A Game of Cat and Mouse

Had a ton of fun. Game was a well timed one shot and gave us a path forward while allowing time for shenanagains. Compelling with a good touch of Rule of cool. Would reccomend for a one-shot or camapign.

If I was able to, I would have chosen all the tags available to describe Dean. I have had the fortune to play in Dean's campaigns for the better part of the last 4 years; and I can, without a doubt, say he is the most talented, knowledgeable, fair, and helpful DM I have had and probably will ever have. The level of care and attention he gives to both the worlds/stories he runs and to the players and their goals is very apparent and makes the game so much more real and enjoyable. Dean is confident, fair, and has a great ability to improvise. His judgement and rulings on moments of "Rule of Cool" have always felt reasonable and realistic. His ability to set a scene not only through description but through great music/ambience has never failed to have our party holding our breath in real life. He is a natural storyteller with a great understanding and execution of how to immerse you in the moment. As far as combat goes, I think this is one of Dean's biggest strengths. A culmination of his ability to set a scene, awareness of the rules and flexibility, and an understanding of what makes an engaging, memorable, but appropriately difficult encounter results in amazing fight encounters. All in all, to say I highly recommend Dean would be an understatement. I am beyond grateful to have played (and still play) with him as my DM, and I hope you will feel the same!

As my first formal DM through our Planescape campaign I’ve been a part of the past few months, I’d say Dean has been awesome at curating an exciting but chill gameplay experience! He’s great at accommodating the campaign to match my group’s entry-level experience: Teaching us the groundwork fundamentals and simplifying some of the mechanics to emphasize having fun. He doesn’t bog the game down by hyper-focusing on tutorials but is observant of we’re struggling: answering questions when they naturally occur instead of stopping the game to overly handhold, but gives advice on rules and play options available to us when we don’t naturally pick up on them. I haven’t felt condescended to at all during the experience, where some DMs might feel compelled to. There is a significant level of challenge based with how our group’s comp and how our characters have set their spells and progression (which is not skillfully optimized with half of us still learning the ropes), to which I appreciate since it doesn’t feel like he’s dumbed down the campaign just to let us win. Every victory feels exciting and satisfying, and it makes me think he put a lot of effort into how he balances each battle and session for us. He doesn’t overly stress us role playing as our direct characters, but always opens the floor to us doing in-character tableau when we feel comfortable. While this review is based on my first-timer campaign, I know he has experience DM-ing a number of more complex, higher skill campaigns with other groups. I think regardless of skill, Dean is a great DM for any group and campaign request!

Had my first campaign with Dean and he was very patient with me as I got my bearings. He created an immersive and enjoyable game environment, really knows his stuff and does a great job of explaining and giving feedback when I'd need help making choices. He got me motivated and looking forward to future campaigns!

I've been lucky to have Dean as the GM of multiple games for the past 3 years, and every single session has been a blast! He's absolutely fantastic at bringing together unique and rich plotlines and NPCs to create incredible worlds and stories for your characters to explore. He's great a balancing tones, building up both genuine intense moments as well as hilarious ones, with a real gift for improv. And gameplay is always fresh and exciting, mixing in multiple kinds of encounters and dungeons, even seamlessly weaving in mechanics from other RPGs like Blades in the Dark for certain occasions. Combat is satisfyingly challenging, but fair, and always moves at a good pace thanks to his excellent understanding of the rules. And fights become easy to follow and extra engaging with incredible maps as well as perfectly paired music to go with them. Whether you're new to the game or a seasoned veteran, I can't recommend him enough!

I’ve had wonderful experiences playing Dungeons and Dragons with Dean! His approach to gameplay has the perfect balance of structure and spontaneity: organized enough to feel there’s a larger narrative/system I can rely on, without any sense of rigidity or constraint. This combination of thoroughness and flexibility has allowed me to feel comfortable enough to participate to the fullest, something I didn’t think I’d be able to do before playing with him! Another aspect of Dean’s process I appreciate is his intuition. He seems to continually reassesses his players’ desires, expanding the world to allow for any diversions of interest while maintaining control of the overall trajectory. Trusting in his ability to quickly adapt is what makes the game so exciting, and gives players the confidence to explore their whims and learn more about their characters in turn. Dean’s demeanor is warm and unintimidating; he skillfully injects the game with a sense of stakes while keeping it light and fun overall. He does a range of delightful voices and describes the environments with meticulous imagery, allowing for the utmost clarity and intrigue. His worlds always feel lived-in and multidimensional. I can’t imagine a better introduction to DnD!