Big Bad Con Scholars

AaimzTako is a professional voice actor who enjoys bringing her goblin energy in The Super Journey Dudes. You can find them playing Lancer a mech theme ttrpg.

Aida is a queer, Latine woman of color and an immigrant in the Netherlands who performs, produces, promotes and does project management for various online TTRPG communities. She's a co-founder of EUphoria and her emphasis is showcasing diverse creatives and uplifting POC in Actual Plays, especially those in Europe. Aida's previous work and socials are at https://aida-inthepan.carrd.co/

Alanna Yeo is a Singapore-based game designer and puzzle maven who has worked in independent tabletop gaming since 2018. She designs immersive experiences and TTRPGs guided by her research in communications and the intersection of games and reality. Alanna has worked with government agencies, NPOs, and educational institutions for community and public engagement in immersive gaming and TTRPGs. In her free time, she enjoys escape rooms, video gaming, and delving into internet rabbit holes.

Alastor Guzman is a mexican narrative designer and co-founder of Axostories. They have worked as freelancer for Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering, Pathfinder, and as narrative lead in Tezca Sentai, The Maze, and Tales from the Gods. They have experience bringing products to Latin America, fulfillment, appealing to the growing market, and bringing local creators to the USA tabletop sphere.

Ambrose (any/all) is an award-winning TTRPG Performer, Creative Director and Founder of Othersider Studios, a horror and mystery-focused TTRPG channel. They are also the Keeper for the Award Nominated Arcane Corps series, a Monster of the Week actual play. They started off as the main cast of The Lovelycraftians podcast, a phenomenal eldritch horror actual play podcast, and have been diving into the world of horror ttrpgs ever since!

Unicorn enthusiast and part-time wind deity, Amihan (he/they/fae) is an award winning producer, editor, performer and digital artist. They are committed to making transformative narrative plays & artwork focused on the complexity of healing, hope and self discovery.

He is most known for his multi-award winning debut podcast, Capricious Provenance, and appearances on TransplanarRPG, Goblets & Gays, and BadhouseRPG. You can find them obsessively drawing their characters in their spare time!

This weekend you'll find me in the Board Game Room. Say "Hi!"

Apollo Pierce is an Irish Voice Actor, Cosplayer and TTRPG Performer, they have a love for all things mythological and a deep love of collaborative storytelling that creates tables of wholesome chaos. He has worked with many renown TTRPG channels across the EU and Irish TTRPG space like (both CRIT-Awards Nominated) Hoard of Tales and Hearthfire Tales respectively. To Apollo, TTRPGs are a labor of love, and they're super excited to share that love with everyone at Big Bad Con!

Armaan Babu (He/Him) is a writer, TTRPG game master, pop culture critic and game designer.

All that to say - he cares very much about how stories are told - and the varying ways in which they can be told. He is constantly tinkering with words, pulling stories apart to find out how it all fits together.

He is one half of WEAVE Games, and can be found writing for various publications - most frequently ComicsXF.

Basil Wright (he/they/xe) is a Game Designer and Cultural Consultant who loves puns, fantasy novels, and more bananas and cheese than one person should consume in a lifetime. His game design philosophy is to create games that promote community and have the lowest barrier of entry, so that everyone can enjoy playing games together!

Brandon O’Brien is a writer, performance poet, and game designer from Trinidad and Tobago. His debut poetry collection, Can You Sign My Tentacle?, available from Interstellar Flight Press, is the winner of the 2022 SFPA Elgin Award. He has also written tie-in fiction for brands such as Pathfinder, Magic: The Gathering, and Blue Rose RPG, and has contributed game content to games such as Wanderhome and The House Doesn't Always Win. He is also a co-host of the actual-play podcast Speculate!

Candace the Magnificent (they/she) is an award-winning TTRPG performer, game writer, actor, and 2023 EnNies judge. As a Black, queer, NB, and disabled person, they’re passionate about diversity & representation in gaming, and strive to tell stories and craft characters any audience can connect with.

Charu Patel is an South Asian American ttrpg designer, writer, editor and stream producer. Her work ranges from questioning the formation of identity to combining themes from magical girl animes, 90s teen media and 80s/90s Bollywood into coherent design. She has designed her own games, Kick Rocks! and Kick Garlic! and has worked on Unbreakable Revolution, Slayers Almanac, Stewpot: Tales From a Fantasy Tavern and Babes in the Wood: All Hollows EP.

TTRPG Writer, Streamer and Co-Founder of Desis & Dragons. Chirag enjoys playing with new systems, and also testing fate by running games with as little prep as possible.

Chris is a second-generation Taíno TTRPG Actual Play performer and producer who has always been fascinated by the magic and power that stories have. This passion for storytelling led him to start up his own Actual Play channel in 2022 known as Taíno tales where he has performed and produced a multitude of award nominated Actual Plays.

Chris Hamasu is an Asian American TTRPG content creator and professional streamer. They dedicate a majority of their time to the exploration of tropes and non-traditional character concepts in the game of Dungeons and Dragons as well as advocating for further representation in the community that departs from the Eurocentric standard.

Born and raised in Mexico, Claudia joined a pioneer Spanish actual play community in 2017. Since then, she's been running games in English and Spanish and hosting panels about diversity and intersectionality at conventions. With a BA in Literature, Claudia has written, designed and proofread for games like Nahual, Pasión de las Pasiones (nominated for an ENNIE in 2023), and Cartel. Claudia and her husband Mike are the founders and organizers of the Latine Lounge.

Dare is a Black Trans Ennie-Nominated performer, game designer, and sensitivity consultant, as well as a wearer of many other hats. Known for games like "When the sun dies" Dare is known for faer sincerity, emotionality, and humor, injecting it into everything she does.

Deborah is a content creator from Mexico. She writes speculative poetry and was invited to represent Mexico in the 76th World Science Fiction Convention; her participating entry was published in an anthology. In 2020 she started an all-female TTRPG community, +Morras y Dragones, for women and femmes to play and socialize. Deborah has participated in actual plays for charities in Spanish and English. She enjoys making D&D content for TikTok and spending time with her husband and cats.

Dusty is an incredibly queer Latine ttrpg creator. During the day he works in the Healthcare industry and works on a plethora of Actual Play podcasts and writing indie games. They enjoy to explore themes of queer communities and writing games ties to a genre.

Elliot/消咒 is a queer transgender disaster who likes playing video games and getting caught in the rain. If he's not working on his next project, you can find him playing FFXIV or plotting his next D&D game. He's on Twitter and bluesky @elliotabletop.

Esther is a podcast host, actual play artist, game designer, and freelance writer and sensitivity consultant. Esther published zher first game, Front Porch: A Worldbuilding Game About Gossip, in December 2022 and hopes to publish more original games in 2025! In addition to co-hosting the Know Direction podcast with Navaar Seik-Jackson and hosting the Tabletop Access podcast, Esther is the GM and producer of the award-winning actual plays Chromythica and A Haunting, Beloved.

Fairuz Rougeaux (she/they) is a mixed Arab-American writer, artist, and budding game designer working on their first game, inspired by a love of music and her home state of Texas. Fai is also an award-winning AP performer as Temerity Vane on Chromythica.

Finch Edmund is a writer and TTRPG creator. You may know their work from co-hosting the podcast Tabletop Book Club, or creating the actual play series Wicked World, or dipping their toes into TTRPG game design, or being silly on TikTok. They’re a wearer of many very specific hats, but they consider themself a storyteller above all else.

I'm a Games Studies Postgrad with a passion for establishing research into solo RPGs. My research and justifications reach to areas like challenging TTRPG design theory, queer (and specifically trans) games studies, investigating the indie scene within TTRPGs and explaining the benefits of solo RPGs on your mental health. I also have interests in exploring communities as a marginalised person, narratology and ludology.

Glaiza is a person of many hats. They are an award winning TTRPG personality and the guide for the longest running Monster Care Actual Play: From the Library. He is known for cozy horror type of play and always grabs at the opportunity to play like they've stolen a car.

Gwen is a TTRPG Performer, Designer, and Marketing Strategist. Her design philosophy of fiction being derived from reality and reality informing fiction is woven into her marketing work, while she brings a balance of comedy and tragedy into her performances. Gwen is most notably the GM of Capricious Provenance and the Marketing Strategist for GUDIYA, the Nameless Domain, and Encounter Party!

Hamnah Shahid is an award-winning TTRPG performer, producer, and writer. From a queer, agender, Pakistani perspective, they specialize in high-emotion, character-driven narratives. Hamnah strives to make experimental, emotionally-driven art that not only encourages us to question what we think is possible in TTRPGs, but also uplifts marginalized voices seeking to tell their own stories.

Okami aka Hector Reyes is a 30 year TTRPG enthusiast, actual play performer, and indie designer. He has been an active presence in the Southern California Anime Convention scene, World of Darkness LARPS, Middle Ages Historical Reenactment, and Renaissance Faires. A proud member of the LGBTQ and Latine communities, happily being “the brown kid at the table” since the early 90’s. They run, play, and write TTRPGs about exploration, queerness, and the friendships we build along the way.

Jeeyon Shim is a multidisciplinary game designer, writer, and artist based in Northern California. Heavily influenced by her background as an outdoor educator, her work grounds itself in her values around art, observation, and stewardship of the natural world. Jeeyon and her award-winning work (Indiecade, Diana Jones Emerging Designer) have been featured on Slate, The Verge, Polygon, and Shut Up and Sit Down. She likes dirt, animals, and green growing things.

Jonathan Mendoza is a queer Fil-Am therapist specializing in the intersection between drama therapy and the world of roleplaying games by day, and a designer, dramaturge, performer, producer, and writer by night. That said, you probably know them by their love of the Western genre, their enthusiasm for designing firearms for tabletop roleplaying games at any opportunity, and the poker chips that serve as their calling card--because if you're going to do a bit, commit.

DNDJordanLea (She/They) is a demi/bi, chronically ill/pain, award winning TTRPG Content Creator, Performer & Producer. She regularly streams on her channel comparing aspects of Video Games back to TTRPGs. They are the storyteller for Ampistrano, an Award Nominated Homebrew D&D Actual Play that features an all neurospicy, mainly Ace cast. She is the creator & lead organizer for GFC, a 3.5 day TTRPG charity weekend done several times a year. In the last 4.5 years, over 38K has been raised.

It me, Robogoblin! Jorge is a charity streamer and organizer as well as TTRPG player who loves Owlbears, rolling dice with friends and loves to shine a spotlight on marginalized communities.

Joseph (Kujo) Kujawinski is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and an independent professional wrestler of thirteen years. He is a content creator and the mind behind Crit Hit Chronicles, which has been broadcasting campaigns using systems such as Daggerheart, Fabula Ultima, D&D 5E, Kids on Brooms, and soon to be Tales of the Valiant. Kujo has been an avid fan of TTRPGs for well over a decade and has ventured to create a space for everyone to enjoy storytelling.

Kevin wears a lot of hats: including Writer, IT Troubleshooter, Game Designer, Evil Genius, Editor, and Dad.

Known for Princess World and being a kick-ass GM (sometimes even professionally!), Kevin loves to collaborate with others to weave new and surprising worlds together.

Kevin has recently taken up stand-up comedy, under the stage name ""Princess Kevin"", specializing in terrible ventriloquism, off-beat crowd work, colorful tees, and a desire to hoist toxic masculinity on its own petard.

Kian is an AP performer who loves to play tragic and flawed characters against impossible odds. He has been on multiple shows on Entropy Emporium, High Shelf Collective, The Lost Caravan, and more. They are the GM for BLOOMING IN THE ROT, an Invisible Sun AP on Entropy Emporium.

Kodi Gonzaga is a creative writer and tabletop roleplaying game designer originally hailing from Atlanta, GA. They are queer, mixed race, disabled, and neurodivergent, and their favorite stories to write, read, and tell usually involve kids and teens with strange powers, lots of trauma, and identities outside the norm. These days, you can find them hanging out in Los Angeles playing games, writing stories, and cuddling with their cute cat Zoey!

Kris (she/they) is a lifelong lover of games in all forms but found her "one true love" in the form of collaborative storytelling through ttrpgs. Most of their contributions have been in the form of AP performances (she's notorious for being unable to turn down a good charity or community-building project). They have also had the great fortune of collaborating on various writing projects, including module writing for a tabletop game for kids in therapeutic and educational settings.

Kris is a queer Brazilian TTRPG Game Master, Player, Producer, Dramaturg, and one of the Founders of Tabletop Tempest - an Actual Play channel created by immigrants and children of immigrants. They are most passionate about integrating intersectional, own-voice stories and adopting cultural folklore to TTRPG narratives. Kris most recently was the GM for Tabletop Tempest's show "Beneath the Surface," which combined Brazilian folklore with themes of generational trauma and redefining family.

Mallorie is a queer, disabled, and neurodivergent performer and producer all across the internet. They are the owner and creative director of Rediscovery RPG, a new gaming-based production company, as well as a co-founder and cast member of Homebrews & Homebodies. They are also a designer, releasing games such as Remember Us and Remember Us Together. Their newest game, Memory Lane, will be released in 2025.

Mark J is an award winning ttrpg performer, host of the "nOne-shOt with Mark J" podcast and a founding member of Apochromatic Unlimited an all BIPoC ttrpg space.

Mary Georgescu is a senior game designer at Relatable, the founder and owner of Haiduc Studio, and a co-founder of Eat Melon Studio. For over five years, she has been creating innovative and toyetic card and board games for the mass market audience and has been the lead game designer on over 20 commercial titles. She holds an MFA in Game Design from the NYU Game Center and an MFA in Visual Narrative from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

Meghan is a queer, neurodivergent, New England based TTRPG creator and game designer with a passion for GMless and character driven TTRPGs and telling rich, collaborative stories through games (who may or may not be four opossums in a trenchcoat.)

Mike Balles (He/Him/Él) is a Mexican creative with published work as Designer, Writer, Project manager, Art Director & Development Playtesting for TTRPGs and Boardgames. He is one of the Event Organizers for the Latine Lounge, coordinating community effort work to have spaces & work to bridge collaboration for under represented minorities through the TTRPG space in conventions, podcasts, AP's panels, events, & publishing Games. He enjoys stories, good food, good music & gaming with friends.

Morgan is a Canadian TTRPG designer, writer, artist, and cosplayer with a passion for telling queer, spicy, and emotional stories with complex characters. She's written and illustrated third party content for Monster of the Week, Apocalypse Keys, Spire, Heart, and Dungeons & Dragons as well as several indie solo and two-player games like Legendary, and Meet Me Where I Am. In her spare time, she writes romance stories with her friend about their DnD characters and grows vegetables on her balcony.

Nala J. Wu is a proud disabled neurodivergent QTPOC Art Director at Hunters Entertainment and Award-winning Illustrator who works freelance full-time in TTRPGs. Besides art, Nala does voice acting, diversity & cultural consultations, and professional TTRPG AP stream performances, most well known for Itaewon by Night. In their free time, Nala loves experimenting with makeup, eating ungodly amounts of pasta, and Committing To The Bit (whatever the bit may be).

Canadian Artist, streamer and actual play performer.

Noir (He/They) hosts GenCons Tabletakes, a news show about all things tabletop. Noir is a stand up comedian, musician and Second City Alumni. You can find them on tiktok or twitch ranting and raving about a number of nerdy topics.

Poorna (she/her) went to the TTRPG milliner's and emerged with many, many hats. At the moment, she's wearing a fascinator that screams: writer. On occasion, she has been known to don an editorial top hat, a process management trilby, even a jaunty AP beret. She has a soft spot for bookish folx and bedlam. She has never met a bookshelf she didn't covet.

She's one half of Weave Games, a TTRPG outfit based in India.

quinn b. rodriguez is an award-nominated game designer, writer, sensitivity reader, editor, and actual play performer. A queer, nonbinary, mixed Latine, and disabled/chronically ill creator, quinn's background in theatre and love of metatextuality are present throughout their art. Their work tends to revolve around queer joy and queer rage in equal measure.

Rogan works as a freelance Deaf interpreter, is an advocate for the queer and disability communities, occasionally making videos. In their free time, they love to read just about anything, play various board games and TTRPGs, and watch too much media for their own good.

Sean D'souza is a writer, musician, improviser and voice actor from Mumbai. He loves to entertain just as much as he loves being entertained. He's here to tell stories and hear yours.

Sean is one fifth of PanicNot!, where he writes strange fiction, builds worlds, and creates and plays TTRPGs.

A plus sized femme in the industry as an Actual Play performer, a writer, cosplayer, and a voice actor. As an active worker in adult communities, fae also strives to promote professionalism and activism as she mixes her work, as well as continuing to actively uplift equity and diversity in all these spaces. And, as a last note, From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be FREE!

Shu Qing Tan (she/her) is a Malaysian Chinese immigrant and first generation Australian. She began creating content for TTRPGs in late 2021, and won an ENnie award for her second adventure in 2022. She's worked for a number of publishers including Cubicle 7, Renegade Games Studios and a number of independent Kickstarter projects. She is currently the lead designer and project lead of Dungeons & Dragon's Adventurers League Dreams of the Red Wizards multi-adventure storyline for organized play.

Tanya Floaker is a game designer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. They design games that engage with their queer anarcho-communist outlook, help organise Edinburgh Indie Gamers, and spearhead The Indie Connection - a space for new designers to get exposure at Scottish conventions. Tanya won the 2023 Banquo Award for the Spirit of Scottish Gaming, was on The List's Hot 100 for their role in ttRPG community building, while their games have formed part of the NEoN Digital arts programme.

Valiant Dorian is a Malaysian Desi, transmasculine Actual Play performer, host of the TTRPG talk show Dicey Banter, Twitch streamer and game designer. Fueled by incorrigible youngest sibling energy, he specializes in stories exploring the duality of love & grief, wrath & justice and divinity & monstrosity. When he is not performing and writing, he is beholding the beauty of sun bears and werewolves.

Vixie is a Latina with heart in fantasy, she's a BIPOC TTRPG nerd who currently produces actual play and ttrpg content on her channel, the Pocket Dragon Pub. She has also appeared in actual plays for Dinner and a Game, Legends of Logomancy, the Happy Jacks RPG Network, and ADHaDventures! In addition to TTRPGS, she loves drawing, costume design, and film, and is constantly working on creative projects whenever she can.

V.J. Harris (they/he/something funny) is a full-time TTRPG designer and Professional Game Master. In their spare time, they make TikTok videos about TTRPGS, play/stream produce TTRPGs over on Twitch across a wide variety of channels, are one of the admins for APOCHROMATIC UNLIMITED, and talk about the bigotry within the TTRPG space (products and communities) and how to combat that.

Whitney, known as Smoking Glue Guns, is a skilled artisan and content creator in the tabletop gaming world. As a handcrafted dice-maker their creations are intricate and one of a kind, reflecting a passion for both craftsmanship and uniqueness. Additionally, Whitney is a tabletop RPG content creator, and is excited to be playing in various actual plays across the internet with a hope to tell stories that spark others creative passions.

Zo is an award winning tabletop Producer, Designer and Game Master that specializes in creating radical & imaginative worlds. Each narrative they weave is a reflection of their complexities as a Black, Queer creative in an ever-changing world.