Team F DMs
Allen Bragg
I have been rolling dice and telling stories in Dungeons & Dragons for over 30 years—and I'm just getting warmed up. This is my third year at Fest in the Forest, and I’m excited to return once again as the Captain DM for Team F. I cut my teeth on Advanced D&D, flirted with 3rd Edition, and eventually found my long-term home in 5th Edition, where I’ve been running campaigns for nearly a decade. At my table, you can expect a carefully balanced mix of tactical combat, clever puzzles, dangerous traps, and meaningful roleplay—no one pillar dominates, and every character has a chance to shine. As an engineer by trade, I love building immersive, detailed fantasy setups, but I’m just as comfortable dropping the minis and leaning fully into theater of the mind when the moment calls for it. Beyond my home games, I’ve run D&D for junior high and high school students at my local game store, and I host large holiday one-shots—sometimes with a dozen players crammed around my dining room table—for nearly every major holiday. Chaos is welcome. Fun is mandatory. My wife, daughter, and I are lifelong D&D fans, and we spend a lot of time exploring our favorite fantasy worlds together. I encourage players to truly inhabit their characters—this is your story, and my job is to challenge you, surprise you, and give you unforgettable moments to talk about long after the dice stop rolling. I respect the rules—but I’ll gladly bend them for the rule of cool when it makes sense and makes the story better. If you’re looking for a DM who values creativity, immersion, and player agency—and who wants you to walk away saying “That was an awesome game”—then pull up a chair. Let’s roll.
‘Big Tom’ Smith
I have been gaming since my friend Jay showed up in 1981 with a thin red book and some funny looking dice and suggested we give it a try. I played an elf, because they could wear armor and cast spells and that was cool. I’ve been hooked on TTRPG ever since. Since then, I have played many systems with many different groups. I also did theatre, stand up comedy and improv comedy. I try to bring a sense of theatricality and storytelling to all of my games. I also love to improvise and see where the moment and new ideas take our stories. Most importantly, I love seeing what the characters can accomplish and what the players can do with the situations presented. Which is not to say a knock down drag out brawl isn’t also fun. I live with my wife Barb and our three cats Howard, Hilda and Buffy. I have miniatures for all three of them and all three miniatures have appeared at festival. Barb has begun playing in my Monday game, as it gives her a chance to take out her frustrations on fictional monsters and avoid being a gaming widow. I have two weekly games I play in and run for. Both have been running for over 5 years and have brought me wonderful friendships beyond the game.
Mike Slawienski
My name is Mike Slawienski, I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 1979. 2025 will be my third year DMing at the DnD Fest. I started by playing Basic D&D (my friend's older sister's game) and ODnD, then transitioned to ADnD as this edition arrived at my local gaming store. I’ve been running in person home campaigns with children and thier parents since 4th edition. We just finished an all adult 7 year ADnD campaign and in 2024 I began a 1974 ODnD and 1971 Chainmail rules to celebrate the 50th anniversery of DnD. I'm a balance of roleplaying and combat with a side of puzzles and mystery solving. I definitely love roleplaying, terrain, props, cosplay and improv. I'm looking forward to hearing and growing your character's story. And telling a collaborative story arc with the Team F players and DMs as we grow a shared collective memory.