Ravenwood Castle - A GWJ Friendly Travel Destination

Thank you guys! I'm going to miss you guys just coming to me at the castle. So I guess I will just have to go to more S&Ts and other GWJ meet ups to make up for it. I also expect to see me back on steam and in online videos games.

I am starting to get the feeling that you have missed having access to high speed internet, on the regular.

Can't believe it's been nearly four months since I've posted an update. It's been a crazy busy few months too!

As MonoCheli mentioned above, after two great year's he's made the difficult decision to move back to his native New York to be closer to family. We miss him greatly, but as they say, the show must go on. Our new Innkeeper Jason and our new Chief Game Instructor Karington are settled in and up and running, and we're continuing to serve gamers and geeks of all flavors.

We've made quite a few renovations over the last few months as well, including the replacement of the Fairy Tale Cabins with an entirely new Huntsman's Hollow village. And we completed my absolute favorite renovation just last weekend - an entirely new bar. Given the amount of GWJer hours spent in this room over the last two years, I thought it appropriate to drop a picture of the new version here.

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I want to be drunk there!

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I want to be drunk there!

Yes!

Going to a wedding near Dayton in Nov. Looks like it's just 2 hours away. Might finally talk the wife into a side trip to the castle.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I want to be drunk there!

Me too!

I am drunk there now!

But sadly only in my mind.

I want what is in my mind to be real!

I'm so excited about Con in the Castle!

A couple years ago I was in Westerville for training my company sent me to. Spent two weeks there, but opted to fly home for the weekend and back.

Now I'm wishing I had instead spent the weekend checking this place out!

Atras wrote:

I'm so excited about Con in the Castle!

I assume the tickets don't include rooms? And are GMs provided for the RPGs?

MeatMan wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

I want to be drunk there!

Me too!

There was a lot of being drunk there going on this last weekend at the Ice & Fire Convention. Phew, that is a heavy group of drinkers! Great group and a lot of fun, but they take it as a personal challenge to drink me out of whatever I order and then some!

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Atras wrote:

I'm so excited about Con in the Castle!

I assume the tickets don't include rooms? And are GMs provided for the RPGs?

Correct Fedaykin, the tickets are in addition to room price. We will likely sell a few off site tickets/day passes once the last few rooms book, but that's not positive yet.

We provide GMs for all of the scheduled RPG sessions. Spontaneous sessions have been known to pop up (especially of Fiasco!), and we've had some guest run sessions in the past as well. But the sessions scheduled in advance are helmed either by Pathfinder Society GMs (usually the Ohio Venture Captain or one of his lieutenants), or by one of our on staff gamers. Since this Con in the Castle will be lining up nicely with the release of DnD Next, we're considering adding an official DnD Next session helmed by yours truly. That depends whether I get it firmed up in the next two months. Sounds like it shouldn't be a problem, but I've had the bones of the session on my drawing board since before last year's convention and haven't made much progress yet...

The new Innkeeper I mentioned above, Jason, is settling in to Ravenwood nicely. He's got some great experience in the hospitality, food service and bar tending side of things, and is making some great improvements in those areas. Sadly, just as we are getting him settled, our Chief Game Instructor has encountered some family health issue and needs to head back to his native land of Illinois. So we once again have a position open for someone to live in the castle and teach board games!

The position is for an Assistant Innkeeper/Chief Game Instructor. Duties will include all regular innkeeper roles (office work, guest interactions, event planning, bartending, occasional housekeeping, etc.), as well as teaching, playing and selling games. Again, this is our on site position, meaning you would be living IN the castle.

Make no bones about it, this position is a lot of work, and is anything but a traditional 9 to 5 job. But it's also a heck of a lot of fun, and you get to be a part of something truly cool. If you're interested in helping us create a premier gaming destination, PM me here or send me a resume at [email protected].

Man, dream job for (I assume) a single gamer!

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Man, dream job for (I assume) a single gamer!

Indeed. When I grow up / retire early, I hope there is a similar opening at Ravenwood.

MeatMan wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Man, dream job for (I assume) a single gamer!

Indeed. When I grow up / retire early, I hope there is a similar opening at Ravenwood. ;)

Yeah... I would love this as a retirement job to keep busy.

Precisely why I bought the place too. Then I 'retired' a bit early Good thing it keeps me busier than I'd thought!

Those of you who came to PenCon may remember the old Fairy Tale cabins at the bottom of the hill. We've done away with those, and replaced them with the Huntsman's Hollow.

We just had the professional photographers out and got some new pictures of the area. I figured I'd drop these here for Atras, who's going to be living in one of them for Con in the Castle next weekend!

Oh, and note the real fire pit too!

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That looks fantastic. I really want to visit sometime.

Why did I move farther away?! What the hell is wrong with me?!

Nice! Those are great.

Those look awesome!

They look like an incredible improvement over what was there before. How far of a walk are they from the pub?

Thanks guys, we're pretty proud of them ourselves. Put up a whole new page on the website for them even.

They're not that far from the pub Nevin, perhaps a five to ten minute walk. But it's a hilly, wooded path, and not yet lit or well signed. So on the way too the pub, no big deal. On the way from the pub on the other hand...

Teneman wrote:

On the way from the pub on the other hand...

Straight out of Evil Dead?

Man, I so badly want to spend a weekend. Maybe soon

Just saw this again on Dice Tower. Left a comment.

Cool, isn't it? We had the pleasure of having Ryan stay with us for a night back before Origins. Still working on getting Eric and Tom out for a stay...

We've had a few game publishers and designers stay with us in the last few weeks too. We're starting to get some awareness in the industry, which is really cool, and allows us to do some really neat things and joint ventures. I'm particularly excited about our plans for next GenCon (2015 that is).

Teneman wrote:

I'm particularly excited about our plans for next GenCon (2015 that is).

Don't be a tease, bro!

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Teneman wrote:

I'm particularly excited about our plans for next GenCon (2015 that is).

Don't tease me, bro!

fleabagmatt wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Teneman wrote:

I'm particularly excited about our plans for next GenCon (2015 that is).

Don't tease me, bro!

Well I can't just open up my Upcoming Coolness binder and let all my secrets out now, can I?

I'll give you a hint though. We're planning on having a booth at GenCon next year. And unlike most first year small business type booths, we won't be hard to find...