Earlier this year I had the opportunity to DM a round at D&D in a Castle. I’m returning to Lumley Castle in 2025 for another round from March 30th to April 3rd, and there’s still a few seats left! You can find out all about the official details by following the link above, but I wanted to share a few things I especially loved about the experience.
This round of D&D in a Castle takes place in Lumley Castle in England, near Newcastle. Players play for three days—typically two sessions of four hours each day, which means there’s time to do other activities at Lumley Castle or to do some sightseeing in the region. But it also means that you’re playing 24 hours of D&D, which makes it an entirely different experience than just playing a four hour one-shot at a convention. Over the course of six sessions, there’s time for the story and the characters to evolve and for the players to get to know one another. The campaign I run will be a unique experience I create for the players, and the exact setting will depend on what they decide. In 2024 I ran a campaign set in Quickstone, tied to my Frontiers of Eberron book, and if people are interested that’s an option for 2025. However, I have a new project I’m going to be working on that players at the Castle could playtest, if that’s something that interests people…
In my sessions I prefer to move around the castle as opposed to settling in one place for the duration of it. In 2024 I ran my first day in the literal dungeon, as you can see above; the second day I was in a more colorful and well lit room, as seen in the image that starts off the image. The atmosphere certainly adds to the experience!
Meanwhile, here’s a glimpse of Lumley from the outside…
And the view of the countryside looking away from the castle. And last but not least, here’s Poppet, the Castle Cat, considering a miniature I was using in my final session.
As I type this, there’s still a few seats left for my session! You can also find more information on the website, and this is an interview I did with one of the organizers of the event. If you have any questions about the experience, feel free to ask them here. I hope I’ll see some of you in 2025!