Behind the Scenes at D&D in a Castle: Part 1 of 5
In this new 5 part blog series, D&D in a Castle staff member, Nicci-Grace of Mystic Quill Collective, shares her behind-the-scenes perspective from our recent D&D in a Castle events at Lumley Castle, UK this April.
Join the retelling of her grand adventure and discover how the magic is made for this fantastical vacation experience.
She begins with the journey that led her to conjure enchantment within the Castle walls…
View our blog posts, new and old, in the Castle Blog Archive
The Long Road to Lumley Castle
Winding up the long approach to Lumley Castle in Northern England, I caught sight of the historic palace that would be home for the next ten days. As a Production Assistant, I would be there to receive guests for two rounds of D&D in a Castle across two weekends and to help shape their experience into the fantasy they had dreamed of. And for me, that felt like a dream come true as well…
Having left my secure government job in September 2022 to pursue a life of writing D&D adventures while living out my own travel adventures, for me, having the opportunity to be involved in D&D in a Castle felt like the pinnacle of success and the culmination of 18 months’ hard work establishing myself in the D&D industry. And even the dreary English sky couldn’t rain on my parade.
Side Quest Accepted
So how did I manage to secure such an illustrious opportunity? Well, in my previous role as another TTRPG company’s Lead Editor and High Lorekeeper (a title I may have personally crafted), I’d had the good fortune to represent the organisation at Gen Con 2023. One amazing opportunity led to another, as oftentimes it does, and I made a connection there with some of the staff from D&D in a Castle, including co-founders, Tara and Cameron. From the connections developed over the course of the weekend, I discovered that D&D in a Castle hire local UK-based staff to help run their event at Lumley Castle. I threw my hat in the ring and soon, Tara the Magnanimous had reached out and opened discussions about the possibility of me attending the event in April 2024.
After a few months and, on my end, a relocation from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Da Nang, Vietnam, the idea of helping at the Castle had well and truly fallen off my radar. In the meantime, however, I had parted ways (amicably, of course) with Penny Dragon Games and was at a rather melancholy juncture. Collapsed on my bed and in a rare moment of self-pity, I scrolled from app to app on my phone, adamantly letting the universe know that I needed something to come through for me… Cue at that exact moment a follow up email from Tara… Long story short, around one month, four flights, and several time zones later, we cut to cloudy skies and my Uber car winding up that long approach to Lumley Castle…not just to help with the operations of the event, but with the added opportunity to run a one shot there. If you’d told me all this three months ago, I never would have believed it. Add to that the fact that I was now in the middle of launching my own 5e collaboration, Mystic Quill Collective, I was finally feeling my imposter syndrome begin to ease…
The next few days were a blur of meeting the rest of the D&D in a Castle team, preparing for the imminent arrival of our guests, and spending every spare moment polishing up my one shot. Then, at last, it was time to welcome the guests and experience the majesty of the event.
For more of my photos and reels from the event, follow me @dndnomadgirl on Instagram or for official photos and event announcements, follow @dndinacastle.
