Stefan Pokorny (designer)

Stefan Alexander Pokorny is a Korean-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. 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. Users report it is fairly indestructible and holds its finish well.

Pokorny is a significant figure in the Dungeons & Dragons community, widely known as a "legendary Dungeon Master."

Early life

At age 2½, Pokorny was adopted by New York architect Jan Hird Pokorny (1914–2008) and his wife Marise Angelucci-Pokorny.

Career

Dwarven Forge

In 1996, Pokorny co-founded Dwarven Forge to manufacture and distribute his designs for the first fully modular 3-D terrain systems for games. The business model he developed, based on a series of multi-million-dollar Kickstarter campaigns, continues to fund operations as of 2023, with over $23 million raised to date.

The Dwarvenaut

Pokorny was the subject of the 2016 documentary feature film, "The Dwarvenaut", exploring him and his role-playing alter ego, The Dwarvenaut.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokorny, Stefan
1966 births
Living people
Dungeons & Dragons game designers