Monte Cook along with Keith Baker Are Teaching Sessions at Dungeon Master Academy

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing deeply engaging experiences where professional dungeon masters lead fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in England and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are especially popular among long-time dungeon masters who rarely get the chance to join in the game 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 coordinators began crafting a systematic approach to tackle these topics, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is planned for early January 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“It's possible to view numerous digital guides on virtually any subject and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that there’s just no substitute an in-person experience alongside peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with seasoned educators and your peers likely in a similar position and aim to improve their skills,” noted the dean of Dungeon Master University.

Course Offerings and Cost Levels

Dungeon Masters can select options ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the degree of interaction they desire with the instructors. The entry-level option includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Teaches the essentials of running D&D.
• Campaign Building: Is dedicated to building persistent adventures.
• Setting Creation: Highlights the art of setting design.
• Professional Development: Tailored to game masters who seek to understand more about the tabletop profession.

Each course includes multiple sessions of instruction split over 48 hours.

“The classes are designed so that you leave with tangible results, enhanced belief in your abilities, and many practical techniques,” Carl explained. “These aren't simple talks and they go beyond recorded content. These classes that you can join, gain knowledge from, and then return to your group the week after and apply in your regular session.”

Seasoned Educators

The majority of workshops are taught by a pair of experts. Setting design is guided by Monte Cook and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the craft of setting creation.

Professional development presents four different teachers, such as an author on gaming puzzles, an entertainment professional, and a pioneering DM. The expanded teaching staff is designed to deliver focused advice to attendees with particular aims.

“Certain participants aim to start their own real-play series and share their stories with the world, others aim to release and develop fresh ideas,” Carl stated. “Several only seek to ask, How do I get to be a DM at something like a castle event? What capabilities that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Premium Packages

A fifteen hundred dollar gold tier provides access to a welcome reception, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with an instructor. This marks the inaugural DMU session, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between game sessions at their immersive experiences.

“One could practically host an full two days just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the most effective utilization of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the formal instruction and the practical exercises is too valuable – but I suspect it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The $2,500 platinum tier provides an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to run a game for several participants plus a teacher, who will then give comments and guidance.

“The goal is for the teacher to assess whichever aspect is concerned with: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I encounter obstacles in specific fight encounters. Could I demonstrate a scene for you and get feedback on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl explained. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and advice on a particular setting that they’ve been creating.”

Next Steps

Responses from the first event will help shape subsequent DMU events. Carl mentioned that likely modifications could include adding more office hours, making it longer to 72 hours, or experimenting with alternative workshop formats.

“I expect that we do this regularly,” Carl stated. “I truly hope to see numerous academy events in a given year, in various locations, and in multiple countries. The reception has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with what we’re seeing and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to organize these in conjunction with large gatherings.”