Stefan Pokorny

Stefan Pokorny is a designer and artist known for his origination and popularization of the Dwarven Forge miniature three-dimensional terrain systems. Stefan dreamed of emulating the elegance of Roman, Greek, and English architecture from his studies, Stefan yearned for a terrain system to complement his collection of miniatures, yet found nothing to suit his imagination. So Stefan set out to sculpt the first-of-its-kind: a fully modular, 3-D terrain system that came fully hand-painted. When not shaping tabletops everywhere, Stefan DJs Black Sabbath tribute parties.

Alphinius Goo

Alphinius Goo is a somewhat eccentric archmage who abides on the continent of West Verdestia in the tainted and broken world of Zyathé. There he lives with his sorcerous wife, Di’yannea, in the Tower of Goo which is situated on an island in the Mystrune River in the heartland of the Republic of Zyranthea. Arguably, he is among the most widely recognized spellcasters of the current age and is said to have traveled the world on many adventurous exploits. Beloved by many and an irritating foe to certain evildoers, his unique obsession with oozes, slimes, cubes, and other gelatinous creatures has resulted in the creation of many fascinating — and invariably sticky — new spells. Many of these incantations’ purpose or practical use baffle even the wisest mages, but they have spread far and wide amongst the more creative sorts of spellcasters. If nothing else, they provide a great deal of entertainment for those casting them, though many foes have underestimated their potential in the right situations to their detriment.

In real life his name is Kim and he has has been a creative director in the advertising industry for many years. He is an award-winning copywriter and published author and is one of the founders of Gooey Cube Games. Kim loves to play all manner of TTRPGs, is rumored to be a pretty good Game Master and is, most assuredly, a total geek.

Jeff Richard

Living a life of international adventure and mystery, Jeff is the Chair and Creative Director of Chaosium Inc., publisher of Call of Cthulhu, RuneQuest, Pendragon, Seven Sea, and Basic Roleplaying. He’s an award-winning game designer, writer, and world builder – including the Diana Jones Award, numerous Ennies, Graal d’Or, Dragon Con, UK Game Expo, Tabletop Gaming Magazine, and others.

Jeff has recently arrived in Colorado, having been in Berlin Germany for the past 14 years. He lives in Fort Collins with his wife and children.

Darrell Hayhurst

Darrell is the Creative Director at Pinnacle Entertainment Group, where he writes for Savage Worlds and develops various lines. He’s worked on Torg Eternity, Necessary Evil, the Legend of Ghost Mountain, and many others.

Darrell works in Tucson, Arizona, and actually enjoys the weather there. (Madness!) He attends various conventions, and is happy to chat with anyone about the past, present, or future of gaming.

Karl Keesler

Karl Keesler is an award winning Art Director that started in the gaming industry in 2002 with United Playtest. He was the “Layout Guy” on Gaming Frontiers, a d20 magazine. From there he partnered up with the guys at Dog House Rules and took his passion for graphic design and gaming and turned it into a Gold ENnie in 2004 for Best Electronic Product for their flagship book, Sidewinder: Recoiled.

Karl has taken his love for gaming and graphic design and has worked with companies like Just Insert Imagination, Atomic Ninja Studios and Pinnacle Entertainment Group; in which he did the Trade Dress for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition and most of their settings and companion books. Karl was also the lead graphic designer for Pinnacle’s Pathfinder for Savage Worlds which garnered them an Origins Award in 2023 for Best Graphic Design in a Game.

Karl and his Dog House Rules partner, Chris Warner, also had the opportunity to be on the developmental team behind Pathfinder for Savage Worlds with Pinnacle Entertainment Group. For Dog House’s 20th anniversary in 2024 they reimagined Sidewinder: Recoiled into a successful Kickstarter campaign for Sidewinder Recoiled for Savage Worlds.

Over the past years, Karl has designed and ran many unique conventions games such as his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen adventure series, Goonies meets the Ghostbusters, Mystery Men and Trailer Park Shark Attack! to name a few. He likes to make his games eye-catching and exciting with custom designed maps, one-of-a-kind miniatures, custom terrain, specially designed character sheets and original Benny ideas.

When he isn’t working on his next art project, gaming or creating props he is enjoying life in sunny South Florida with his wife Kathy.

Mark Rein•Hagen

Mark Rein•Hagen is an award-winning game designer, best known as the creator of the roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade and the World of Darkness and its associated games, including Werewolf: The Apocalypse, Changeling: The Dreaming, and Wraith: The Oblivion. Rein•Hagen is also the co-designer of award-winning Ars Magica. He was on the board of directors of Wizards of the Coast when Magic: The Gathering was released to the world. Mark is the CEO of Make Believe Games, publishers of I Am Zombie, and Sigil & Sign (a Lovecraftian RPG where you play the monster), and he is also the founder of Lostlorn Games and the creator and creative director of dark fantasy setting, Lostlorn which will start with a swashbuckling adventure game called Badlanders and follow up a vampire game called Fangknight. Mark lives in Tbilisi, Georgia where he works as a political and media consultant with his wife and three children.

Derek Stevens

Derek Stevens is an American artist with a strong foundation in classical techniques, now expertly expanded into the digital realm. He launched his career as a concept artist and 3D modeler with EPIC Games, where his innovative approach quickly garnered attention. Since then, he has lent his talents to renowned studios such as LucasArts, Waveren Studios, and Alderac Games, and also served as the primary artist for Gamer Girl Games’ foundational RPG supplement, Questionable Quests. Derek continues to push the boundaries of visual storytelling through his unique blend of traditional artistry and cutting-edge digital design.

Luke Stratton

Luke Stratton, also known by his alias Limithron, has been fascinated with the Golden Age of Piracy ever since he first rode the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at age 4. Forced to find a new career at the onset of the pandemic, he built a Patreon following drawing pirate ship battle maps. He is the the author and illustrator of the PIRATE BORG as well as Limithron’s Guide to Naval Combat for 5th Edition. Luke lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and an ewok dog “Yogi”. When not sequestered in his wizard’s study, he can be found traveling the globe with his other professional pursuit as a concert lighting designer.

Brian Young

Bryan Young (he/they) works across many different media. His work as a writer and producer has been called “filmmaking gold” by The New York Times. He’s also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He’s been a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider magazine, SYFY, /Film, and was the founder and editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot! In 2014, he wrote the critically acclaimed history book, A Children’s Illustrated History of Presidential Assassination. He co-authored Robotech: The Macross Saga RPG and has written five books in the BattleTech Universe: Honor’s Gauntlet, A Question of Survival, Fox Tales, Without Question, and VoidBreaker. His latest non-fiction tie-in book, The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists is a #1 Bestseller on Amazon. His work has won two Diamond Quill awards and in 2023 he was named Writer of the Year by the League of Utah Writers. He teaches writing for Writer’s Digest, Script Magazine, and at the University of Utah. Follow him across social media @swankmotron or visit swankmotron.com.