Touring The UK While Playing D&D: Q&A With Natural 20 Tours

D&D vacations are hardly a new idea. Whether you’re playing D&D in a Castle or Cthulhu in a Keep, vacations themed around spending literal days just playing TTRPGs are a regular part of the market. Hell, there are even programs for going to universities to learn how to be a better dungeon master.

The latest version of this is Natural 20 Tours, a new vacation option where players will tour Ireland and its history while also playing through distinct campaigns inspired by where they’re traveling. They also aim to incentivize partnerships with GMs by giving established tables financial benefits if one of the GMs they hire brings their own table along.

TTRPG spoke with Natural 20 Tours founder Gabrielle Bennett about the project, its origins, and its vision going forward.

1. What's the story of how Natural 20 Tours came to be? What inspired it?
Gabrielle Bennett: My partner and I actually founded a tourism company, Upbeat Tours, that takes our backgrounds as professional musicians into account. And with that adventure, we've spent the last 6 years or so researching and traveling Ireland and the UK with our performance tours, with work consulting on tours and event management for even longer. But in the background of all of that, I've been positively obsessed with D&D and all things gaming, storytelling, you name it. So, the natural next step was to put those hands together and create Natural 20 Tours!

2. What distinguishes what you're doing as a trip from other popular D&D vacation experiences like D&D in a Castle?
GB: D&D in a Castle and other events like it are absolutely fabulous, but what we offer is more than a retreat in one location. Our players will get to interact with the places and history that make up the story beats of their adventure! We take them to multiple destinations, and they'll play in really interesting venues that are all thematically tied to their campaign. 

3. What sorts of preparation or team are preparing the adventures being written? Are you leading the tours yourself, or is it done in partnership with other locals?
GB: When it comes to the nitty-gritty details – hotels, private coach transport, meals, etc. – that's where our experience as tour operators and guides presents a huge advantage. We will be on the ground, essentially working as lorekeepers and keeping the beats of the actual travel on track. 

When it comes to the creative side of the adventures that are written, I am the lead writer on them. I have a Master’s in Literature & Publishing, but what's way more important than that is my enormous appetite for storytelling and learning about each location's deeply rooted mythology. And so that I'm not drawn away from my blindspots, I also plan to work with a local writer! This partnership will likely change adventure to adventure. And, I also have a huge bonus asset with my partner studying to become a Seanchaí (a traditional Irish storyteller)

4. How do the adventures and tours lean into the specific themes and history of the areas you're touring? For example, you have a tour planned around Samhain. How would that work?
These tours have the advantage of being in the places where the events historically occurred! Samhain is the origin of many of our modern-day Halloween traditions, so when it comes to leaning into that theme in Ireland, it's quite easy. We spend time attending traditional Irish dance classes and workshops, and we'll take part in fire-lighting ceremonies held by cities throughout the country. But in more site-specific ways, we have a Bealtaine tour (another of the Celtic calendar's fire festivals) that highlights the opportunity to visit Ireland's sacred center at the Hill of Uisneach, where Celts have lit fires for literally millennia.

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Touring With Your Own GM

One of the standout aspects is how you appear to still be recruiting GMs. How does the experience work for them?
GB: Yes! We're delighted with our Game Masters Wanted scheme! The way it works is that depending on how many seats they fill on the tour, they get their land package, up $1,000 toward their flights, $1,000 stipend, and commission on every extra seat sold. While they're on the ground with us, they get to explore these wonderful places and eat gorgeous food just like the players in between the 3-4 sessions of a few hours. Each table will be playing from the same module/setting with extra lore material that they can choose to weave into their adventure or not. This way, each table's experience is unique, but everyone on the tour has a reason to talk to one another. 

Who do you see this product/experience for? What is your main customer type? 
GB:Generally speaking, anyone over the age of 18 is who we're targeting. But even that isn't necessarily true because if we had a number of families that wanted to join, we would just make a youth table and have the GM tailor their narrative slightly. We're looking for people who love D&D and travel. And not just stopping at a place for 30 seconds to take a photo; we want people to feel they learned about the land and had a real adventure here.

What are the plans to get more eyes on this and interest people, especially as the economy tightens due to the current socio-economic climate?
GB: Our Game Master Scheme has been our most effective approach to getting more eyes on this so far, but thankfully, interest has never been an issue. Playing TTRPGs all over Ireland or the United Kingdom with amazing international and local Game Masters with a huge emphasis on story? I've not met a single TTRPGer who doesn't love the sound of that! 

When it comes to pricing, we also know we offer a competitive package price with all our inclusions. We have been in this industry through events like Covid-19 and various economic crashes, so we understand the ebbs and flows of travel demand and are committed to making these experiences rewarding and valuable for all who choose to participate. We always look for ways to make packages even more affordable, but we are a small team with finite resources and some seriously fab Game Masters to pay! 

If interested, you can visit Natural 20 Tours’ website. They are still recruiting GMs as well.

What are your thoughts? Send any scoops, tips or press releases to [email protected].