Keith Baker and Monte Cook Are Instructing Classes at DMU

Beginning in 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting immersive events where professional dungeon masters lead fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in Britain and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. These all-inclusive trips are especially popular among forever DMs who infrequently find the chance to participate as players themselves, and they often look for guidance from the pros on topics ranging from improvisation and crafting riddles to handling difficult situations at the table.

In response, the organizers began crafting a structured way to tackle these topics, which led to the creation of Dungeon Master University. The inaugural event is set for early January 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“You can watch numerous digital guides on any topic and learn quite a lot, but the concept was that nothing compares to face-to-face interaction in the company of other dungeon masters, where direct communication with faculty instructors and your peers likely in a similar position and also want to enhance their abilities,” noted the dean of Dungeon Master University.

Course Offerings and Ticket Packages

Game masters can select options ranging from $995 to $2,500, based on the amount of contact they desire with the experts. The entry-level option includes one of four courses:

• Foundational Skills: Teaches the essentials of leading a game.
• Long-Term Game Planning: Is dedicated to building persistent adventures.
• Setting Creation: Concentrates on the art of setting design.
• Career Building: Designed for DMs who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.

Each course includes eight hours of training divided across a weekend.

“The courses are created so that you depart having usable skills, increased self-assurance, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they exceed pre-recorded material. These workshops that you can participate in, learn from, and then go right back home the following week and apply in your home campaign.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are instructed by duo of instructors. Worldbuilding is taught by Monte Cook and Keith Baker, jointly leading the art of worldbuilding.

Industry advancement includes several experts, such as an author on gaming puzzles, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The expanded teaching staff is intended to provide specialized information to attendees with definite objectives.

“Various attendees plan to create their own live gameplay show and share their stories with the world, some of them plan to produce and write original content,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at a program like a castle event? What capabilities that I need? Is it for everyone?”

Advanced Options

A fifteen hundred dollar premium package provides access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a half-hour consultation appointment with a teacher. This constitutes the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the team has previously run Castle Days during breaks between adventures at their premium gatherings.

“You could almost run an complete event just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the optimal application of everybody’s time – I think the coursework and the practical exercises is extremely important – but I suspect it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar top package provides an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to run a game for several participants plus one of the faculty members, who will then provide notes and guidance.

“The purpose is for the instructor to review whatever the DM is concerned with: I have difficulty with improvisation or I get blocked in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a scene for you and get feedback on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and information on a specific world that they’ve been building.”

Next Steps

Responses from the debut workshop will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl said that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to a longer period, or trying out different seminar structures.

“I anticipate that we conduct these very often,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a single year, in various locations, and in different countries. The reception has been really terrific. We're quite pleased with what we’re seeing and I think it would be fantastic to be able to do this in partnership with major events.”