Joseph Vargo, the executive producer on Midnight Syndicate's albums "Born of the Night" and "Realm of Shadows", has said that he was the one who initiated the first contact between Wizards of the Coast and the band. Vargo claims that, in 1999, he sent a copy of "Born of the Night" to "Dungeons & Dragons" game designer Jason Carl, at the time employed by TSR, who described the album as "terrific gaming music". Vargo also says that he sent a copy of "Realm of Shadows" to Carl a year later, and this communication helped forge the link between the band and "Dungeons & Dragons" game designers.