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Forget DnD in a castle, Pathfinder in a Palace is a thing now

Leading Dungeons and Dragons rival Pathfinder is taking over historical United States landmarks, starting with a kooky Philadelphian palace.

Pathfinder in a Palace - art of adventurers from the RPG Pathfinder, and of the Glencairn Museum, Philadelphia

What a time to be alive – not only is “DnD in a castle” a real event that nerds can book onto, but you can now book an “all-inclusive weekend getaway experience” playing Pathfinder or Starfinder in a historical United States landmark. The first event in the series, Pathfinder in a Palace, will take over the Glencairn Museum in Philadelphia in February 2025.

With the 2024 Player’s Handbook looming on the DnD release schedule, you’d be forgiven for having lost track of Pathfinder, the longstanding rival that grew out of DnD 3rd edition. We think of it as the peanut brittle to the DnD cookie – there’s just a bit more crunch. For every DnD class you’ll find a Pathfinder class to match, for every DnD race there’s a Pathfinder ancestry. So naturally, if there’s DnD in a castle, Pathfinder gets a palace.

Pathfinder in a Palace, Glencirin Museum, a stone-built building with grey slate tiles, viewed through a stone window

The new event series is the result of a partnership between Pathfinder-publisher Paizo and The Game Theatre, “a gaming vacation company”. Pathfinder in a Palace will be hosted from February 7-9, and will let players complete “accelerated Adventure Paths” in just three days “while immersed inside thematic medieval-inspired historical landmarks”. Abomination Vaults and other “popular Adventure paths” will be available at this event.

Tickets are on sale, from both the Pathfinder in a Palace website and the Everything Epic booth at Gencon, booth 841. Prices start at $999.00 per person.

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According to a joint press release, The Game Theatre “has produced gaming vacation weekends for a decade”, and has plenty of experience working with historic venues. Co-owner Evan Michaels says the firm’s success comes from “ensuring that our player guests are comfortable and have access to everything they need so they can focus on their adventures”.

He adds: “we carefully curate our gaming vacation experiences to include hotel stay, meals, beverages, and more, all within super-thematic locations that we’ve built trust with over many years”.

If (like us) you’re a little too far away from the USA to consider one of these trips, check out this bumper Humble Bundle which packs in $1,768 of Pathfinder expansions for just $30.