Dungeons & Dragons live-action event lets you ride horses to solve a mystery

Imagine camping out during a weekend-long Dungeons & Dragons adventure. The horses you rode into the forest might wander into your village looking for carrots. But don’t worry, they’re used to stealing snacks from the people that camp out here.

Hours before, you investigated a mysterious incident at a royal wedding tournament. Now, back at camp, you’re comparing notes with other players, each group returning with different pieces of a story that only makes sense when put together by campfire — all to help you make progress in this weekend-long D&D campaign.

Millbrooke Realmquest is an upcoming live-action D&D experience that fuses elements of immersive tabletop play under expert DMs with real-world activities that include camping, rituals, tournaments, archery competitions, tarot card readings, and escape room-style puzzles. There’s even a tavern onsite in between the three village camps where adventurers can enjoy a pint from Foxes Den Meadery — and probably pick up a quest from the barkeep. While it’s not exactly LARPing, guests are encouraged to cosplay as whatever 5th-edition D&D character they design.

The weekend-long event is held from May 1 to 3 at Millbrook Trails, which is located about an hour southwest of Chicago in Newark, Illinois. Tickets are $500 and include two horseback quests or $400 without any riding. All meals will be provided, and tents can be rented for $50, though participants are encouraged to bring their own camping gear.

Carol Cronin, the event director at Millbrook Trail Rides and Saddle Snaps told Polygon over video call that she’s been doing moonlight horseback rides for several years now. But 2025 saw a significant expansion of their programming on the 300-acre property.

A Renaissance Fair held in early September included dancing, photos with horses, and mead. Just a few weeks later, Millbook Trail Rides hosted another event for intermediate riders inspired by Red Dead Redemption. Attendees were assigned to either Dutch’s Gang or the Pinkertons for a scavenger hunt and tag-like experience. “We hung satchels with poker cards and coins in the trees, and the mission was to get the two groups to kind of catch up with each other,” Cronin said. “It ended with a water gun shootout in the moonlight.” Then everybody enjoyed a chili supper.

Not long after the Red Dead Ride, Cronin decided to essentially fuse the two experiences into one ambitious idea, and Millbrooke Realmquest was born. While she initially imagined a single-evening experience, the premise quickly blossomed into something much bigger. “My 21-year-old child plays D&D,” Cronin said. “When I told her all of the things I wanted to do, she said, ‘You need help, mom.’”

Cronin discovered long-time Dungeon Master Michael Chun in November. “I was immediately caught up in his energy and positive vibe — and how smart he clearly was,” she said. “We had a long initial phone call, and I knew right away that he could really help me. I’m so grateful that I found him.”

Image: Michael Chun

Chun, who was also on the video call with Polygon, explained that while he was surprised to receive a DM from Cronin on his then-new TikTok account, the pair produced Millbrooke Realmquest in just a few short months, with Cronin serving as creative director on the project.

“This sounded like a dream D&D project,” Chun said. “The project details sounded too good to be true. You just have wandering horses? A bunch of actors in costume? The more we talked, the more I realized she was not messing around. I’m biased, obviously, because I’m working on it, but the whole thing just sounds like magic.”

While he didn’t want to spoil the story for participants, Chun did explain that the adventure is set in a kingdom called Millbrooke during a wedding tournament, but there’s a bigger mystery going on behind the scenes.

The quests on horseback provide an interactive way for players to gather more information, guided by an in-character NPC guide and a wrangler. “They’re going to discover some things while they’re out there and bring that information back which will affect the tabletop games that they’ll be playing at base camp,” says Chun. (They might even see some giant d20 dice on those trail rides…for reasons.) Each party will explore two different trails for an hourlong ride that includes D&D gameplay. ​​”Each group that goes out gets slightly different information, so when they come back together as a party, it makes the story whole,” Chun said.

Players are organized across three camps, each with its own bonfire and lore. “They’ll be in sight of each other with some space between, enough so that a dramatic horseback rider can bring a message from one camp to the other at a nice canter,” Cronin explained.

In between all of the above will be interactive events, like an archery competition organized by Nock and Feather Kustom Archery. As such, the lines between traditional D&D and LARPing get blurred. “How do we combine and blend the two in a way that feels good without cheapening either experience?” Chun said.

Both Cronin and Chun hope that this will make for an experience that attendees will never forget. If this year’s event is a success, then they hope to make it an annual event.

“I’ve done my best in this event to make sure that everything is done with intention and every story beat and ride feels necessary and urgent, in a sense,” Chun said. “At the core of all of this, we want to make sure that everybody has a great and memorable time. I’m panicked. But I’m also very optimistic.”

To buy tickets, visit the Saddle Snaps website, and for a look at some of the trails from atop horseback, check out Cronin’s TikTok account.