Who We Are
Our Mission
Firelight Brigade is a non-profit community of passionate Game Masters dedicated to creating memorable tabletop roleplaying experiences. Our GMs run the games they genuinely love, and we partner with publishers to craft experiences that excite players, welcome newcomers, and build lasting fan communities.
In 2025 we were the second-largest RPG event organizer at Gamehole Con, known for outstanding player feedback and a strong, engaged GM community.
Our Priorities
- GMs: Help our member Game Masters create memorable tabletop roleplaying experiences.
- Likeminded Partnerships: Partner with conventions, publishers, and others to craft experiences that excite players, welcome newcomers, and build lasting fan communities.
- Help Non-Profits: Donate any proceeds beyond our expenses to charity (typically the charities supported by the conventions that we attend) and also raise money for charity through our events and other activities.
Our History
Our tale begins with Gamehole Con 2022 and the convention director looking for Free League GMs to build a Free League presence. One of our members responded and then took up the mantle of recruiting Free League GMs and organizing things and so the Gamehole Con League of Free Agents was born. That first year started with an incredible 50 Free League events and grew to over 200 events at both Gamehole Con in 2024 and 2025 in partnership with Free League. Quite a player following sought our games out and knew where to find us.
After Gamehole Con 2025, Free League informed the Gamehole Con League of Free Agents that they had got a lot of great marketing to the Gamehole Con audience and that they were going to sit Gamehole Con 2026 out (meaning not partnering with our GM community to do something special). This seemed like an end as we were solely Free League game focused.
Though this news hit our GM community hard, we wanted to keep the bonds we had created with each other strong, continue to create memorable gaming experiences, and we all had a variety of favorite systems. So, we rallied together, came up with a new group focus, shifted to focusing on helping GMs create memorable gaming experiences regardless of system, and partnering with others that shared our passion. All this resulted in the Firelight Brigade!
Leadership
We are led by a board that is elected annually by the prior year's leadership/board.
Our 2026 Board:
| Focus | Incumbent |
| Leader and Partnerships | Doug Seipel |
| Communications/Marketing | Jackson Wells |
| Conventions | Cory Smith |
| GM Community | Kyle Rondeau |
| Secretary/Treasurer | Lauren Santonastaso |
| Social Media | Shaun Hartman |
| Technology | Mark A. Malo |
Board Compensation: Board members receive no cash compensation from any source regarding their Board membership and must disclose to the full board any perqs, benefits, products of any sort from third parties related to Firelight Brigade activities other than those generally available to all GMs. Violation of this policy may result in removal from the board and the Firelight Brigade.
Charitable Activities
In 2026 we are filing as a Charity so that we can donate any proceeds beyond our expenses to charity (typically the charities supported by the conventions that we attend) and also raise money for charity through our events and other activities.