The TAZ fandom changed our lives and we are forever grateful to you all. You have brought our little business so much joy over the last year. This is our thank you letter to you.
Dear TAZ Fans,
About a year ago Jarrett and I were playing D&D, and somehow (we still don’t really know how it happened) we decided to start a dice company. I think it was a combination of being overly enthusiastic about how cool metal dice are, and a tendency for the two of us to take spontaneous ideas to the extreme. There was also wine involved.
So we bought the Dice Dungeons website, and started by learning the ins and outs of owning a business, filing taxes, and of course selling dice. It went pretty well, but the thing that changed our first year from good to incredible was the day we got a Jumbotron on The Adventure Zone.
I had been listening to mbmbam for about 6 years, and Jarrett suggested I give the Adventure Zone a try. I fell in love immediately; Griffin’s storybuilding, Clint’s earnestness, Justin’s comedic and serious moments, and travis (as Magnus) rushing in, took me away in a manner that few stories ever had.
So we tried our second crazy idea: to get a Jumbotron on TAZ. We talked to Maximum Fun, planned out our message, and on the day Jumbotron sales went live, we managed to get a message! It was the most excited we’ve been in a long, long time.
But the one thing maximum fun doesn’t tell you is when your message will run. I listened excitedly through the end of the Balance arc, but our message didn’t run yet. Then Balance ended, and the McElroys started the experimental arcs. I listened to Amnesty Episode 1, and then Episode 2, but still didn’t hear our message.
On Thursday, January 25, 2018, I was busily working away as a post-doctoral fellow at a small biotech company. Mid afternoon, as I’m in the basement of the science building working, my phone gets enough reception to receive 1 message:
“Griffin said our name!!!!"
I rushed upstairs and downloaded the Amnesty Episode 3. At minute 45:49 I heard it: Griffin talking about Dice Dungeons. That was incredibly exciting, but what happened next still brings tears to my eyes.
Over the next few days TAZ fans ordered almost every set of dice we had, and sent us hundreds of wonderful, encouraging notes and messages. My heart melted. In the matter of a few days, you all turned our store from a small side project into a real business.
Thanks to you, the fans of the Adventure Zone, we are looking at a bright and wonderful future.
More importantly, we've been able to start supporting local causes like LGBTQ advocacy, and establishing D&D clubs in underfunded Baltimore schools. If you are a teacher who wants to start a group, for your students, send us an e-mail, we'd love to help out with some supplies. We created Dice Dungeons to bring some happiness to the world, and because of you we are beginning to fulfill that dream.
So with all my heart I want to say again, thank you, so much. Your generosity and kindness has brought us an enormous amount of joy. The TAZ fandom has made our business wonderful. Thank you. Thank you.
We will to continue to support The Adventure Zone and its fans moving forward however we can! Thank you Griffin for talking about us!
We appreciate you all so much, and we are overwhelmed by your kindness. We have lots of new and exciting things planned, so we hope you stay with us as we grow! But for now, I'll close by saying you are wonderful, and we have no doubt:
You’re going to be AMAZING.
-Griffin McElroy
Much love,
John
Co-Owner of Dice Dungeons
