About Us

THE GLASS CANNON DEBUTED IN JUNE OF 2015 AS A WEEKLY ONE HOUR ACTUAL PLAY PODCAST OF PAIZO’S GIANTSLAYER ADVENTURE PATH. IN JUNE OF 2016, THEY LAUNCHED A BEHIND THE SCENES TALKBACK SHOW CALLED CANNON FODDER WHICH TAKES A LOOK BACK AT EACH WEEK’S EPISODE WHILE ALSO ANSWERING GM AND PLAYER QUESTIONS FROM LISTENER MAIL ALL AROUND THE WORLD. IN 2017, THEY ANNOUNCED A PARTNERSHIP WITH PAIZO, INC. TO BECOME THE FIRST OFFICIALLY LICENSED PODCAST OF THE PATHFINDER GAME SYSTEM. THEY ALSO STARTED A PATREON WHICH QUICKLY BECAME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS ON THE SITE IN UNDER SIX MONTHS. THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF GCP NATION, IN APRIL OF 2018, THEY LAUNCHED THEIR SECOND WEEKLY ACTUAL PLAY OF PAIZO’S FIRST STARFINDER ADVENTURE PATH – DEAD SUNS! TRAVELING TO GAMING CONVENTIONS, MAKING SURPRISE VISITS TO THEIR NUMEROUS FAN MEET-UPS AND BRINGING THEIR INFAMOUS LIVE SHOW ON THE ROAD ALL MAKE FOR AN EXCITING FUTURE FOR FIVE NERDS BASED OUT OF ASTORIA, QUEENS.

 

The Cast of Characters

CEO/Founder

Troy Lavallee

Podcasts:

If you would have told Troy that less than four years after asking his buddies if they'd be interested in doing a podcast, that he'd be working full-time as the CEO of The Glass Cannon Network, overseeing the production of multiple shows and a US Tour, he would have punched you in the face for lying and getting his hopes up. Troy rolled his first d20 at the tender age of eleven in the summer of 1990, bringing to life the much maligned AD&D 2nd Edition Cleric/Fighter Yort Elaval. Having caught the RPG bug from early original Nintendo games like Goonies II, Willow, Maniac Mansion, and Déja Vu as well obsessing over finishing every storyline in those vintage Choose Your Own Adventure books, it was an easy transition into a world where THAC0 made sense. Other classics like HeroQuest, Middle-Earth Role-Playing and TSR's Marvel Superheroes game soon followed to ensure that Troy would remain dateless until college. After a solid two decade break from pencil and paper RPGs, he jumped back in crotch-first in 2012, immersing himself in the glory and majesty of Pathfinder. When not rolling crits and killing beloved PCs, Troy is also an actor, comedian, and producer based out of New York City. Originally from Haverhill, MA, he studied Theatre Arts and English at Boston College before earning his MFA in Acting from Columbia University in 2003.

Website

COO/Founder

Joe O'Brien

Podcasts:

Joe is the Chief Operating Officer of The Glass Cannon Network. His lifelong love affair with science fiction and fantasy probably began when he was handed his first Dragonlance novel in elementary school. As he was swept up into the world of fantasy and adventure, suddenly baseball cards, ATARI, and Nintendo had some serious competition. Around the same time, he was introduced to AD&D 2nd Edition by some neighborhood friends in the suburbs of Philly and became instantly hooked. Through college, and for a short time after, however, he set the game aside to “grow up," which was clearly a terrible decision. When he met Skid, and was introduced to a group of New Yorkers playing a new game called Pathfinder, the memories of those childhood afternoons spent lost in the worlds of sword and sorcery came flooding back. For the last decade he has gone all-in, playing in and GMing Pathfinder, D&D, Burning Wheel, Shadowrun, Deadlands and more. In 2015, he helped found the Glass Cannon Podcast and began sharing his love of roleplaying games with those that either never played, or had set it aside as he did. Four years later, after getting married and having two beautiful (and shockingly time-consuming) children, he left his day job to work at The Glass Cannon Network full time. He hopes the Network and its series of actual-play podcasts will show people that RPGs are an amazing tool for fostering creativity, promoting adventure, forming friendships, and laughing your ass off.

Founder

Skid Maher

Podcasts:

Skid has been nerding it up since 1982, when his uncle Sinclair gifted him the Basic D&D set (the Tom Moldvay edition) for his ninth birthday. It was all downhill from there, as he subsequently dabbled in such classic games as Champions, Gamma World, Judge Dredd RPG, Ghostbusters RPG, Robotech RPG, Top Secret, Tunnels and Trolls, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG (before it was a stupid cartoon), Middle Earth Role-Playing, Beyond the Supernatural, Twilight 2000, Price of Freedom, Mechwarrior, and Traveller. Nowadays he spends most of his time developing gaming and media projects with the Mozzlestead production company, and obsessively watching Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. He also had a letter read on Late Night with David Letterman, and was briefly a very minor celebrity on Japanese TV. Oh, and once he saw a blimp.

Website

Founder

Matthew Capodicasa

Podcasts:

Though a lifelong nerd, Matthew has only recently branched out into RPGs, which is probably pretty obvious to most listeners. When not Glass Cannon-ing, Matthew writes things. His plays include THE CITY IN THE CITY IN THE CITY, YOU REMIND ME OF YOU, FRELMETSCH THE MANEATER, ALL THE PEOPLE YOU'VE BEEN, THE CITY OF, and CHAOS AND CAESAR SALAD. His work has been presented or developed at the Kennedy Center, the National New Play Network, Primary Stages, the Flea Theater, the Abingdon Theatre, the Bluebarn Theatre, the Great Plains Theatre Conference, the Bloomington Playwrights Project, Theater Masters, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Capitol Fringe, Fordham University, and NYU’s Experimental Theatre Wing. He is the recipient of the Woodward/Newman Drama Award, and his plays have been finalists for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Heideman Award. His work has been published by Samuel French, and his fiction has appeared in WEST 10TH. BFA, NYU/Tisch. MFA, Fordham/Primary Stages. He is currently a fellow in the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at the Juilliard School.

Website

Founder

Grant Berger

Podcasts:

Grant began his D&D days with the release of Baldur's Gate in 1998. Finally, a game that had some tough choices, well developed characters, and adult situations. It took another 15 years for his THAC0 expertise to pay off as he began his first tabletop roleplaying scenario, Rise of the Runelords, under the guidance of Skid Maher. Of course, THAC0 is long gone, but the rich roleplaying system remained much as he remembered thanks to Pathfinder; albeit greatly enhanced by the presence of talented, living, breathing players and GMs. Pathfinder and Starfinder have been some of the best fun he's ever had, and he owes it all to Matt "Detect Magic" Kopel. His favorite part of podcasting is getting to meet the amazing members of GCP Nation. Hailing from Texas and standing 6'4", Grant has always wanted to roleplay as something he has never been - a short gun owner. He currently resides in NYC with his wife Angel and his pug Mush. His day job is producing videos, radio and TV advertisements for non-profits. When he's not working, he loves to travel, garden, game, spend time with his family and make slow and low brisket.

Series Regular

Ellinor DiLorenzo

Podcasts:

Ellinor DiLorenzo (Elli) is an actor, comedian and content creator based in New York. Born and raised in Sweden, and possibly the shortest Scandinavian to have ever walked this earth, Elli moved to New York almost a decade ago to pursue her dreams and has since then been seen doing everything from prestigious, dramatic Broadway productions to telling fart jokes at murky, underground New York comedy bars. In the GCN family, Elli is a series regular on Androids & Aliens and sometimes makes a short guest appearance on the other shows - always bringing her happy Swedish innocence and threats of murdering Troy (and occassionally the others too.)

Website

Series Regular

Kiah Amara

Podcasts:

Kiah Amara (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and inclusion/access activist based in NYC. As an actor, recent work includes webseries Dependence and I Killed Batman (upcoming), short Big City, Small World (soon to be in festival rounds), stage sketch comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Talk Show, and numerous other productions. Behind the scenes, Kiah is the creator of IndieVISIBLE Entertainment, a production group working to change the film and tv industry from a grassroots indie level with a focus on disabled and lgbtq+ stories told with 100% representation (The Identity Pas De Deux, The Vanished, A Guy Walks Into A Bar). She works with all sorts of folks fighting for inclusion and access in the arts (ActionPlay, Co/Lab, NYCCT) and provides insight as a consultant for productions and industry professionals. Currently identifying as an Aasimar Warlock in her regular D&D 5e campaign, she is a long-time tabletop RPG and combat nerd who loves the sound of a good knap and braille dice rolling.

Website

Series Regular

Sydney Amanuel

Podcasts:

Sydney Amanuel is an actor and artist from New York. Her projects range from film to photography and whatever else she can get her hands on. You can find her hosting and writing on The Leaderboard - Frederator Networks, playing tabletops with friends or eating in a ramen shop.

Website

Guest

Ari Rubin

Podcasts:

Six years ago Joe invited Ari out to a table top game night and since then Ari has never been the same. Because Joe touched Ari that night. Touched him right in the gaming heart. Now Ari calls Joe and says, “Joe, when can I play?” To which joe responds, “We’ll get you in there soon, good buddy.” So, while Ari waits to play Pathfinder with the guys, he voice acts, writes and podcasts on his own show “Tool Talk: The Game Show Podcast."

Guest

Randy Gardner

Randy Gardner is a devastatingly funny/handsome comic living and working in New York City. In 2005, Randy began writing comedy and performing voiceovers for radio stations nationwide via The Daily Comedy Network Syndicated Comedy Service. He has studied improv and sketch comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade since 2007. Randy plays Patriots Superfan, Francis, on the webseries NFL Fan Therapy. You can catch him performing standup throughout NYC, including his monthly show #TailorMadeComedy. He enjoys sitting in with The GCP Crew and sharing intimate facts about himself with perfect strangers. Randy is a Scorpio, as well as the voice of a Japanimated gorilla king. No big deal/big deal.

Website