Special Guests
Every year, D&D eXPerience brings players face-to-face with some of the biggest and brightest stars from Wizards of the Coast, the highly glamourus world of freelancing, and the Interwebs.
Who's showing up this year? Check below for our announced guests and keeping checking back as more are added to our roster!
Wizards of the Coast
Mike Mearls: Mike is the senior manager for Dungeons & Dragons R&D. He has also worked as a designer and columnist for the weekly Legends and Lore column. His recent D&D credits include Player’s Handbook 3, Hammerfast, Monster Manual 3, and the Castle Ravenloft board game.
Bruce Cordell: Bruce is an Origins and ENnie award-winning game designer whose long list of professional credits includes Gamma World, Dark Sun Campaign Setting, Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, Prince of Undeath, and Open Grave: Secrets of the Undead. Bruce is also an author of Forgotten Realms novels, including the Abolethic Sovereignty series and Sword of the Gods.
Greg Bilsland: Greg is a producer for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast, where he works on developing content for D&D Insider and the D&D Organized Play programs. His design credits include the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide, Monster Manual 2, Monster Manual 3, and Vor Rukoth. He keeps a gaming blog at gregbilsland.com and is active on Twitter (@gregbilsland).
Jeremy Crawford: Jeremy is the lead rules editor for Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast. His design and development credits include the Rules Compendium, all the other books in the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials line, and Player’s Handbook 1–3. Jeremy also co-hosts the official Dungeons & Dragons podcast.
Chris Tulach: Chris is the Dungeons & Dragons program manager for Organized Play at Wizards of the Coast. He is responsible for the development and deployment of Dungeons & Dragons organized play programs, including D&D Encounters and D&D Lair Assault. He is also the co-author of Kingdom of the Ghouls.
Chris Lindsay: Chris is an assistant brand manager for Dungeons & Dragons, where he contributes to the direction of the future of the D&D brand. He has been playing and DMing D&D for most of his life and has been constantly involved in organized play for over a decade. He has also contributed to the design and development of dozens of organized play adventures and D&D products, most notably adventures for Legacy of the Green Regent and Expedition to Undermountain.
Freelancers and Authors
Monte Cook (Contractor First Class): Monte has worked as a professional writer and game designer since 1988. He has published two novels, numerous short stories, countless articles, and a comic book series for Marvel. Monte was also one of the three principal designers of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons and the d20 system. His d20 game design studio, Malhavoc Press, produced award-winning products like Monte Cook’s Arcana Evolved, Ptolus, and the Books of Eldritch Might. Monte has worked on games such as D&D, Champions, Rolemaster, and more. He also created HeroClix, D20 Call of Cthulhu, and Monte Cook’s World of Darkness. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writer's Workshop and his recent nonfiction book is A Skeptic’s Guide to Conspiracies.
Currently, he is working with Wizards of the Coast to explore new options with D&D, writing a monthly fiction series in Game Trade Magazine, a quarterly game column in Kobold Quarterly, and a weekly column on the Wizards' website. He is also the co-host of the upcoming Geek Seekers web series.
Robert Schwalb (Contractor First Class): Robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer who has contributed design to or developed over one hundred roleplaying game titles for Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, Star Wars RPG, and the d20 System.
Some of his most recent work for Wizards of the Coast can be found in Monster Manual 3, Player’s Handbook 3, and Martial Power 2, and also in the pages of both Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. Robert lives in Tennessee. Check out his website at http://www.robertjschwalb.com/
Miranda Horner (Contractor First Class): After Miranda Horner got hooked by roleplaying games, she decided that she wanted to work on games. In fact, she hoped to work on the games and fiction that TSR released into the world! First, though, she had to get a college degree, which she did (with honors, even!). After graduating, she took a job at West End Games for a bit, then made her way to TSR in 1995 after she snagged an editing position in Creative Services. Quite a few things have happened since 1995, but throughout all the changes, she has still continued to work for Wizards of the Coast. Right now she edits text and occasionally writes for the wonderfully talented Dungeons & Dragons team, plus she has a few fun side jobs that give her opportunities to work with an even wider range of terrific and brilliant people who love games as much as she does.
Shawn Merwin (Freelancer): Shawn Merwin is a technical writer and freelance game designer. His design work for Wizards of the Coast includes Halls of Undermountain, Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress, Dungeon Delve, and Backdrop: Moonshae Isles. Shawn was also an administrator in several organized-play campaigns. He contributes a regular column called “Know Your Roll” to the gaming website Critical Hits.
Steve Townshend (Freelancer): Steve is a freelance designer for Wizards of the Coast. His D&D credits include Monster Manual 3, Demonomicon, Monster Vault: Threats to the Nentir Vale, Madness at Gardmore Abbey, The Siege of Gardmore Abbey, Mordenkainen's Magnificent Emporium, Heroes of the Feywild, Beyond the Crystal Cave, and a smattering of articles for Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron magazines. Steve studied theater and creative writing at Ohio University. After graduation he moved to Chicago, where he studied improvisation under Del Close and performed at local improv theaters like ImprovOlympic (now iO), the Playground, and the Annoyance. He spent his twenties touring with professional Shakespeare companies across the U.S. and Canada before changing his focus to fiction writing. His two favorite original designs for D&D are the banderhobbs from Monster Manual 3 and Oublivae, Demon Queen of Desolation, from Demonomicon.
Ph
ilippe-Antoine Ménard is a freelance writer, game designer, and RPG blogger. He occupies a little corner of the Critical-Hits.com website where he shares his musings under the guise of The Chatty DM. His recent work include co- designing the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying game from Margaret Weis Productions and authoring Dungeon and Dragon articles, including the level 0 rules for D&D 4e and the Temple of the Weeping Goddess adventure from Dungeon 194. He lives in a frozen fortress in the polar wastes of Quebec while plotting his next move while trying real hard not to laugh maniacally.
Matt James (Freelancer): Possibly one of the RPG industry's most eccentric and energetic contributors, Matt James is a freelance writer and game designer for companies such as Wizards of the Coast and Open Design (publishers of Dungeons & Dragons and Kobold Quarterly respectively). His propensity for humor and energy often take strangers by surprise as he offers new and exciting content for readers and fans. He is known to travel to various gaming conventions offering odd and entertaining video spoofs of humorous activity. Matt James is also a disabled combat veteran, having earned the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart during his service in Iraq in 2005. He has since been medically retired from the military and lives in the Washington DC area with his wife and two Chihuahuas, Peanut and Sammy. You can follow Matt and his gaming insights by visiting his Twitter (@matt_james_rpg) page or by going to his website: http://www.loremaster.org
Campaign Types
Teos Abadia (Ashes of Athas): While some think Teos Abadia was created by tinker gnomes in a device powered by space hamsters and others think he was bred by templars of the Sorcerer-Queen Abalach-Re, he was actually born to wonderful parents that encouraged an active imagination.
Teos initially dismissed Dark Sun as a munchkin game until his players bought it for him. Since that fateful day in 1991, he has preached the gospel of Athas to anyone who will listen (and many that weren't planning on it) in an effort to get every last person playing the fantastic setting.
Having a 4E version is only bested by his two young children now reaching the age to play D&D. The circle is nearly complete.
Chad Brown (Ashes of Athas): Chad is a retired computer programmer and veteran of the RPGA, having been a player, writer, reviewer, and Triad member. The original Dark Sun boxed set 20 years ago was his first time behind the DM's screen, and he's welcomed the 4e Dark Sun Campaign Setting like an old friend. He's an owner of a small game company Back East, but now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He's tall, bald, and male -- but he's not the Bald Man you're looking for.
Derek Guder (Ashes of Athas):
Greg Marks (Living Forgotten Realms):
Pieter Sleijpen (Living Forgotten Realms):
Sean Molley (Living Forgotten Realms):
Claire Hoffman (Living Forgotten Realms):
Jay Babcock (Living Divine):
Bloggers
Dave Chalker: Dave Chalker, AKA "Dave The Game" is the editor-in-chief and founder of the acclaimed, multiple award-nominated gaming blog Critical Hits. For the past five years he has worked to build up Critical Hits to be one of the world's biggest RPG-focused blogs, providing news, reviews, editorials, and more from a staff of over 20 writers. He also is a host of the Dungeon Master Guys Podcast, co-founder of the RPG Bloggers Network, and an experienced game designer and developer in the world of board games. He considers playing in a game run by Gary Gygax as one of his top accomplishments. Follow Dave over at Critical Hits: http://critical-hits.com/author/admin/
E. Foley: (Geek Dating Coach): Since 2008, E has been helping geeks from around the world find love. She writes amazing online dating profiles for her fellow geeks and guides them through the perilous waters of the dating scene and out the other side. She's totally proud to report that she's even caused a couple geek weddings!
By day, she is the Copywriter at ThinkGeek, where her greatest challenges are coming up with enough Star Wars jokes that only reference the good movies and remembering which supers are Somethingman, Something Man, or Something-man. Check out E's website at GeeksDreamGirl.com or follow her on Twitter (@geeksdreamgirl).
Matt Dukes: Matt, AKA Vanir, contributes to the award-winning super awesome blog Critical Hits.
Like Dave Chalker, Matt has also played D&D with Gary Gygax (even if it was only for about 3 minutes). Matt believes any situation can be resolved via roleplaying, though he does sometimes resort to the use of a battleaxe to help him find his motivation.
Follow Matt at his weekly column Dire Flailings on Critical Hits, or on Twitter (@direflail).
Slackers First Class
David Christ (aka The Baldman): Thought by many to be the midget son of a pair of frost giants he is the shiny domed leader of Baldman Games.
Easy to find in a crowded room he dispenses justice from high above the masses on the HQ stage. His legions of judges are endless and contrary to popular belief, they are not minions, and do take more then one hit to destroy (some are even Elite or Solo's - anger at your own risk). His natural habitat is sports bars when not corralled into being in the main gaming halls of such shows as Gencon, Origins, and D&D Experience.
If angered, place some hot wings at his feet along with a draft beer and back away slowly. His last known sighting was in a fountain at 4am in downtown Indianapolis with some other shady characters. Rumors have it that his migration pattern will take him through Fort Wayne, IN sometime in late January. He is best known for writing that Living Greyhawk adventure that you really really liked that killed your character and Dungeon Delve for Wizards of the Coast.
Dustin Snyder (aka The Faceman): A nerd eternally on the periphery of popular geek subculture, Dustin has joined the Baldman Games team, to help wrangle the multi-headed beast of social media. Wrestling with Twitter feeds, Forums, Facebook, and websites, has left him pondering his Epic Destiny and what it powers he'll be granted as a 30th level Digerati. Despite rumors to the contrary, he will remain the non-bald bald man for the forseeable future
Known to most in the online communities as WolfStar76, you can find him lurking the dark hallways of Twitter, and in the WotC communities. He has an unhealthy fascination with Bacon, so if you wish to curry favors from him, plan your bribes accordingly.
At DDXP, you'll find him floating around the gaming room, and also typing notes fast and furious during the seminars, "liveblogging" for those who can't make it to the show.
