Goodman Games and Brendan LaSalle GAMING GUESTS OF HONOR
Knight Mage COSPLAY GUEST OF HONOR
Schaffer the Darklord ENTERTAINMENT GUEST OF HONOR
Goodman Games was founded in 2001 and is best known for the popular Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game and associated adventures. Other popular titles include Mutant Crawl Classics, Xcrawl, Fifth Edition Fantasy, and the hit Original Adventures Reincarnated series. Goodman Games products are available in thousands of stores worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages. They also produce Tales From the Magician’s Skull, a magazine containing all-new sword and sorcery fiction, through the Goodman Publications imprint.
Brendan LaSalle had the good fortune of being introduced to Dungeons and Dragons in 1977, an event which shaped his life forevermore. He graduated from Kennesaw State University in 1996, no mean feat considering how much he gamed during both of his senior years. Brendan is best known as the creator of Xcrawl, first published in 2002 by Pandahead Games. Since then he has authored more than 25 adventures for Goodman Games, Fat Dragon Games, Troll Lord Games, Legendsmiths, Savage Mojo, Pandahead Publishing, and Hand Made Games, and more, including the award-winning Age of Cthulhu: A Dream of Japan. Brendan is currently Director of Marketing for Goodman Games, and the chief of the Goodman Games Road Crew. He lives in Kennesaw, GA, with his wife, dog, and two cats.
Brendan LaSalle (@BrendanJLaSalle) / Twitter
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https://goodman-games.com/
Michael "Knightmage" Wilson has been cosplaying since 2012. The 23 year Deputy Sheriff for the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office in Youngstown, Ohio is a renowned International Cosplayer and Stuntman who has turned the art of cosplay from a hobby to a full fledged passion. Genuinely loving to entertain, create, inspire and spread positivity, cosplaying has become that avenue. From being a decorated Deputy Sheriff to working on big budget Hollywood films to receiving the Presidential Volunteers Service Award for his charity work, Michael continues to strive to be a representative of ideas and possibilities.
Shannon has been cosplaying for over a decade, the last several of which she has been crafting and competing. She always knew she was different growing up because she loved dress up more than anything. Over the years her playing dress up has blossomed into her successful cosplay career which is still on the rise. She started when she was only twelve years old, and has made upwards of over thirty custom costumes in the time between then and now. She primarily specializes in armor and props, making things such as full plate armor or life sized swords axes and bows. In her downtime from crafting and competing, she likes to play video games preferring RPGs and FPS. She also participates in some character dungeon delving with her dungeons and dragons group that she plays with every week.
Going by the name Sheikahchica Cosplay, Lindsay has been cosplaying since 2009, with 65+ costumes (including variations) under her belt. She has been featured on numerous websites, such as Kotaku and Geeks Are Sexy. She has also appeared in the Women VS Cosplay 2017 calendar and the Star Wars 40 Years of the Force special edition magazine by Time Magazine. She is an artist, writer, and gamer, previously writing for the former Examiner.com as their Cleveland Girl Gamer Examiner. She currently works with the Tangent Bound Network as a con correspondent. Also an actress, she has appeared in Marvel’s The Avengers, and is the female lead in the upcoming movie Forever Knight by Curseborne Films. One of Lindsay’s greatest passions is giving back through costuming, raising funds for charity, and volunteering through the 501st Legion, the Rebel Legion, Heroes Alliance, and the Columbus and Cleveland Ghostbusters. Lindsay believes that CAUSEplay is about the impact you leave behind – encouraging others to follow their dreams, being a hero to those who need one, and leaving smiles in your wake.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sheikahchicacosplay
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sheikahchica_cosplay
DeviantArt: sheikahchica.deviantart.com
Zac Taylor of Electro Z Cosplay was born in Wheeling, West Virginia and resides in Ohio. He has always been interested in acting and martial arts. He officially began training in Taekwon-Do when he turned ten years old. He has been lucky enough to have trained under and with many renowned Masters and Grandmasters. In Taekwon-Do he is a sixth degree black belt, international instructor, national and international champion, world competitor, and class A umpire. He has been a member of team USA multiple times and an official at world championships. He has helped spread Taekwon-Do in his local area through many demonstrations. In 2016 he opened his own Taekwon-Do school (Taylor Taekwon-Do Academy). He has attracted many black belts to his school and loves training and developing students as well as helping them achieve their goals. Also, he is a founding member of ITF HQ-USA where he is the Ohio State Representative.
Zac very much enjoys entertaining people. Through cosplay, he loves to bring his favorite characters to life and smiles to people’s faces. Although he has been dressing as his favorite characters for as long as he can remember, he began trooping with the 501st Legion in 2011. He is also involved with other groups like the Heroes Alliance that gives him the opportunity to do many charity events. Besides charity events he has also worked with some of these groups to help entertain at conventions. He feels it is very rewarding to have helped make someone else’s day, even if just for a short time. His most notable cosplays include The Flash, Emperor Palpatine, Anakin Skywalker, and the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, among others.
Outside of cosplay and martial arts, he has had the opportunity to combine his skills to get into acting and stunt work. Recently, he has become a stunt team member of Steel Legion Stunts. He has been involved with various projects including fan films and 48 hour film competitions. The projects he has been involved with such as The Three Chocolatiers: The Cotton Tail Of Revenge, and Unclean Hands have even won awards for best fight choreography. He will also be featured in the film The Order.
Steampunk enthusiast, Ghostbusters addict, furry, and an all-around well rounded cosplayer. I got my beginning as a costume and prop maker from watching my mom, a seamstress by trade, make quilts and my costumes for Halloween since about the age of 5. At around 12 years old I asked her to show me how to use a sewing machine. It was the spark that has led me down a path of creativity that I am very grateful for. Since then, I have ventured into different materials and techniques for other various things and props for my cosplay. EVA foam is a gift from the crafting gods! My first big endeavor was a wizard staff about 16 years ago which has led me to many great things and pushing myself to try and outdo my previous project. If it brings a smile to someone, I know I have done a great job.
Schaffer the Darklord (or STD) is a New York City-based rapper, drummer and comedian with material best-suited for nerdy and/or hedonistic audiences. With manic energy fueling a cartoonishly commanding stage presence, STD skewers such topics as substance abuse, sexual compulsion, urban anxiety and obsessive cat-enthusiasm. Imagine a Frankenstein-esque monster assembled from equal parts Bill Hicks, Adam Yauch, Joey Ramone and Prince, stitched together inside the shell of a maniacal heavy metal ex-patriot. STD has released nine albums and is a founding member of the touring nerdcore hip-hop collective known as the Four-Eyed Horsemen, along with MC Lars, Mega Ran and MC Frontalot. When he's not on the road, he produces the NYC burlesque/wrestling hybrid event called “TasselMania.” STD continues to write, record and perform with great frequency and has no intention of stopping until his rock and roll lifestyle destroys him.
Juice Lee is a Hip-hop/Nerdcore artist from Cincinnati, OH. He has a penchant for soulful story telling laced with geek and pop culture flare. His epic tales of triumph, failure and redemption will leave you salivating for more.
Worm Quartet is a terribly-named one-man band from Rochester, NY known for spewing hyperspeed lyrical lunacy over catchy synthesized punky music-type stuff.
Mark Cooper is a multi-disciplinary Rapper and Producer, carrying the torch of Nerdcore from Detroit, Michigan. His branded work consists of a large body of verses and cyphers touching on all things considered “Nerdy” or from Gaming Culture, including references from but not limited to Gaming Systems of all brands, Transformers, Power Rangers, Halo, Naruto, and Tron, earning the perfect branding of “nostalgic.”
The difference between Mark Cooper and the many who have traveled the road of Nerdcore is that he’s sustained his placement in the music industry, sharing the stage with artists such as MC Lars, Substantial, Shingo2, Mc Frontalot, Sammus, Kid Vishis, Mega Ran and Schaffer the Darklord, and producing work with Miz Korona, Fatt Father, Finale, and Crimson Alchemist, as well as spotlights and headlining ranks for PAX South, NERDVANA by Not Your Average Nerds, One Button Tekken 7 Tournament, and a Times Square performance for Liberty City Anime Con.
Cooper has also landed sponsor ships and brand deals throughout his time in the spotlight, including sponsorship from MyHydrationPack, as well as producing the cipher for Team Backpack out of Colorado, as well as Detroit.
With his producer credits come quite a few highlights, which include music production for a film entitled ‘Dream Chaser,’ as well as the music for a documentary ‘History of WCW Video Games III.’
The type of Nerdcore I focus on is what I call “Nostalgic rap”. My main topics dive into what I personally and many others may have grown up with. So I think outside of that "box" people say we're in but instead exists in everyone's garage sale, comic shop, game consoles, DVD and VHS box set, toy store, and even YouTube uploads from the past and present. -Mark Cooper
Toby Danger exists as the universe's answer to the question - what if Weird Al had learned guitar instead of accordion?
The illegitimate love child of rock and roll and comedy; born, in an unmistakable moment of cosmic irony, in the Rubber City - Akron, Ohio, Ryan Collins, Josh "Iceman" Ison, and Josh "Artemis" Arthurs are mad scientists of sorts, and the trio seems set on using the parts of Foo Fighters, Green Day, Tenacious D, and Weird Al Yankovic to create a Frankenstein's monster of modern rock that does stand up on the weekends.
Toby Danger is a rock and roll explosion of comedy and electricity shining a raw and honest light on our current culture and, ultimately, reminding all of us not to take ourselves so seriously.
After dropping his debut album in 2019, The Empire Snacks Back, DJ FLUFF313 propelled an impressive single with Nerd core hip hop artist Mark Cooper “Digital Girl”. Throughout the success of the project, he felt compelled to defend his place in the spotlight with his new project Neon Spaghetti. DJ Fluff’s sophomore album is set to showcase even more of his musical prowess that brings a new feel to the electronic world. Some of the featured artist listed below from the upcoming project, Neon Spaghetti.
BAYMAR' (Money Now) Ghost' (Keep Jit Alive) Mark Cooper'(T.V. Man)
DJ FLUFF313 searched for new inspirations of sound design for this upcoming project from the weirder corners of Ghetto Tech to Anime and psychedelic samples. Next to fit all of those obscure sounds together as a unit. According to fans across the world they feel this could be his most balanced and innovative project yet.
His versatility and innermost passion comes from being a cosplayer and being misunderstood in his own neighborhood as a black man. So he decides to fuse his brand with an TV monitor on his head to embrace his love for music. Anime, and Detroit techno around the world. So follow his hard drive to the mainframe to the center of his true creativity.
Devo Spice is a nerdy comedy rapper from New Jersey who has been called "the red-headed stepson of 'Weird Al' Yankovic and Eminem." Over funky beats with crisp, clear vocals Devo raps about technology, Doctor Who, life's daily frustrations, and even ridiculous suggestions sent in by his fans.
Devo Spice performs regularly across the country at science fiction conventions, music clubs, comedy clubs, and any place that has a sense of humor. He has shared the stage with Dr. Demento, Psychostick, MC Lars, Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, and many others. The live show features videos and animations synchronized with the music resulting in a hilarious show that goes over very well with a variety of audiences.
A classically trained musician, Carrie began in comedy music as a performer in 2004, and began writing her own parody lyrics in 2005. She has made appearances with many different comedy musicians, and is sometimes called "the Carol Cleveland of the FuMP". Her debut funny music CD "Happy Ranch" was released in 2007. Her 2nd CD "Giant Kitten" was released in 2009. Her 3rd CD, "Sing All Funny Jokes" was released in 2014. All of her CDs are available online here on TheFuMP.com!
Carrie has performed at a fair number of different conventions around the Midwest and beyond, including serving as the Music Guest of Honor at CapriCon 2019 (Chicago area, IL).
She has continued to release several comedy songs here on The FuMP since 2014. Her song from April 2020, "Dr. Fauci" (a parody of "Mr. Sandman" as performed by the Chordettes), with a video by "Dr. Don" Coleman, has been seen on YouTube over 200,000 times. Dr. Fauci song on YouTube
For more information on Carrie Dahlby please visit the artist's web site at: http://www.carriedahlby.com
In the year 20XX, two being come together to form the ultimate rap duo: Cliff B and DJ Stuck Down A Mineshaft. Together, they rock the nerdcore hip-hop genre with their rhymes about video games, tabletop roleplaying, fatty foods, Jerry Seinfeld, public radio, weekdays, diseases, bleeps, bloops, etc.
An actor who was in a crappy b-horror movie about a killer turkey turned guy who raps. Life is too short to take too seriously. This is fun.
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary character originating in Western culture who is said to bring children gifts on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending on whether they are "naughty or nice". He is said to accomplish this with the aid of Christmas elves, who make the toys in his workshop at the North Pole, and flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air.
