Stefan Pokorny | |
---|---|
Born | Keu soon Inn December 25, 1966 |
Nationality | American |
Education | Hartford Art School MFA 1992 |
Known for | Dwarven Forge |
Movement | Role-playing Games |
Stefan Alexander Pokorny is an American designer and artist, known for his origination and popularization of miniature three-dimensional terrain systems, now widely used in role-playing games (RPG) including Dungeons & Dragons. [1] [2] [3] Prior to Pokorny's innovation, D&D was generally played on 2-dimensional maps drawn on graph or grid paper, with miniature player pieces. Pokorny's terrains add elaborate 3-D aspects to the environment of play.
To achieve his design objectives, Pokorny developed a proprietary PVC-based casting material he calls Dwarvenite®. [4] Users report it is fairly indestructible and holds its finish well. [1] [5]
Pokorny is a significant figure in the Dungeons & Dragons community, widely known as a "legendary Dungeon Master." [6]
At age 2½, Pokorny was adopted by New York architect Jan Hird Pokorny (1914–2008) and his wife Marise Angelucci-Pokorny. [7]
In 1996, Pokorny co-founded Dwarven Forge to manufacture and distribute his designs for the first fully modular 3-D terrain systems for games. [8] [9] The business model he developed, based on a series of multi-million-dollar Kickstarter campaigns, [10] [8] continues to fund operations as of 2023, with over $23 million raised to date. [11]
Pokorny was the subject of the 2016 documentary feature film, "The Dwarvenaut", [12] exploring him and his role-playing alter ego, The Dwarvenaut. [13] [14]
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