Celebrating Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2021!

May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month! In this blog, we wanted to give the members of our community the chance to introduce themselves and talk about their experiences and influences in their own words. Enjoy!

James Case (he/him), Designer

Hi! It’s James again, still here, still hapa. One of the things I’ve noticed more in this last year is that being mixed means your identity can sometimes feel like it doesn’t quite belong to you, since it can feel contingent on where you happen to be—I mean, I didn’t feel particularly Hawaiian or Asian compared to baseline when I lived in… literal Hawaii or Asia. As I’ve been trying to meet more API voices in the RPG space, I’ve often found myself staring at, say, a social media post calling for “Asian American devs” and wondering if the Tribunal of Mixed Asian Heritage would be okay with me responding to it, or whether they need me to wait for something that says “Asian American—and mixed!—devs.” It’s a trip.

Regardless! This time last year, I could only hint at a few projects still under wraps, but this year, I’m happy to report my Ruby Phoenix volume is coming soon and I’ve scattered several Hawaiian influences through our books! My favorite has been the nightmarchers, a Hawaiian ghost story that my grandfather (now 101!) told me when I was young, and which I could show him on a recent trip back home. And there’s more to come~

You can find me on Twitter at @toriariaria, where I talk about RPGs some and about J-Rock a lot, so come say hi!

Dana Ebert (she/her)

I'm a mixed-race Filipino-American transgender woman from Portland, OR, where I'm a professional Game Master, TTRPG writer, and voice actress. I was a contributor to Pathfinder Lost Omens: The Grand Bazaar, and I'm so incredibly excited for you all to see the fantastic things that are going into that book! My upcoming projects include a submission for Unbreakable Vol. 2, an #OwnVoices anthology of adventures inspired by Asian mythology and folklore that's slated for release later this year. I'm also a voice actress in League of Ultimate Questing: Battle Axis, an actual-play podcast where adventuring is a major league sport, complete with sports commentary and hilarious fake ads for in-world products. You can follow what I do on Twitter at @MistressDanaRPG, where I'm looking forward to talking more in-depth about my Pathfinder contributions as they're released!

Left: CAPTAIN*CARMINE, lead singer of the Pact Worlds’ sugar-pop sensation, Strawberry Machine Cake. Art by Graey Erb.; Right: The nightmarchers, an undead troop for your game table. Art by Luca Sotgiu.

Eleanor Ferron (she/her), Pathfinder Developer

My grandfather was Nisei, a Japanese American son born to first generation Japanese immigrants to America. Being mixed race has always left me with a complicated relationship with my heritage, and there are times when I hardly think I should be included in this blog! But I have always had an interest in the stories and culture of Japan. At Paizo, I've worked to try to showcase Asian characters and creatures—not just as foreign abstracts, but as a critical part of the Inner Sea. Most recently, I've been happy to bring tengu and kitsune to your tables as playable ancestries!

John Godek III (he/him)

Hi! I’m John and my mother was from the Philippines, where I lived when I was very young. I am an avid TTRPG player and GM, playing out of the Emerald City Lodge in Seattle, and having achieved my 5th Nova earlier this year. I am also the executive producer for several RPG-oriented podcasts on the Know Direction Network: Intrepid Heroes, an actual play for Paizo APs; Presenting, where I interview folks in the gaming industry; and Digital Divination, where Paizo developer Ron Lundeen and I chat about Starfinder and RPG topics in general. Over the past couple years I have had the opportunity to contribute to several Paizo products, including the Starship Operations Manual and upcoming Galactic Magic hardcovers, the backmatter for two upcoming adventure paths, and another unannounced Paizo hardcover. I have also contributed to six issues of Stellar Options from Legendary Games, a collection of Starfinder player options. When I am not busy with gaming related activities, I am a university professor in the Seattle area, teaching entrepreneurship and marketing. Prior to that, I was an officer in the US Coast Guard where I sailed the seven seas and circumnavigated North America, completing scientific work in the Arctic and Antarctic, and law federal enforcement operations on both the East Coast and West Coast of the US.

Joshua Kim (they/them)

Josh/Soup is a Korean-American freelance writer / game designer / podcaster / semi-professional hermit from California. They have a wide variety of hobbies including cooking, making coffee, and acquiring new hobbies. They have a keen interest in what games have to say in a literary sense, how mechanics, symbols, and themes combine to create new meanings and experiences that no other medium can. You can find their Twitter here, their games here, their blog here, and their podcast here. When they’re not writing, you can find them streaming video games here.

Left: Sebnet Sanserkoht, venture-captain of Nexus House. Art by Riccardo Moscatello.; Right: Taiwalei, seafarer and recruiter for the Envoy’s Alliance. Art by Carol Azevedo.

Sen.H.H.S. (she/her)

When I adapted the creation myth of Pan-gu in 2019, I never dreamed that it would lead to me writing for the company whose work got me into TTRPG. A full year has passed since I started freelancing and wow, it's been a journey. Bestiary 3, Ruby Phoenix, Grand Bazaar, and more to come! All done from the other side of the Pacific, thanks to the Internet!

Thinking back, while my cultural identity and knowledge was crucial in helping me land many early gigs, I have to say that being Asian for me in TTRPG space is... complicated. Even just typing this took me several attempts because there are so many talking points I hesitate to bring up, either because it would need very long explanations, or because it might invite controversy.

To put things vaguely, when your culture comes from a place that constantly threatens to erase your home country from existence (and you along with it), there's a lot of conflicting feelings and delicate dancing to do every time you put out work inspired by the culture. You can't erase the history that made you, nor can anyone else. However, if stating your identity blatantly might result in backlash, would you ever be ready for the consequences?

I haven’t an answer, but I know I am still writing.

You can see what I'm up to via my Twitter @SenHHS. Also, I'll be at the Ruby Phoenix panel at PaizoCon Online, so come say hi!

Ruvaid Virk (he/him)

Hi everybody! I’m Ruvaid, a Pakistani-American, and among the newest crop of freelancers to write for Paizo. Bestiary 3 was my first assignment, and I have more work in the upcoming Fists of the Ruby Phoenix AP and Secrets of Magic. Please look forward to it!

Growing up, I didn’t even know what TTRPGs were. It wasn’t until I entered college and met some of my closest friends that I even got a chance to play my first tabletop game, a little thing called Pathfinder. So, to have the opportunity to be a part of this blog and have my name show up in Pathfinder books honestly still feels surreal.

I’m glad to be a part of such a welcoming community, and I’ve had a great time meeting awesome people. Thanks for having me, and I can’t wait to put more content out there for you all to enjoy.

I also have a Discord group where I organize PFS2e games every Saturday morning at 9am EDT/6am PDT that anyone interested is welcome to join! Outside of tabletops, I enjoy practicing calligraphy when I can. I also love bad puns, playing board games, reading and writing fantasy, and playing the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV.

You can find me on Twitter (@Darth_Ruvaider) and Discord (darthruvaider#3915). Come say hi!

Left: Yoh Souran, ace pilot and diehard Ruby Phoenix fan. Art by Vlada Hladkova.; Right: Sihn Siphandon, inventor and proprietor of the Grand Bazaar’s Clockwork Caravan. Art by Loïc Canavaggia.