Konstantinos Athanasiou

Konstantinos Athanasiou is a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher focusing on architecture and the lived spaces of past civilizations. He also holds a master’s degree in Graphic Arts and Multimedia; his thesis explored how visual communication shapes player experience and immersion in tabletop RPGs.

Apparently, studying past civilizations for a living eventually made him want to create some of his own. RPGs have been part of his life for more than 30 years, first as a Game Master and a player, and later as a writer, worldbuilder, and designer.

As one of the creators of Durhus, he leads much of its creative and visual development, from game rules and creative writing to map design, layout, and digital presence. He is also the creator of the Coast of Desolation, one of Durhus’ four distinct settings.

Since 2014, he has devoted what spare time he can steal to building Durhus and bringing it to the world alongside his lifelong friends and fellow creators.

Konstantinos lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, with his wife, son, and their two Belil cats.

Constantinos Patsiantas

Constantinos Patsiantas is a notary and a law graduate, having completed his studies more than twenty years ago.

From an early age, his grandmother Anna would tell him her own tales of the fantastic, along with classic fairy tales retold with a darker twist. In doing so, she planted in him a lasting love for fantasy. Around the same time, he developed a fascination with history, world mythology, and ancient civilizations.

All of this eventually led him to RPGs, both tabletop and video games. During his high school years, he took on the role of storyteller from the very beginning. Over the years, he has sought to bring all these interests together through worldbuilding, creating Kaz Darghia, one of the four distinct settings of Durhus.

Another great passion of his is music. He has been involved in songwriting since his teenage years, performing and creating music with various bands. Today, through his musical project Persephone, he is ready to release an album dedicated entirely to the world of Durhus. He is also involved in music technology and production, fields in which he holds several certifications.

Constantinos lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, with his wife and daughter, along with his animal companions: a Rebel cat and a Spirit Seer turtle.

Markos-Valsamis Lyritsis

Markos-Valsamis Lyritsis is a physiotherapist and a lecturer in physiotherapy, with a master’s degree in Human Performance and Health and more than twenty years of experience in his field.

When he is not working, he writes stories and seeks out musical paths to escape reality. He has so far published two short stories and co-authored a novel—yet has somehow managed to write hundreds of album reviews for metal zines since 2023. His poems and short pieces have been featured in various online anthologies and magazines, while he has also written lyrics for synthwave solo project Misfortunes.

Driven by a vivid imagination, he unceasingly searches for strange realms born of wild fantasy. He first set foot in them in the mid-1990s and has never stopped wandering since. In the autumn of 2014, after countless hours of role-playing, both as a Game Master and a player, he and three of his closest friends began forging a fantasy world of their own.

As one of the creators of Durhus, his distinctive contribution to its worldbuilding is the setting of Nehar.

Markos-Valsamis lives in Thessaloniki, Greece, with his wife, daughter, and some longtime imaginary friends from Beyond.

Symeon Boumpas

Symeon Boumpas is an agronomist with a master’s degree in Environmental Management and an experienced retail store manager.

From an early age, he has had a sweet spot for the fantasy and sci-fi genres but it was not until he finished school that his brotherly friend introduced him to tabletop role-playing games. Since then, he has been an aficionado of RPGs, a longtime player and Game Master, a folklore enthusiast, and a constant daydreamer.

For the past twenty-five years, hundreds of ideas and stories have been told, shared and played as scenarios on RPG tables while the less fortunate ones ended up in the bin or fed the fireplace. Together with his amazing and beloved comrades, he now brings something to life as a worldbuilder in their common RPG project. His creation of The Thousand Coasts is one of the four distinct settings of Durhus.

Symeon has been living in the countryside for the past four years with his wife, their daughter and their pets, longing to roll dice more often and praying to the Redemption Gods for sixes.

Eleni Tsami

Eleni Tsami is a fantasy painter and illustrator whose work is defined by a sense of otherworldliness. Her creative journey began in her youth, inspired by the iconic artwork of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons core rulebooks. Though she loves painting dark, fantasy-influenced settings, in her personal work she prefers to linger in the more nebulous territory of myth and dream.

Since 2020, she has had the immense privilege to work with the team behind Durhus, a dark fantasy, post-apocalyptic TTRPG. Through over 50 illustrations, she has helped bring this world to life, detailing its stark landscapes, distinct cultures, and memorable characters.

Eleni studied Linguistics at the University of Athens and Applied Arts at AKTO. She has painted covers for Candlemark & Gleam, Night Shade Books, album covers for composers Michalis Adamis and Theodore Antoniou, and created illustrations for EN World, among others. She is a founding member of Inis cultural association, designed its signature spiral logo, and served as the head of the graphics department for the annual Athens Irish Festival in 2023 and 2024. She has a deep love for vocal music, and has performed with Chóres, Curfá Gaelic/Nordic Choir, and the ancient Greek musical ensemble Thisaseia. She lives in Athens with her partner, son, and two cats.

Dimitra Nikolaidou and Victor Pseftakis

Dimitra Nikolaidou received her PhD in English Literature from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki; her thesis researched Roleplaying Games (RPG) and Speculative Fiction. She has also obtained certificates in Creative Writing from Wesleyan University, Open University and University of Iowa. She’s been working in publishing since 2005. Her short stories, translated in nine languages, have been featured in venues such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, See the Elephant, Metaphorosis, Gallery of Curiosities, Starship Sofa, as well as in the anthologies After the Happily Ever After, Nova Hellas, Retellings of the Inland Seas, Ίσως and Αντίθετο Ημισφαίριο. Her academic papers have been published in volumes by Routledge, Bloomsbury, MIT Press etc.

Victor Pseftakis studied English Literature at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and moved on to obtain an MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University. His novels include Ό,τι σε Κάνει να Ξεχνάς (Stereoma Publications 2026) and Ενυδρία (Ars Nocturna 2011). His short stories have been translated in seven languages; they are featured in venues such as Fantasy and Science Fiction, Cossmass Infinities, Metaphorosis and The Colored Lens, as well as in the Greek anthologies Ίσως (Oxy Publications) and ΑντίθετοΗμισφαίριο (Gamecraft). He has translated speculative as well as non-speculative fiction.