Meet The Authors!

While the writers of our Paizo products are always credited in the front and back of the books, a simple name in a byline doesn’t give readers much information on the people who work to bring the setting to life! To wrap up our preview of Lost Omens Gods and Magic, I reached out to the authors of the book with the intent of promoting them—as well as any other personal work they would like to share, so that new fans of their work could find other projects, RPG products, websites, livestreams, and more to enjoy!

-Eleanor Ferron,
Pathfinder Developer Manager

Gruhastha Art by Emile Denis

Calder CaDavid
Calder CaDavid is a TTRPG freelancer living in sunny Los Angeles and has been contributing to Pathfinder since 2018. Calder had a great time envisioning the Four Horsemen in a new era of Pathfinder. Their nihilistic outlook and obsession with oblivion makes them a unique set of divines. Being able to establish personal history between the Horsemen created opportunity for complex and intriguing motives. Calder has contributed original RPG adventures to Dungeon in a Box and Pathfinder Society. Calder is also the host of the podcast, Mythos Manual. Mythos Manual is a Pathfinder homebrew live-play set in a pulpy jungle adventure with bi-weekly Crunch! episodes pulling from the previous chapters to spring-board discussion on a myriad of TTRPG subjects such as GM prep, house-rules, subsystems, and player agency. In his spare time, Calder has been creating original ancestries for the Pathfinder Second Edition system, such as the bouncy and adventurous Merrybears which will be available within the next couple months. Calder is can be reached on twitter @CaDavidCalder or by e-mail at Mythosmanual@gmail.com.

James Case
Hi! I’m James Case, editor à organized play developer at Paizo. Gods and Magic was a lot of firsts for me—my first time as editing lead on a project, as well as my first writing credit for Second Edition! I was happy to contribute the section for my favorite hot mess / literal hurricane bird, Hei Feng, as well as write (and copyfit ☹) the new domain spells. Eleanor and Luis were even kind enough to let me pitch a couple new ones, letting me add my much-longed-for star domain to the game. I tweet memes, Japanese music, RPG stuff sometimes I guess, and also memes on The Twitters at @toriariaria.

Katina Davis
Hi, everybody! My name is Katina Davis, and while I’ve been working at Paizo for nearly 6 years now, I’ve only recently started dipping my toes into writing for our products. I was absolutely tickled at the opportunity to write Shelyn’s section in Gods & Magic, because I have long identified with her values of art, beauty, and love. I was a relative latecomer to RPGs when I first started playing Pathfinder and I remember her making an impression on me. It’s been rewarding to be able to dabble in the world of Second Edition from the ground floor, starting with my favorite deity. In addition to writing for Pathfinder, Starfinder, and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, I have also had the pleasure of working with Black Book Editions to translate RPGs from French to English. Though I speak German too, I have not yet had the opportunity to test my German RPG translation chops. (I’d love to, though!) If you’re interested in seeing my full list of credits or contacting me regarding freelance writing and translation, you can visit my website: katinawritesstuff.com.

Joshua Grinlinton
I’ve been playing tabletop for well over a decade. I got my proper start in 3.5e D&D playing a Wizard (for better or for worse), and immediately fell in love with the game. Since then, I’ve played in a dozen different systems, run and played in a multitude of campaigns, and have gotten deeply absorbed in writing new mechanics, classes, abilities, monsters, and more! Magic in particular has always been a huge draw to me, so it was impossible to pass up getting to write for 2e’s World Guide about Nethys, the ambitious man who sought to master and understand all of magic, and wound up splintering his mental faculties in the process. A dangerous endeavor, but a venture many mages would undoubtedly find respectable. I tend to do animation, illustration, design, and creative writing, and am available for freelance and contract work for all of this and more. If interested in seeing more of my work and getting in contact with me, feel free to find me at: joshgrinlinton.com

Virginia Jordan
Hi folks! My name is Virginia Jordan, and I wrote nasty mosquito god, Glaundher. It’s always so fun to write the grittier stuff from the Pathfinder universe, and I look forward to getting to write more content to fill Golarion with. You can also find my other writing for Paizo in Alien Archive 3 and Lost Omens: Absalom. While not centered on writing, you can get in touch with me via my professional website, virginiajordanphotography.com.

Jason Keely
Eleanor and Luis approached me with the opportunity to write up a couple of the minor Pathfinder gods that have a much a larger presence in Starfinder: Besmara, Brigh, and Casandalee. (The latter two are two-thirds of the Starfinder deity known as Triune.) While we know plenty about Besmara and Brigh from past products, Casandalee—from the Iron Gods Adventure Path—was only recently “canonized.” I was excited to pick through the last adventure of that AP, “The Divinity Drive,” to see what kind of goddess Casandalee would become. It turned out her personality and domains could be different depending on the PCs’ actions! Luckily, Eleanor and Luis gave me a brief sketch of Casandalee’s areas of concern, so it wasn’t difficult to realize how her faith would manifest on Golarion. In addition to being the patron of artificial life, Casandalee wants to help people understand and use advanced technology responsibly. Given that there isn’t a ton of that in the wider world (so far), the majority of her priests remain in Numeria. It was a ton of fun to write, and I hope we’ll eventually get to see a couple of devotees of the Iron Goddess outside of the Broken Lands!

Jacky Leung
Jacky Leung is a freelance tabletop game writer and editor who runs the Death By Mage blog (deathbymage.com) featuring articles on storytelling, game mechanics, and reviews. He contributed entries for Achaekek and Sivanah for Lost Omens Gods and Magic. Jacky has worked on numerous tabletop projects including the Uncaged Anthology, Book of Seasons, and Artifacts of the Guild featured on the DMsGuild. He is also one of the project organizers for the Unbreakable Anthology, featuring a series of Asian-inspired adventures for D&D 5e with a projected release in February 2020. He also creates indie tabletop games on itch.io (deathbymage.itch.io) such as his Harry Potter inspired game, Broomsticks & Wands, and the chilling horror-suspense game, Haunted Memories.

Lyz Liddell
When Arazni stepped forward into a more prominent role within the Lost Omens campaign setting, Lyz Liddell stepped forward to be her champion. Since Arazni's appearance in the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path, Lyz has worked to present the demigoddess with sensitivity, emphasizing her agency and centering her narrative within her own perspective. Lyz also adores basically the entire Lost Omens pantheon and contributed several other entries to this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous book. You can learn more about Lyz’s work at LyzLiddell.com or join in adoration of her cats on Twitter: @LyzMayTweet.

Ron Lundeen
I’m Ron Lundeen, a developer on the Pathfinder adventure path line here at Paizo. I wielded my pen in several different parts of this book. Perhaps my favorite was the section on the Eldest, the deities of the First World. Before I was a full-time developer here, I did some freelance development. The Pathfinder First Edition player companion Legacy of the First World was one of the first books I outlined and developed, and I chose to break up the sections in that book by the Eldest’s influences because I found them so compelling. They remain compelling to me, and I regret I didn’t have a lot more words here to spin yarns about them, their plots, and their relationships! Also, as the resident halfling expert, I was pleased to take another turn with Chaldira. I also put together the writeup of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, an organization my friend Rhett likes quite a bit (and I hope he likes that they’ve stepped a bit out of the shadows here). You can check out my RPG advice, including an entire free Pathfinder Second Edition adventure path I wrote, on my blog at RunAmokGames.com. I’m available for freelance in any number of game systems at rules.lawyer.ron@gmail.com.

Jacob W. Michaels
Hello all, I'm Jacob W. Michaels. I've been gaming for 30+ years, since I went on an Expedition to the Barrier Peaks in the third grade. I remember growing up thinking it would be cool to write for Dragon or Dungeon magazine, but I had no idea how. Then, years later, I entered Paizo's RPG Superstar and was stunned to make the Top 32.
After finishing in the Top 16 in 2012 and 2014, I became a regular Pathfinder freelancer, and have designed monsters, archetypes and setting material for Paizo. For Lost Omens Gods and Magic, I wrote sections on Gorum and Rovagug, trying to capture and expand the existing lore. I've written more than a dozen five-star products for Raging Swan Press; a module, Ironwall Gap Must Hold, that was the runner-up in AdventureaWeek.com's Pathmaster adventure design contest (which also featured Luis Loza's fun Timeless Fort); and more. I've run design contests to try to give new writers a chance to get into the industry, and am a founding members and administrator of Freelance Forge, the forum for RPG freelancers. You can find my complete credits at paizo.com/people/JacobWMichaels.

Matt Morris
In 2015, encouraged by an amazing group of creative friends, I made a showing in RPG Superstar, and that experience pushed me to explore writing for 3rd-party companies. I’ve been lucky enough to work extensively with Everybody Games and Rogue Genius Games, producing a variety of rules options for Pathfinder and the popular Starfarer’s Companion for Starfinder. Recently, I’ve enjoyed working with a talented group of collaborators at Paizo, beginning with my contributions to the Starfinder Armory and Alien Archive 2. My work on Pathfinder Player Companions has had me body slamming, bushwacking, and relic hunting my way through Golarion, and writing back matter for an Adventure Path has even taken me to the Boneyard! The Lost Omens line for Pathfinder Second Edition has given me the opportunity to explore some of my favorite parts of the setting, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what is in store from the line in the future! For Lost Omens Gods and Magic, I got to delve into some dangerous secrets while detailing Norgorber and Groetus!
I keep an up-to-date list of my work on my Paizo profile, and I’m always looking for interesting projects, so feel free to send me a message via the forums if you are looking for a reliable writer! When not writing, I’m teaching high school English near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dave Nelson
Hey everyone. My name is Dave Nelson, a neurodivergent and queer writer, and this is my first Paizo credit. I've been playing tabletop games for about 15 years now, and Pathfinder for as long as it's been around. I have a degree in both Classics and Theology, so mythology is a passion of mine, making it rather fitting that I got to write in this volume. You can find my words in the articles for both Cayden Caliean and Gozreh. I hope you like what you see, I was sure to add some new flourishes to each of them. If you like my work you can find more of it in the upcoming Absalom: City of Lost Omens, or my work for Legendary Games on Legendary Cavaliers and Legendary Magus. I can be found on Twitter @davicthegrey, talking about theology, cybersecurity, and of course game design. Enjoy the book and I hope to be doing more of these blogs in the future!

Lost Omens Gods and Magic Table of Contents

Amirali Attar Olyaee
I’m Amirali and I am incredibly excited to finally be able to say that I have actual published writing! I’m very thankful to Paizo for having given me the opportunity to contribute to this incredible project (specially allowing me to write about one of my favorite gods!) Taking this project as inspiration, I hope to continue writing fantasy and fiction, either as part of other wonderful projects, or through short or long stories across various mediums.
I’ve always had a deep interest in fantasy and science fiction settings, the creativity that flows through them, and the infinite possibilities they offer for exploring all manner of themes, concepts, and ideas. I enjoy running tabletop RPGs, seeing how the players react to the world, how they deal with complicated decisions, and where the story goes once the characters of that story have full agency of their actions.
If any of that sounds interesting, feel free to follow me @_WritingBot on twitter where I’ll be sharing snippets of games I’m running, and updates on projects I’m working on!

Samantha Phelan
Hello! My name is Samantha Phelan, but I usually go by Sam. In Pathfinder Lost Omens Gods and Magic I contributed my writing and ideas to the Mother of Monsters, Lamashtu. Villains are often my favorite characters, and my background in Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics was very useful in describing the worship of this malevolent mother. I have contributed to several other Paizo products, including Starfinder’s Alien Archive 3, the upcoming Absalom, City of Lost Omens, and more. It's always exciting to see the book's final form. I hope I have the opportunity to work with many more wonderful creative people and contribute to a myriad of projects. For more complete information on me and my work please visit my site: samphelan.com or contact me at contact@samphelan.com for freelance work.

Jennifer Povey
Hi, I’m Jennifer R. Povey. I was born in Nottingham, England (Why yes, I do lay full claim to Robin Hood), but now live in northern Virginia with my husband. There I enjoy regular tabletop sessions, horseback riding and a minor obsession with Doctor Who.
I’m an RPG freelancer, writer of short fiction, and novelist. Please check out my website at www.jenniferrpovey.com. If you want to hire me for writing, editing your RPG book, or proofreading almost anything, drop me an email at poveyjennifer (at) gmail.com. If you want to check out my fiction, visit my Amazon author page.

Jessica Redekop
Hello! I'm Jessica Redekop, cat lady and Planescape nerd. I had the privilege of writing the Elemental Lords section for Gods and Magic, which I hope inspires you and gets you and your friends into some great planar trouble. You can find more of my planar work in Lost Spheres Publishing's City of 7 Seraphs, in my lottery games at PaizoCon, and perhaps in more Pathfinder books yet to come...? :> I'm on Twitter and Instagram as @tectonomancer and beginning Saturday, January 25th, I'll be playing in The Houses of Halifax, a Bloodlines and Black Magic live play game streamed over Twitch. For more information and the full game schedule, visit stormbunnystudios.com/houses

Nathan Reinecke
Once upon a time I wrote a vigilante guide, which led to me making a friend who pointed me at a third party Pathfinder studio that took new freelancers. Now I'm here, writing about two of my favorite Pathfinder deities, Shizuru and Tsukiyo. So hi, I’m Nathan Reinecke, and thanks to Paizo for the opportunities you’ve given me.
I'm a writer and blogger from Wisconsin and I've worked on backmatter for a few AP books before this (after this? One hasn’t come out yet). My main body of work is class options, especially trying to fill niches that don’t quite have them yet, but I’m also steadily developing a series of ancestries and archetypes for a setting I hope to release someday. If you liked my work, you can find more at fedoraferret.wordpress.com, where I do monthly class guides and regular content updates, or you can reach out to me atnathan.reinecke12@gmail.com.

Simone Dietzler Sallé (she/her)
Hello! I'm an editor, writer, and fierce advocate for representation in storytelling. While I have an abiding love of en dashes and serial commas, I'm most passionate about the way we use language to create relatable, engaging stories and build welcoming communities. I edit adventures in multiple systems and am thrilled to be a contributing author in several Starfinder and 2nd Edition Pathfinder resources, including this one! When I'm not editing and writing, I'm likely reading, hiking in my favored terrain, or—surprise! —gaming (currently in Pathfinder, Pendragon, Poem, and Subnautica).
To discuss working together, swap resources on storytelling and conscious language, or just to nerd out about good games and books, you can find me at www.wildwoodediting.com and on Instagram @wildwoodedits.

Michael Sayre
Yo! Michael Sayre here. Gods and Magic was the second Lost Omens book I’ve had the privilege of writing for, and definitely one was really excited to see come to life. Getting to write the goblins for the Lost Omens Character Guide was a blast, but for this book I got to revisit Nivi Rhombodazzle (possibly my favorite Golarion deity) and do the write-up on God Calling and the related deity stat blocks. The Sarkorian reclaimers and their allies are a part of the Inner Sea I’m really invested in, having written or developed multiple adventures talking about their stories (Scourge of the Farheavens, Breath of the Dragonskull, and another we haven’t officially announced yet!), as well as consulting on the short story posted in our blogs, Far From Heaven. I was a little worried that since god calling is a tradition with multiple deities (and “deities”) that it might not fit the format of this book as well, but the charts of deities and their statistics in the back proved a perfect place for me to point to while using the main article to talk about the god calling traditions and culture from a top level perspective. I’ll also take some credit for Imot, The Symbol of Doom making the cut in the Monitor Demigods section since I begged Luis and Eleanor to make sure we had a deity whose favored weapon was a shield included in this book. Hopefully you all have as much fun playing with these new options as I did working on them! Now to go remind the design team that the Sarkorians would love a proper summoner class for their god callers to be a part of….”

David Schwartz
Hey! I'm David Schwartz and I've been freelancing for Paizo since the days of Dragon Magazine. In that time I've written everything from player character options to monsters, setting material to adventures. Arguably my most famous contribution to Golarion is the iconic vigilante the Red Raven. Given my eclectic writings, it's appropriate that my contributions to Lost Omens Gods and Magic are for people who want a little of everything. Can't decide between good and evil? Dedicate yourself to one of the Monitor demigods, divine patrons of absolute law, unbridled chaos, or pragmatic neutrality. Can't choose just one deity? Follow a pantheon and get your divine magic from a whole family of related gods.
In addition to my work for Paizo, I've currently got a series of undercity locations coming out from 0one Games. Written for that other popular RPG, these ready-made adventure sites can be used individually or combined together. Watch trailers for the first two here and here.

Shahreena Shahrani
Marhaba/hello fellow pathfinders! My name is Shahreena. Much of my writings and imaginations about Pathfinder deities, their places of worship, and religious beliefs and practices are based on observations and knowledge about various Asian and Arab cultures. As an ethnologist, I am fascinated by communities of people and their cultural practices, and frequently spend time observing and thinking about how they relate with others. IRL, I teach courses in Modern Standard Arabic, and the literature and cultures of the Arab and Islamic world at The Ohio State University. I am passionate about (and give presentations on) providing equitable access, skills, and support to young people from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds interested in pursuing foreign language study abroad, and am excited about my upcoming 360 video recording project in May! I cannot wait to begin recording in different cities of the Arab world and offer a virtual sense of cultural immersion to interested learners. (To contact, support, and/or learn more about my projects, you can reach me at: shahreena_s@yahoo.com .) Inshallah I’ll be back in time for Origins. Hope to see y’all there! O-H!

Jason Tondro
I’m Jason Tondro and I'm a Starfinder developer; I wrote the Outer Gods section of this book, which allowed me to explore what I think is really scary about the Cthulhu Mythos: not that it’s gross and icky, but that the universe Just Does Not Care About You. I’m also the author of Arthur Lives! for Fate Core, and the editor of Peripheral Code, a fanzine for the Ars Magica game. Follow me on Twitter @doctorcomics.

Diego Valdez
Hello everyone! I wrote the Empyreal Lords and Alseta. The Empyreal Lords have long been my favorite part of the Golarion cosmology. So being given the opportunity to write them was really awesome! Alseta was also a really fun deity to write! I hope you all find both to be fun and flavorful parts of your tables! Gods and Magic will be my first contributor credit in a physical Pathfinder book, but it is not the first writing I have done for Paizo. I have been invited to write 3 ACG scenarios. On the Starfinder end I contributed to both Alien Archive 3 and Near Space, I wrote a quest for Starfinder Society, and I wrote an article for the backmatter of an upcoming Adventure Path. For Pathfinder RPG, in addition to Gods and Magic, I have contributed the upcoming City of Lost Omens Absalom book. Creative endeavors beyond that include a YouTube channel I am working on getting off the ground (it’s still a work in progress).
If you’d like to get a hold of me for freelance, you can do so through my website, diegoavaldez.com, which also has a list of the projects I have worked on.