| Birth Name: | Keu soon Inn | ||
| Birth Date: | 25 December 1966 | ||
| Birth Place: | Seoul, South Korea | ||
| Nationality: | American | ||
| Field: | Product Design, painting, sculpture, cinema, photography | ||
| Education: | Hartford Art School MFA 1992 | ||
| Movement: | Role-playing Games | ||
| Known For: | Dwarven Forge | ||
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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.[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.[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] 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]