Gary Con XVIII – Events News & Updates
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Kat
About Kat
Posts by Courtney Mason:
Dan Ayoub
Dan Ayoub – Senior Vice President, Head of Dungeons & Dragons
A 25-year AAA games industry veteran, Dan leads D&D at Hasbro. Previously, Dan has worked at Microsoft where helping lead the Halo franchise. During his time as General Manager
Dan Ayoub – Senior Vice President, Head of Dungeons & Dragons
A 25-year AAA games industry veteran, Dan leads D&D at Hasbro. Previously, Dan has worked at Microsoft where helping lead the Halo franchise. During his time as General Manager of Education for Microsoft, he was able to help bring change driven through education.
Under his leadership, D&D will continue to expand to meet players and fans where they are with tabletop product for in-person connection, D&D Beyond for online play, meaningful consumer product partnerships to express fan’s love for D&D, and TV and entertainment to experience D&D like never before.
Outside of his work leading internal and external development, Dan is an avid D&D player gathering with the same group of friends for over 20 years.
Justice Arman
Justice Ramin Arman is the Game Design Director for the Dungeons & Dragons Game Design Team at Wizards of the Coast. He lives just outside of Seattle with his wife—who is his favorite Dungeon Master—and their two dogs, Piglet and
Justice Ramin Arman is the Game Design Director for the Dungeons & Dragons Game Design Team at Wizards of the Coast. He lives just outside of Seattle with his wife—who is his favorite Dungeon Master—and their two dogs, Piglet and Willow. When Justice isn’t working on D&D or rolling dice, he enjoys baking, playing guitar, and mentoring the next generation of tabletop game designers.
Clyde Caldwell
As a boy growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Clyde Caldwell roamed the red sands of Mars and explored the world at the earth’s core with Edgar Rice Burroughs, and was whisked away to other worlds, alternate
As a boy growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Clyde Caldwell roamed the red sands of Mars and explored the world at the earth’s core with Edgar Rice Burroughs, and was whisked away to other worlds, alternate dimensions and adventures in the future by Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke.
By the time he had earned his MFA degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he had already decided on a career in illustration. Inspired by the artistry of fantasy greats like Frank Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel, and Jeff Jones (to name a few), he hoped to specialize in the field of fantasy art.
After several years of working as a commercial illustrator for ad agencies and doing fanzine work in his spare time, he began to get cover assignments from professional fantasy and science fiction publishers.
For over 40 years, Clyde produced hundreds of cover paintings for his chosen field, and is best know for his portrayal of strong, sexy female characters (his favorite subject matter).
His work has appeared as book covers for such publishers as Ace, Avon, Popular Library, Warner books, Zebra, Houghton-Mifflin, and Doubleday…as magazine covers for HEAVY METAL, THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, EPIC ILLUSTRATED, DRAGON, and DUNGEON, among others…and worldwide as posters, limited edition prints, game module and computer game covers, calendar paintings, portfolios, etc.
For almost 10 years Clyde’s work graced the covers of TSR, Inc.’s game and book lines. For TSR he did paintings for the 1985 through 1993 calendars, including the covers for the 1987 Dragonlance Calendar and the 1990 Forgotten Realms Calendar. He was also the cover artist for the D&D Gazetteer module series, the popular Ravenloft series, and has had work included in several TSR Art Books.
In 1992 Clyde left TSR to pursue a freelance career. Post TSR work includes covers for Baen Books, Ultra-Pro, Armada Comics, SQ Productions, INQUEST Magazine and Bud K Worldwide, as well as gaming art for Wizards of the Coast, Precedence Entertainment, White Wolf Game Studio, Palladium Games, Bethesda Softworks and tattoo designs for Bullseye Tattoos. Portfolios include Kingdom of Knives, Kingdom of Knives, Set 2, and the best-selling , Savage Hearts. Verlinden Productions produced a 150mm resin figure based on one of his paintings.
In 1994 Clyde released ‘Armed & Dangerous’ a limited edition print featuring “Scream Queen” Brinke Stevens. A set of fantasy art trading cards featuring his work was released in 1995 from FPG, and 1997 saw the publication of Savage Hearts: The Clyde Caldwell Sketchbook, Volume 1, by SQ Productions. NBC 2000 licensed two of Clyde’s paintings for use in a FRASIER TV promo, and three paintings were produced as posters by Impact Posters. Savage Hearts: The Clyde Caldwell Sketchbook, Volume 2, and a full-color collection of Clyde’s paintings from mg publishing, The Art of Clyde Caldwell, were both released in 2002. In 2009 Clyde’s painting, ‘Dragon Steed’ was licensed for use as a set decoration in the TV series, Eastwick, on ABC. It appeared in several episodes.
For years 2010 and 2011 Trademark Press published the Fantasy Art of Clyde
Caldwell Calendar. And in 2014, Clyde’s painting, ‘Dragon Spell’ was licensed for use in a documentary appearing in the Extended Edition DVD set of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Then, 2015 saw the production of the Clyde Caldwell Portfolio by Galerie Nemesis in the Czech Republic.
Clyde is now retired and lives in Wisconsin with his wife, Sharon. He sells prints and artwork through his website at: clydecaldwell.com. Check out his upcoming Kickstarter: The Art of Clyde Caldwell Legacy Anthology!
David Nett
David is a writer, actor, and producer and avid roleplaying gamer. He’s the creator of the award winning webseries GOLD (2008), Night of the Zombie King (2010), and Geek & Sundry’s RPG-themed fitness show Max Hit Points. He also
David is a writer, actor, and producer and avid roleplaying gamer. He’s the creator of the award winning webseries GOLD (2008), Night of the Zombie King (2010), and Geek & Sundry’s RPG-themed fitness show Max Hit Points. He also wrote and produced Geek & Sundry’s Starter Kit and Shout! Factory’s Sword & Sorcery RPG series Always a Sword, and has contributed to dozens of RPG-themed series at Geek & Sundry, Nerdist, Caffeine, and others. He’s the co-creator, along with Todd Shashwick, of ProgCore Fantasy, and 2026 will see the release of their system-agnostic sorcebook ProgCore Fantasy: Dark Age of Theer, as well as their companion actual play series (ProgCore Fantasy: City of Sorrow), soundtrack (Songs from Theer), and (hopefully) the animated short Passing Shimmer. Alongside all of that, he and his wife Christy own Hero’s Journey Fitness in Burbank, CA, a gym designed by and for nerds and geeks with the conviction that fitness belongs to everyone.
Gary Con XVIII – January Newsletter
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Brian Lewis
Brian Lewis is the Chairperson & Co-Owner of Gen Con, LLC and Managing Partner of Azora Law, PLLC. A passionate admirer of the social fabric that defines the tabletop gaming community, Brian is deeply grateful to play a role in
Brian Lewis is the Chairperson & Co-Owner of Gen Con, LLC and Managing Partner of Azora Law, PLLC. A passionate admirer of the social fabric that defines the tabletop gaming community, Brian is deeply grateful to play a role in building and preserving a community where all people have a seat at the gaming table. His roots in gaming reach back to the launch of Magic: the Gathering® where he served as the first lawyer for Wizards of the Coast. Over the course of his career, Brian had the privilege of helping bring Pokémon® to the world outside of Japan, participating in the acquisition of D&D® and TSR, assisting in the sale of Wizards of the Coast to Hasbro, and crafting the legal framework for the Open Gaming License – work that has had a lasting impact on the tabletop gaming landscape.
Brian later founded Azora Law, a firm specializing in complex global intellectual property portfolios and enthusiastically serves as general counsel to many gaming companies, entrepreneurs, and creators supporting innovation across the industry. At Azora, Brian championed the development, drafting, socialization and launch of the Open RPG Creative License (the ORC License). In his role as Chairperson and Co-owner of Gen Con®, Brian is committed to assuring that as the convention continues to grow, it honors its more than 50-year history while creating new opportunities, experiences, and communities. His vision is for Gen Con to remain a safe, welcoming space where fun, empathy, play, and connection flourish-now and well into the future.
Brian takes seriously his role as a custodian of the tabletop gaming industry. He also nourishes his soul wing-foiling, snow skiing, cycling, and you can occasionally see his adventures and progress in Facebook’s Body By Gygax Challenge group.
Thomas Valley
Thomas Valley is a forever dungeon master who has been organizing or running events at conventions for over 40 years. He’s the co-founder of GameConclave, a convention services company, and one of the Premier Organizers for Wizards of the Coast’s
Thomas Valley is a forever dungeon master who has been organizing or running events at conventions for over 40 years. He’s the co-founder of GameConclave, a convention services company, and one of the Premier Organizers for Wizards of the Coast’s new Organized Play program: Legends of Greyhawk. Thomas once played pinball with a young Luke Gygax at the Mecca Center in Milwaukee, and will happily brag to anyone that his RPGA membership number only has 5 digits.
Monica Paprocki
Monica Paprocki is an award-winning Filipino cosplayer from Chicago and serves as the CEO of GeeksAGogo.com. She has been featured in prestigious publications, including The Chicago Tribune and The New Yorker, among others. Monica was also part of the
Monica Paprocki is an award-winning Filipino cosplayer from Chicago and serves as the CEO of GeeksAGogo.com. She has been featured in prestigious publications, including The Chicago Tribune and The New Yorker, among others. Monica was also part of the wardrobe team for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter during its Chicago show. She actively participates in discussions about diversity in the cosplay and gaming communities, providing tutorials for cosplayers of all skill levels at various events and seminars.
You can find her at www.GeeksAGogo.com!
Or follow her on social media:
Jeremy Crawford
Jeremy Crawford is the game director at Critical Role’s Darrington Press. Before joining Critical Role in 2025, he was the lead designer of the Player’s Handbook (2014 and 2024) for Dungeons & Dragons, and he oversaw the development of rules
Jeremy Crawford is the game director at Critical Role’s Darrington Press. Before joining Critical Role in 2025, he was the lead designer of the Player’s Handbook (2014 and 2024) for Dungeons & Dragons, and he oversaw the development of rules for D&D over the past decade. He also led or co-led the design of the Monster Manual (2025), Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (2020), Eberron: Rising from the Last War (2019), Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (2017), the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014), and many other D&D books. Since 2018, he has been one of the game masters and players in the live-play show Acquisitions Incorporated. Prior to 2007, he co-designed the game Blue Rose and wrote for the games Mutants & Masterminds and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.