not seen any mention of crowdfunding for them. I don’t see any mention of a release date.

THE EMAIL CHAIN

On October 1st, I sent the following email to the Great Kingdom people. It took a while to find a way to contact them. When Kickstarter pulls things down, the only way to contact the creator is through the KS messaging system. I did try sending messages via Kickstarter, but never got an answer.

I don’t remember what google searches I had to use to find the movie’s website. It was there that I found their email address. Since it is so hard to find a way to contact them, I don’t feel that I need to obscure their email address. This will avoid me fielding all the emails asking how to contact them.

To
To Whom It May Concern,
I sent a message via Kickstarter asking about a refund on October 1, 2017 and have had no response.
I found this email via the internet archive in an attempt to contact you.
I pledged $50.00 and would like my money back ASAP.
Please either refund my money or deliver my pledged reward as indicated in the email below that I received when the project funded and I was charged.
The original ruling by the court, https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=8P/vidy_PLUS_U4yq5ACBctSZVw==, does not mention anything preventing you from issuing refunds or communicating to your backers.
If you have been barred by the court from issuing refunds, then please communicate this fact, with a link to the court ruling.
If you have been barred by the court from communicating with your backers, then please communicate this fact, with a link to the court ruling.
[My Signature Text.]
—– Forwarded Message —–
From: Kickstarter <no-reply@kickstarter.com>
To: Me
Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2014 11:30 PM
Subject: Thanks to you, The Great Kingdom by The Great Kingdom has been successfully funded!
Congratulations!
Thanks to you and 890 other backers, The Great Kingdom has been successfully funded. We will now charge your credit card.
Pledge Summary
Amount pledged: $50.00 USD
Reward: DVD/BluRay + Pre-Release HD Download – You get the Digital Download before everyone else does, plus you get something you can treasure and keep. Think of it as an heirloom to give to your descendants. That is unless DVD/Blu-Ray become obsolete…which will probably never happen. And to sweeten the deal, your name will be listed on our website under the heading “Even More Awesomer People That Helped Get This Movie Made”. $15 extra for International Shipping. (Sorry, International People…we wish it was less expensive).
Estimated delivery: Jul 2015
Shipping:
When your reward is ready, The Great Kingdom will send you a survey via email to request any info needed to deliver your reward (mailing address, T-shirt size, etc).
If you’d like to visit the project page, click here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/720223857/the-great-kingdom?ref=email

I had to send another email before I got a response:

This is he response I got back from Andrew Pascal:

FROM: TheMostEpicGame <themostepicgame@gmail.com>

hi larry –

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12 thoughts on “The Great Kingdom Mess”

  1. Was there ever any update on this or did this just die and they ran away with our money?

  2. They can’t run away with money, in my understanding. If I recall correctly, the judge froze things and required Kickstarter to disable their access to Kickstarter, except for the ability to deal with messages. I’m only in for $50 and don’t have the time to keep tracking them down. I thought things would have settled by now, but I haven’t seen anything, nor have I really looked.

    I’m not sure if they ever got the money from Kickstarter, it’s been so long. If the account is frozen pending the outcome of the law, there’s nothing we can do.

    I don’t know when I’ll have time to do more googling. If you want to google on the case, please update me with what you find.

  3. Just a heads up- I emailed them about refunding my money and they replied that they had just cleared a legal hurdle and it should be released soon.

    They are going to send out a survey to make sure if peoples addresses have changed (like mine has) what their new address is so they can get the kickstarter rewards shipped. This is progress.

  4. I found the case online, but nothing that indicates a total resolution between the parties. Maybe it hasn’t been posted to the court site yet. No press on it that I can find either. If it will actually come together, I will make time to post an update.

    Thanks again for bringing this to my attention!

  5. No problem. I contacted them after I posted the comment to you and got the information. When I saw you replied I thought you would want to know.

    That was my first kickstarter and after it ended up like it did, I haven’t done a kickstarter since

  6. Thanks! I very much appreciate this. I’ll have to see what I can dig up on this for an article. I’m getting ready for the local game con, Marmalade Dog, which starts today. Otherwise I could get an article together. I’ve got a few hours, if I can pull it all together, I’ll try to post an article. At least I’ll get a draft done.

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