Keith Baker along with Monte Cook Will Lead Classes at Dungeon Master Academy

Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where experienced game masters lead Dungeons & Dragons games in historic castles in Britain and at a U.S. castle resort. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among long-time dungeon masters who infrequently find the opportunity to join in the game themselves, and they often look for guidance from the pros on topics ranging from improvisation and creating challenges to handling difficult situations at the table.

In response, the coordinators began designing a organized method to answer these inquiries, which led to the establishment of Dungeon Master University. The first session is set for January 2-3, 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“It's possible to view countless online tutorials on almost every theme and acquire valuable insights, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to face-to-face interaction together with fellow DMs, where real-time interaction with expert teachers and your peers who are probably in comparable situations and also want to enhance their abilities,” stated the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers

DMs can select options ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to $2,500, depending on the amount of contact they desire with the professionals. The base tier includes one of four courses:

• Skill Building: Teaches the fundamentals of leading a game.
• Campaign Building: Focuses around designing extended campaigns.
• Worldbuilding: Concentrates on the development of worlds.
• Professional Development: Tailored to DMs who seek to understand more about the tabletop profession.

All workshops includes two days of instruction split over a weekend.

“The courses are structured so that you leave with tangible results, increased self-assurance, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl explained. “They’re not just lectures and they exceed pre-recorded material. These are sessions that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then head back to your table the following week and implement in your home campaign.”

Professional Teachers

Many sessions are led by two professors. Setting design is taught by the founder of Monte Cook Games and a renowned campaign designer, jointly leading the art of worldbuilding.

Career building features multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, Clint McElroy, and an early professional game master. The additional faculty is intended to deliver focused advice to participants with specific goals.

“Some of them want to launch their own D&D actual play and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and develop fresh ideas,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, How do I get to be a DM at something like an immersive experience? What capabilities that I need? Is it for everyone?”

Advanced Options

A $1.5K premium package provides access to a opening gathering, a introductory package, and a brief one-on-one appointment with a teacher. This constitutes the debut of the program, though the organizers has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between game sessions at their immersive experiences.

“You could almost run an entire weekend just on one-on-one meetings for expert DMs,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the formal instruction and the lab work is too valuable – but I suspect it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The $2,500 top package includes an 60-minute private session and the chance to manage an adventure for several participants plus an instructor, who will then offer feedback and instruction.

“The aim is for the instructor to review whatever the DM is focused on: I have difficulty with spontaneous decisions or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a scenario for you and receive input on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl explained. “Or maybe they want to receive input and information on a specific world that they’ve been building.”

Future Plans

Responses from the first event will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that possible changes could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to a longer period, or trying out alternative workshop formats.

“I expect that we do this frequently,” Carl expressed. “I would love to see numerous academy events in a single year, in different cities, and in different countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We're extremely satisfied with current developments and I believe it would be amazing to be able to organize these in collaboration with major events.”