sign in sign up
<<
Home , Bruce Heard, Doug Kovacs, Gen Con, Glantri, James Lowder, Jeremy Crawford

5th Annual Gamehole Con Alliant Energy Center November 2-5, 2017 Madison,

RPG Game Tables & Designer Dice

Table of Contents Welcome ...... 7 General In form ation ...... 8 Policies ...... 9 Waiver of Liability ...... 10 Kids ...... 10 Registration & Games Desk ...... 11 Exhibitors ...... 11 Sponsors ...... 12 Events List ...... 19 Convention Map ...... 20-21

Gamehole Publishing Previews ...... 22 Special Guests ...... 23-37 Gamehole Con 2018 ...... 41

6 Gamehole Con is the largest tabletop in the upper Midwest. Tabletop gamers from around the country gather each November in Madison for this carnival of gaming. Gamehole Con is all about tabletop gaming and all the fun that goes with it. The convention features role-playing games, board games, and historical miniature gaming, and collectible card games. Gamehole Con is for the fantasy and adventure tabletop gaming enthusiast. Gamehole Con features the best guests in the industry, an unbelievable Dealer Hall and of course, lots and lots of gaming! If you are a tabletop gaming fan, do not miss Gamehole Con!

Gamehole Con Directors Alex Kammer - Executive Director

Jason Knutson - Director of Marketing

Eric Engbloom - Director of Finance

Royce Thigpen - Director of IT and Website

Joshua Hoyt - Director of Gaming Andrew Hitchcock - Director of Special Guests Mike Mihalas - Chief Global Strategist Ryan Quint - Deputy Director of Gaming Sean Riley - Deputy Director of IT Cindy Whitehead - Volunteer Coordinator 7 General Information Gamehole Con Badges Who needs a Badge? Everyone (excluding children ages 8 and under) attending Gamehole Con must purchase a badge. A valid badge must be worn at all times for identification while in the Con and during game play/events. Your badge will allow you to purchase event tickets and be admitted to the Exhibit Hall, Seminars and other events happening in public areas during the Con. Badges must be visible at all times to assure staff and security of your eligibility to participate in the Con. We do not offer parent badges, shopper badges or other types of limited-access badges. Minors Any registrant 12 years of age or younger must be accompanied at the convention at all times by an adult or legal guardian.

Event Tickets Why do I need Event Tickets? An event ticket confirms a spot to participate in a game or event that is scheduled during the Con. An event ticket is required to participate in all games scheduled during the Con.

8 Gamehole Con Policies Ethics & Conduct Any of the following will be grounds for expulsion from Gamehole Con without refund: • Violating any federal, state or local laws, facility rules or Con policies • Failure to comply with the instructions of Gamehole Con Event Staff or security personnel • Using anything in a threatening or destructive manner against person or property • Endangering the safety of oneself or others • Threatening, stealing, cheating or harassing others If at any time during our show you feel unsafe or feel you were subjected to harassing conduct, please locate a staff member (always in orange shirts) and your concerns will be addressed immediately. Event Ticket Exchanges Event-specific ticket exchanges must be requested at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the event. Event ticket exchanges will be managed at the Games Desk and will only be exchanged to the person whose name is on (whether it is the purchaser or the receiver). A valid government-issued photo ID and a Gamehole Con 2017 badge are required to process any type of ticket exchange. For ticket exchanges, please present the ticket for the event you would like to exchange and provide the Game ID number for the event you wish to replace. Event Cancellations If an event has been cancelled, please see the Games Desk for further instructions. Lost or Misplaced Badges & Event Tickets We cannot replace lost, stolen or forgotten badges and/or event tickets. Please be responsible with your Gamehole Con materials. Lost, stolen or forgotten items must be re-purchased at full cost. It is recommended you check with the Gamehole Con Registration Desk to see if your materials have been turned in to Lost & Found. Gamehole Con LLC assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen or forgotten materials. We are not sending anything through the mail. All badges and tickets will be available at Will Call. 9 Special Rules for Children

• Kids 8 and under can enjoy free admission to the convention if they are accompanied by a badge owning adult. However, kids 8 and under are still required to buy individual game tickets if they wish to participate in games.

•Kids 12 and under who are merely accompanying a badge owning adult may be present in the convention. However, if these children between the ages of 8 and 12 wish to participate in any convention activities they must register and pay for a badge and must buy individual game tickets to participate in games.

• Kids 13 and over are required to have their own badge in order to attend the convention.

Waiver of Liability The purchase of a Gamehole Con badge admits one person to all basic activities and exhibits at Gamehole Con during regularly scheduled hours for the day(s) it is purchased. Some designated activities may require payment of a separate, additional fee. In accepting a badge and in consideration for being admitted to Gamehole Con, the holder consents to being recorded (by audio and/or visual means) for exhibition and exploitation by any means in all media, including without limitation the Internet, worldwide in perpetuity. The badge holder releases Gamehole Con LLC from any liability for loss or damage to persons or property, infringement of any right, or any other claim or course of action of any kind; authorizes and permits Gamehole Con LLC and its designees which includes but is not limited to all sponsors, exhibitors and contractors to use and authorize the use of his/her name, voice, likeness and all reproductions thereof by any means and in all media now and hereafter known, including without limitation the Internet, for all purposes worldwide in perpetuity; and agrees to comply with all the rules and regulations of the Event. Gamehole Con LLC reserves the right to deny entry or remove from the Event facilities any person who in its sole and absolute discretion is behaving or threatening to behave in a manner which it reasonably considers to be disruptive of Gamehole Con. 10 Main Registration & Games Desk (purchase badges and event tickets) Thursday 3:30 pm – 9:00 pm Friday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm Saturday 7:00 am – 9:00 pm Sunday 7:00 am – 4:00 pm

Contact Us If you have any questions about registration, please come to the Registration Desk. If you have any questions after Gamehole Con, email us at [email protected]. Exhibitors Albion Swords Goodman Games Thompson Productions LLC I'm Board RPG Coasters Far Future Enterprises Toledo Game Room Art of David Lee Pancake Fat Dragon Games RPG Crate Kenzer & Co. Studio 6d6 Blacky Cat Creations Pegasus Games Onyx Path Publishing Worldbuilders International North Wind Adventures Kobold Press Etch Edit Designs Off World Designs Frog God Games Hrothgars Hoard Noble Knight Games TPK Games Chimera Hobby Shop Forge Impact! Miniatures Open Gaming Store Half Price Books Pacesetter Games & Simulations Inner City Games Geek Foundry Light Trading Company

Artists

Larry Elmore Meg Johnson Terry Pavlet Dan Fransee Dan Houser Brent Chumley Alayna Lemmer Jason Braun 11 Thanks to our Sponsors. Buy their Stuff!

12

Games List

To View our Full up-to-date Games List, Click the Below Link: www.gameholecon.com/events

Buying Virtual Tickets at Gamehole Con

Once Gamehole Con officially opens at 3:00 pm on Thursday, November 2nd, attendees can browse our games list and buy virtual tickets for any games with open seats. All you have to do is log into your account, select the tickets that you want, and pay for them. Once a virtual ticket is purchased from any mobile device, you simply show that ticket to the GM of that game.

19 20 21 FUR WILL FLY BY

THE INCIDENT AT LONELY WATCH BY JOSHUA HOYT

INTO THE DEEP DARK BY ALEX KAMMER

TAKE GAMEHOLE CON HOME WITH YOU 3 New Adventures from Special Guests

William Benham Bill hails from the Land of One Cloud, Seattle, WA. A 20 year veteran of the U.S. Army, he currently works as the clinical director for network of medication assisted drug treatment centers in the Pacific Northwest. Bill has played RPGs and tabletop games since 1981, the year he first experimented with D&D and was subsequently possessed by demons, exactly as his mother had warned him. Bill is the Resource Administrator for the D&D Adventurer's League and a story consultant for the Maze Arcana livestream. He's also an avid fan of , pugs, and his favorite color is rug burn.

Jolly Blackburn Knights of the Dinner Table was accidentally created by Jolly R. Blackburn way back in 1990 as 'filler' for his small press magazine, . It was something of a 'creative burp' and Jolly really didn't give it much thought. Perhaps that's why he was just as surprised as anyone that soon KODT was overshadowing everything else he'd ever done and that was now controlling the creator. The Knights have gone far beyond anything Jolly or the D-Team (, Brian Jelke, Steve Johansson and Barbara Blackburn) ever imagined. In 2006, Jolly was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Now, with over 219 issues and over 65 trade paper backs under their belts, it's been a wild ride and we look forward to seeing where the Knights take us next.

Peter Brett Peter V. Brett is the internationally bestselling author of the Demon Cycle series, which has sold over two million copies in 25 languages worldwide. Novels include The Warded Man, The Desert Spear, The Daylight and The Skull Throne. The final novel in the series, The Core, will be published in October 2017. He lives in Manhattan. For art, maps, deleted scenes, and other goodies visit Peter V. Brett online at www.petervbrett.com

23 Bill Cavalier Since 2011, Bill Cavalier the DUNGEON BASTARD has coached thousands of gamers to GAME HARDER. From picking a (nothing shorter than a dwarf!) to choosing the best weapon to behead (ANY WEAPON!) the Dungeon Bastard has used his series of inspirational videos to help geeks take their game to the NEXT LEVEL. At Gamehole Con, you can MEET THE BASTARD in person at Gamehole Con and put YOUR ROLE-PLAYING SKILLS TO THE TEST. Lesser gamers can catch him online at www.dungeonbastard.com.

Stephen Chenault Forsaking those noble causes rife in academia (such as bra burning, speech filtration, self-aggrandizement and longer summer breaks), Stephen foundered for mere moments before, in a dollar bill induced stupor, deciding to strike it rich by creating a company that sold games. He has since gone on to create a wide range of luminaries for both d20, Castles & Crusades and the world of Aihrde all the while enjoying the company of such luminaries as , James M. Ward, Joe Goodman and his brother Davis Chenault.

Chris Clark Chris Clark has worked in gaming since 1978, when he designed his first game, the Inner City RPG. He has since worked for several companies including TSR (as a freelancer), Whit Publications, Troll Lord Games, and Hekaforge Productions (with partner Gary Gygax) and is probably best known for his Fuzzy Heroes and War PIGs games. Chris has a total of 117 published titles, of which 85 are still in print and currently works with , , and James Ward at Eldritch Enterprises, as well as still producing under his original company from 1982, Inner City Games Designs. His current projects include Bastion, a mini-campaign sourcebook for Eldritch Enterprises, Dark Colony for Eldritch Enterprises (which should premier at Game Hole Con!), Nothing to See Here for Inner City Games Designs, and the Lance Sci-Fi RPG (with James M.Ward).

Myke Cole As a security contractor, government civilian and military officer, Myke Cole’s career has run the gamut from Counterterrorism to Cyber Warfare to Federal Law Enforcement. He’s done three tours in Iraq and was recalled to serve during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He recently joined the cast of Hunted on CBS as part of an elite team of fugitive hunters. All that conflict can wear a guy out. Thank goodness for fantasy novels, comic books, late night games of Dungeons and Dragons and lots of angst fueled writing.

24 Zeb Cook David "Zeb" Cook started his career making games in 1979 - back before there were careers in game design - when he joined TSR to create stuff for Dungeons & Dragons. Just what stuff no one knew, because we were making it all up. Over the years he designed , , 2nd Edition AD&D, the Conan RPG, the Jones RPG, , and a whole bunch of other things. After TSR, he entered the exciting world of videogames! -- and moved a lot eventually working on MMOs. Currently he is creating worlds for the Elder Scrolls Online game. For fun he paints minis, plays , and occasionally welds things in the backyard.

Jeremy Crawford Jeremy Crawford is the lead rules developer of Dungeons & Dragons, as well as the game's managing editor. He was the lead designer of the fifth edition Player's Handbook and one of the leads on the 's Guide. He has worked on many other D&D books since coming to in 2007. Before then, he wrote for the games Blue Rose, Mutants & Masterminds, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Michael Curtis Freelance game designer and author who has produced a number of adventures and supplements for Goodman Games.

Larry Elmore Larry Elmore (born August 5, 1948) is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines, and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, , and his own comic strip series SnarfQuest. He is author of the book Reflections of Myth.

25 Erin Evans Erin M. Evans is the author of the Brimstone Angels saga, beginning with the 2011 Scribe Award winner Brimstone Angels (Wizards of the Coast, 2011) and including The Adversary, the best-selling third book of . Her latest book is Ashes of the Tyrant. Additionally, she is the former editor of the Eberron novel line and has written for the MMO Tera. Erin graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in Anthropology - a course of study aimed at fieldwork, but it works well for fleshing out fantasy cultures, which gets fewer bot flies in her socks. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and son.

David Ewalt David M. Ewalt is an award-winning journalist and a contributing editor to Forbes magazine and Reuters News. His first book, Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It, was named to multiple "best books of the year" lists in 2013. He is an authority on the intersection of games and technology, and has been invited to speak to organizations including Google, Microsoft, and Sony; appeared as a live guest on broadcast networks including CNN, NPR, and the BBC; and been quoted by print publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and China's People's Daily. Find out more at davidmewalt.com.

Ted Fauster Ted Fauster is an award-winning science and fantasy fiction author. He is the creator of the popular World of Faerel series and the author of numerous other books and short stories. Ted loves meeting people, is an avid tabletop gamer, and a lover of retro arcade games, especially pinball. Ted lives in Portland, Oregon but takes to the road each year in his vintage Winnebago aptly named, The Aluminum Faulcon.

Matt Forbeck has been a full-time creator of award-winning games and fiction since 1989. He has twenty-seven novels published to date, including the award-nominated Guild Wars: Ghosts of Ascalon and the critically acclaimed Amortals and Vegas Knights. His latest work includes the Magic: The Gathering comic book, the New York Times-bestselling The Marvel Encyclopedia, the MMOs Marvel Heroes and Ghost Recon Phantoms, the Leverage novel The Con Job, the Dangerous Games trilogy of thriller novels set at , and the Monster Academy YA fantasy novels. For more about him and his work, visit Forbeck.com.

26 Verika Gamer_Gal A nerd-girl with a fashion modeling background, Verika found a way to combine two of the things she loves by becoming a published model in the gaming industry. She enjoys promoting the value of gaming through the products she has appeared in. In a predominantly male hobby, she aims to break down the perceptions of typical female gaming stereotypes by showing females can be smart, and sexy, and strong, and funny, and anything else they want to be for themselves. She hopes her example leads to more and more females becoming interested in gaming.

Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood: president and publisher at The Ed Greenwood Group and creator of the and a myriad of other worlds, universes, and shared settings is the New York Times best-selling author of literally thousands of works that have sold over a quarter billion units (250,000,000) in a dazzling array of formats in over 40 languages in more than 120 countries.

Jeff Grubb is an award-winning game designer and bestselling author. He is the co-writer of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and one of the co-founders of the Dragonlance campaign setting. Other designs include such ancient favorites as , Marvel Super Heroes, and Al-Qadim. He has written novels for the Realms, Dragonlance, Magic the Gathering, , And Guild Wars. There's some other stuff, but just buy him a beer and he'll tell you. Jeff currently is working for Amazon Game Studios as a narrative designer. He lives in Seattle area with his wife and two cats. He really dislikes writing bios.

Ernest Gygax Along with my sister, I was the first ever play tester of Dungeons & Dragons. I grew up in and around Dungeons & Dragons from when it was first conceived to the point of its being a global phenomenon. I worked many part time jobs for TSR while in High School. A few years after graduating from High School, I became the EVP of the Dungeon Mail Order system, the Dungeon Hobby Shop, Gen Con and the RPGA. Thereafter, I worked with my father on the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Much more recently, I co-founded GP Adventures LLC. GP Adventures is a game publishing company focused on reviving the old-school role-playing tradition.

27 Allen Hammack Allen Hammack has contributed to some 70 products as author, designer, editor, or developer. He writes often on using myths and legends of the world in gaming: three books on the subject, the Viking Gods boardgame, and was a chief editor of Dungeon Masters Guide and Deities & Demigods during the five years he served at TSR. Hired by Gary Gygax, Allen was Manager of Designers during the "Golden Era" of TSR. Allen has degrees in chemistry and computer science and enjoys acting in local theater. Allen also wrote I9 Day of Al-Akbar, and contributed to A1-A4 The Slave Lords and the games Top Secret and Boot Hill. Favorite Introduction: By Dragonlance co-author to "Allen is the man who taught me how to write."

Bruce Heard was born and raised in Nice, France. While attending the Lycée he first developed interest in war games, primarily games such as Kriegspiel, Luftwaffe, Third Reich, & Panzer Leader – the Classics. A fortuitous turn of events led him to meet Gary Gygax, and he was hired in 1983 to translate TSR games into French. In 1985, Bruce transferred to the Games Division as an acquisitions coordinator. A few years later, he headed the creative team for the world of in the D&D basic/expert line. Game designs include “CM7 Tree of Life,” “M1 Into the Maelstrom,” GAZ3 “Principalities of ”, and GAZ10 “Orcs of Thar.” Bruce co-authored Dragons of Faith. Bruce also authored the popular “Voyage of the Princess Ark” series for Dragon magazine. Today, as an indie publisher, his new projects are based on a new fantasy setting of his creation, the World of Calidar. Tim Kask Tim met Gary Gygax at a Gen Con in 1974 and played his first D&D game. Gary and Tim stayed in contact thereafter. This relationship eventually led to Tim being hired by Gary as the first full-time employee of the fledgling Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR, Inc) in 1975 Tim worked as an editor and game developer for TSR during the formative years of Dungeons and Dragons and the company. Tim was a principal contributor and editor of 's as well as Eldritch Wizardry, Gods, Demi-gods and Heroes and Swords and Spells. He started Dragon Magazine, as well as Little Wars magazine for TSR. Tim is a regular celebrity auctioneer along with Frank Mentzer at the Gen Con auction. He continues to write adventure modules for his company Eldritch Enterprises, is Contributing Editor for Gygax Magazine.

Pat Kilbane Pat Kilbane was bitten by the roleplaying bug in 1979 with the Holmes D&D Basic Set. He is creator of the YouTube channel Dorks of Yore, host of the web series RPG Science, and director of an upcoming documentary about Gary Gygax and the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. Beginning his career as an actor, Pat spent three years as a series regular on Fox’s Mad TV. He also played the Anti-Kramer in the episode “The Jerry” and guest starred in films such as Evolution, Semi-Pro and Day of the Dead. Now a writer/director, Pat penned the book The Brain Eater’s Bible and spent two years under contract with Dreamworks developing science-fiction concepts for television. 28 Kane Klenko Kane Klenko is a boardgame designer living in the Madison, WI area with his wife and two boys. Named the Designer of the Year in 2016 by To The Table, Klenko is the designer behind the hit games FUSE, Flatline, Dead Men Tell No Tales, Covert and more. His newest release, Flip Ships retains the tension and excitement that his games are known for while offering a new twist on gameplay. You can follow him on Twitter @kane_klenko or check out his games on Boardgamegeek.

John Kovalic John Kovalic has been writing and drawing professionally in the gaming industry for 20 years, now. John is best known for the comic strip DORK TOWER, and blockbuster games like APPLES TO APPLES and MUNCHKIN. His latest project include his own games, such as ROFL! and DOUBLE FEATURE (Cryptozoic). He was the first cartoonist inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame. When not writing or drawing, John's spending every minute possible with his wife and daughter. You can find out more about John by visiting www.dorktower.com, or plying him with craft beer. In his free time, John searches for free time.

Brendan LaSalle Brendan J. LaSalle has been writing and publishing in the game industry since 2001. He has written for Goodman Games, Fat Dragon Games, Troll Lord's Games, Pandahead Publishing, Legendsmith, and Hand Made Games. He has many adventures and source books, including the award winning Age of Cthulhu: A Dream of Japan. He is the creator of Xcrawl, which is about to be reintroduced in its new edition. He lives in Salem, MA, with his wife, dog, and cat.

Richard Launius Richard Launius retired from AT&T in 2009 to fully dedicate his time to designing games. Richard is known for designing cooperative adventure games that are strong in theme. His design credits include: Arkham Horror 1st Editions, Defenders of the Realm, Elder Sign, Dragon Rampage, Defenders of Last Stand, Ace Detective, Legends of the American Frontier, Run, Fight or Die, Pirates VS Dinosaurs, Draco Magi, Thunder Alley Crew Chiefs, Alien Uprising, and Cthulhu's Vault as well as many expansions for his games. Richard’s games scheduled to be published in 2017 include; Fate of the Elder Gods, Saving Time, Madness at Midnight, Dragon Rampage 2nd Edition, and Shark Island. 29 Jeff Leason I started playing D&D in 1975 (at the age of 15), and bought my first boxed set in Gary's basement. I started working at TSR in Aug. of 1978, being TSR's 17th employee. The first project I worked on was the DMG (Dungeon Master's Guide) and the first solo project I did was the "Gateway to Adventure" catalog. C1, The Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan was the first module/adventure I co-wrote, with Harold Johnson. I attended most all of the conventions back then and throughout my gaming career. In the great TSR employee purge of 1986 I was "let go". Shortly thereafter I worked for Mayfair Games as an editor/productline coordinator on the Chill and Role Aids lines, and published my AD&D campaign under the City-State of the Invincible Overlord product title. Due to a family illness, I left Mayfair games and the gaming community in 1991 and moved to the frigid Northwoods of Wisconsin.

Rich Lescouflair Rich Lescouflair is a designer, writer, and cartographer focused primarily on his favorite hobby of roleplaying. In addition to freelance work for D&D Adventurer's League and the DM's Guild, Rich publishes under his own company name, Castle Skydawn Design. He is also a co-owner of Alligator Alley Entertainment, in which he is lead designer for the Esper Genesis RPG, the upcoming sci-fi rules and setting for 5th Edition.

Chris Lindsay Chris Lindsay is a Product Marketing Specialist for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast where he works with the larger team to produce and market the tabletop RPG, and has been integral to the success of the fifth edition of the game. He is the architect for Guild, and also heads up the admins for the D&D Adventurers League organized play program. Additionally, Chris has been a published RPG designer since the 3rd edition of the game.

Andrew Looney Andy is the Chief Creative Officer for Looney Labs, and is the designer of numerous games including Fluxx, Chrononauts, Aquarius, Just Desserts, and the Looney Pyramids game system. Andy is also a writer, a photographer, a cartoonist, a blogger, and a marijuana-legalization advocate. Andy lives with his wife Kristin (and their house Laurie) somewhere near Washington DC. He's a Hippie, a Trekkie, and a Geek. He's been an Eagle Scout and a NASA engineer, he's gotten patents and won awards, he's written a novel, he designed and coded a videogame, and he once watched as his software was launched into space. Andy loves cake. 30 Kristin Looney Kristin spent her first 15 years after college working as an Electronics Engineer at NASA and an IT Manager in the aerospace industry - while running a little part-time game business on the side in her spare time. In early 1999 she jumped off the cliff, leaving her day job behind to work full-time running and growing Looney Labs.The games of Looney Labs are available worldwide, in large part due to Kristin's business and marketing savvy. Kristin fosters the large community of fans known as "Looney Labs Game Technicians" who are spreading the word of Looney Labs far and wide. Kristin's earliest claim to fame came at age 16 when she solved a Rubik's Cube in 35.50 seconds on That's Incredible, and her enthusiasm for puzzles and games is still going strong. James Lowder is the author of the bestselling, widely translated novels Prince of Lies and Knight of the Black Rose; short fiction for such anthologies as Shadows Over Baker Street; comic book scripts for Image, Moonstone, and DC; and RPG material for TSR, White Wolf, and . As an editor, he has directed novel lines or series for both large and small publishing houses, edited nearly two dozen anthologies, and currently serves as Chaosium’s executive fiction editor. His work has received five Origins Awards and an ENnie Award, and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild Award and the Stoker Award.

Greg Marks After playing his first D&D game at the age of six at Gen Con, he became enamored with role-playing games. He has worked on products for every edition of Dungeons and Dragons and written too many adventures for organized play campaigns to count. He has administered several Organized Play campaigns and is currently the Associate Resource Manager for D&D Adventurers League. Greg has written for Wizards of the Coast, Dragon and Dungeon Magazines, Fantasy Flight Games' Midnight setting, Raging Swan Press, Schwalb Entertainment, and Kobold Press. Some of his most contributions include Tome of Beasts, Tales of Desolation, and the upcoming Hartkiller's Horn for the D&D Adventurers League.

Jeff Martin Jeff is the creator and Executive Director of True Dungeon - Gen Con's largest and most amazing event. For the past 13 years, Jeff has authored and produced dozens of highly immersive, two-hour D&D-type adventures that transport players into the gamescapes of their dreams. The event will sell out this year with over 8,000 tickets (at $52 a ticket) being snapped up the day they went on sale. Jeff was also President of Dwarven Forge, LLC for ten years, and he oversaw the launch of two multi-million dollar campaigns.

31 Mike Mearls works as the Senior Manager on the D&D team. He led the development of the fifth edition rules and oversees the development of new campaigns, worlds, and rules for the game. Other RPGs he has worked on include Feng Shui, Unknown Armies, Vampire, and Warhammer FRP. He's been a D&D player since the early 1980s. His other interests include the fiction of Clark Ashton Smith and Fritz Leiber, the films of Quentin Tarantino, and video games such as Destiny and Halo.

Dave Megarry David started playing Avalon Hill's Blitzkrieg in about 1967 and eventually fell into David Arneson's basement Napoleonic Campaign in 1968 (he is the Emperor of Austria, so treat him accordingly..;). He designed Dungeon! in the Fall of 1972 (Oct) after almost being drafted into the U.S. Army in the previous September (they threw him out as he was too skinny). He worked briefly for TSR in 1976 as Treasurer and did programming for video consoles (Colecovision) in the 1980's but ultimately became a software tester in the medical and process control industries. He is on the verge of retirement and is exploring his re-entry into the gaming world as a game designer. David has two grown children, Martha and Henry, lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Rose, and two chickens, Lady Jane & Scotty.

James Ward Obviously, he was born, and not quite as obviously, he has lived a pleasantly long time. He married his high school sweetheart and she's put up with him for 44 years. He has three unusually charming sons, Breck, James, and Theon. They in turn have given him six startlingly charming grandchildren, Keely, Miriam, Sophia, Preston, Teagan, and Noah (11 months old at the time of this writing). In that same stretch of time he managed to write the first science fiction role-playing game, ; the first apocalypse role-playing game in ; he worked for TSR for over 20 years and did lots of D&D and AD&D things; and designed the best selling and DRAGON BALL Z CCGs.

Steve Winter got his start in game publishing at TSR, where he worked as an editor, developer, designer, author, and creative director of AD&D, which allowed him to plunge his fingers into such landmark products as World of , Oriental Adventures, Star Frontiers, GangBusters, Marvel Super Heroes, 2nd Edition AD&D, , and Al Qadim. Recently, he's developed hundreds of monsters for Fifth Edition Foes and the Tome of Beasts, and co-written the mega-adventures Murder in Baldur's Gate, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and the Rise of Tiamat.

32 Doug Niles Doug Niles is a fantasy author and game designer. Niles was one of the creators of the Dragonlance world and the author of the first three Forgotten Realms novels, and the Top Secret S/I espionage role-playing game. Niles has designed dozens of games for TSR, Inc. and SPI, including award-winning boardgames based on Tom Clancy's novels The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising, and has also created numerous historical military boardgames, including the massive games European Theatre of Operations and Pacific Theatre of Operations.

Alan Patrick Alan Patrick is the Associate Community Manager for the D&D Adventurers League, and can be found taking part in things like fatherhood, paying bills, and cleaning up after a large drool monster and two small drool monsters (dog and cats). His family shares living space with an ever-increasing collection of beholder-related paraphernalia in the wilds of central Michigan, and at any given time he may be engaged in a cold war with all things photographic.

Chris Perkins CHRIS PERKINS works at Wizards of the Coast and is the guy in charge of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS story- and world-building. He also plays the role of Dungeon Master in an amazing series of D&D podcasts and live games featuring the adventuring company of Acquisitions Incorporated. When not working on D&D, he is thinking about D&D.

Satine Phoenix Satine Phoenix is Co-Creator of Maze Arcana, Host of GM Tips on Geek & Sundry, Cast of Geek & Sundry's Sagas of Sundry: Dread on ProjectAlpha.com, Founder of CelebrityChariD20.com & Meetup.com/LATabletopGamers, Co-Author of The Action Heroine's Journey & Co-creator & artist on New Praetorians, Co-Host of TSR's Game School Podcast, Jewelry Designer & freelance Illustrator on Burningquill.com, OG Crew of I Hit It with My Axe web series 2010. You can read about her Gaming Escapades over the years on i09.com, Wired magazine, Maxim & Time Magazine. Artist-Entrepreneur-Entertainer: Satine spends her time surrounded by decadence, doing the things she loves most: Working/Playing D&D with her friends, Illustrating, drinking coffee, working out & traveling to various gaming events around the world with her Maze Arcana Co-Creator, Ruty Rutenberg. 33 Stefan Pokorny Dwarven Forge was founded 12 years ago by artist Stefan Pokorny, a medieval fantasy devotee - and an avid Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. As a classically trained, professional painter and sculptor, Stefan decided to create "real" dungeon terrain that would equal his incredible 25mm tall hero figures. After many months of painstaking design, sculpting and painting, he introduced the world's finest pre-painted miniature terrain in 1996. Response from gamers was overwhelming! They loved the fact the pieces are fully hand-painted and ready to use out of the box. They marveled at how they could rearrange the pieces to depict an infinite number of fantasy settings.

Merle Rasmussen Downsized after 22 months at TSR, I survived with these game titles: BEASTIES!, IOWA STATE FAIROPOLY, KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL TRAVEL BINGO, CASEYOPOLY, KNOXVILLE RACEOPOLY, LUTHEROPOLY, NEWTONOPOLY, ROOFTOP-OPOLY, and SAVE YOUR BRAIN. Accessories include: Operation: Sprechenhaltestelle, Ace of Clubs, Quagmire!, Lathan's Gold, Ghost of Lion Castle, Midnight on Dagger Alley, Range War!, , Top Secret Companion, The G4 File: Guns, Gadgets, and Getaway Gear, Taurus Bureau, and Integrated Grooming Station. Magazine articles include: "WHITEOUT", "AUTHENTIC AGENCIES", "OPERATION: ZENITH", "OPERATION: ZODIAC", "OPERATION: ZONDRAKER", "Make the Most of Your Missions", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Mission", "Tortles of the Purple Sage", "O.U.C.H.", and "F.I.L.T.H."

Patrick Rothfuss In March 2007, The Name of the Wind was published and met with surprising success. In the years since, it has been translated into 30 languages, won all manner of awards, and become a bestseller in several countries. After a great deal of work and a few raised eyebrows from his patient editor, Wise Man's Fear came out in March 2011, hitting #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. A companion novella, The Slow Regard of Silent Things followed in 2014, hitting #2. When not working on his writing, Pat plays with his children, makes mead, and runs Worldbuilders, a geek-centered charity which raises money for established charities like Heifer International, First Book, and Mercy Corps.

Ruty Rutenberg Decorated US Army OIF/OEF Veteran, Actor, Writer, Voice Over, and Award Winning Dungeon Master & Creator. Ruty's expertise spans multiple platforms, with work alongside all the major studios on titles such as Argo, Fury, Finest Hours, Magnificent Seven, the recently released Growhouse by Snoop Dogg & DJ Pooh, and The Wall directed by Doug Liman. When not acting, voice acting, or writing for film & television, Ruty is writing content for Dungeons & Dragons, and a host of other RPG publishers and game designers. He loves gaming with attendees and is currently planning the future content as Dungeon Master of the amazing Maze Arcana titles, Orphan Echo, Peanut Gallery… and Fury's Reach: The Map to Ruin, an upcoming series on the Stream of Annihilation. Shhhhh…. 34 Steven is a Wisconsin native, attending high school in Kenosha and ultimately going to college at the UW-Madison. He worked as an editor, designer and assistant manager for TSR and transitioned to Wizards of the Coast where he served as an assistant brand manager and senior designer. Since leaving Wizards of the Coast, Steve has freelanced on a variety of projects in gaming and educational publishingSteve currently lives in Michigan and is an at-home parent of two remarkable children.

Elisa Teague Elisa Teague is a game and event designer with 17 years in the tabletop games industry. She began her game design career at Playroom Entertainment, where she had been responsible for many areas of game manufacturing, such as game development and design, pre-production design and layout, art direction, game production/manufacturing, and worked on over 100 game titles. Her hit party game, Geek Out! just had its 4th edition release, she was the lead designer on Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widows Walk last year, and her book "Girls on Games: A Look at the Fairer Side of the Tabletop Industry" has hit the marketplace! Elisa is currently working on a few more secret projects that will be announced soon!

Monica Valentinelli Monica is best known for her work related to the Firefly TV show by Joss Whedon. She was the lead writer and developer for the award-winning line of Firefly RPG books, and also wrote the Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Language Guide and Dictionary in the ‘Verse which was released from Titan Publishing in April 2016. Published stories and games include “Tomorrow’s Precious Lambs” for Extreme , “The Dig” for the Lovecraft Zine, Dread Names, Red List for Vampire: the Masquerade, and Unknown Armies Third Edition. Monica also completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for a co-edited anthology titled Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling from Apex Book Company to be released in December 2016. Her debut comic Man Zombie Standing was published in 2013 as part of the Unfashioned Creatures: A Frankenstein Anthology from Red Stylo Media.

Jim Wampler Jim Wampler is the creator of the Marvin the Mage comic and is a game writer, designer, and artist. Jim's art and articles first appeared in Tim Kask's Adventure Gaming magazine and 's Pegasus magazine in the 1980s. In 2006 he formed Mudpuppy Games and published Metamorphosis Alpha 4th edition, and he wrote and illustrated the GALACTA*3 science fiction miniatures game. More recently, Jim has contributed cover art and comics to the Knights of the Dinner Table magazine, and is a writer for Goodman Games, penning The Captain's Table adventure for Metamorphosis Alpha, co-authoring The Hypercube of Myt and Death by Nexus for DCC RPG, and is writing an old school-themed post-apocalyptic RPG for publication in 2016. Jim also co-hosts the popular old school gaming podcast Save or Die! 35 Travis Woodall Spawned in the fires of California in the time of disco and bell-bottoms, Travis Woodall now calls the soggy Pacific Northwest his home. Having played more systems than he can count from about twelve years of age, D&D has always been the game he has inevitably been drawn back to. Though he is usually found slumped lifelessly in front of his computer among a sea of empty beer bottles, Travis is also known to enjoy reading, writing, and on rare occasion, spending time with his wife, his son, and his daughter.

Rob Wieland An author, blogger, pop culture writer and game designer that writes about pirates, gangsters, Jedi, dragons, zombies and whatever else pays. He is most well-known for his work on , Star Wars Saga Edition, Firefly RPG and CAMELOT Trigger. Other projects include work on Honor and Intrigue, Edge of Midnight, Hillfolk, Our Last Best Hope, 7th Sea/Swashbuckling Adventures, Night's Black Agents and 13th Age. His online presence includes multiple game blogs, interviews and articles for The Onion AV Club. He lives in scenic , Wisconsin with his wife, who has many more skills useful for the zombie apocalypse

Bill Webb Bill is an industry veteran who has published or written over 200 titles for roleplaying games over the past 17 years. He founded in 1999 (with Clark Peterson) and released the very first third party publication for 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons ('s Amulet). Subsequently, Necromancer formed one of the main legs of Sword and Sorcery Studios (along with White Wolf, Games and Fiery Dragon) that was one of the largest producers of roleplaying materials during the 3.0-3.5 era. In 2010, Bill started Frog God Games (as CEO), along with Matt Finch and Greg Vaughan. Since its founding, Frog God has produced over 120 high quality titles. Bill's convention games are infamous in that they a) are always at night, b) encourage drinking, and c) have tremendously high fatality rates of characters.

Tom Wham is a designer of board games who has also produced artwork, including that for his own games. Tom Wham worked for TSR doing creative work for the company, contributing a handful of illustrations for the original AD&D , including the creature called the beholder. He also began writing games for Dragon magazine. These games, printed on cardstock and included in the centerfold of the magazine, usually featured artwork supplied by Wham. Since leaving TSR Wham has designed many more games, most recently collaborating with James M. Ward on the Dragon Lairds, published in April 2008. The Whamite Isles from the Forgotten Realms were named for him, as they were the setting for one of his games. 35

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR...

November 7-11, 2018