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

Beginning in 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing deeply engaging experiences where experienced game masters manage fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in the UK and at an American castle venue. The full-service getaways are especially popular among forever DMs who rarely get the chance to join in the game themselves, and they often seek advice from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and puzzle design to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the coordinators began crafting a structured way to tackle these topics, which led to the establishment of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is scheduled for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“You can watch countless online tutorials on almost every theme and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that nothing truly replaces a live, hands-on session together with fellow DMs, where there’s live engagement with expert teachers and other game masters who are probably in the same boat and seek to improve their skills,” noted Jason Carl.

Course Offerings and Ticket Packages

Dungeon Masters can choose from options ranging from just under $1,000 to $2.5K, according to the degree of interaction they desire with the experts. The base tier includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Focuses on the fundamentals of running D&D.
• Story Arc Development: Focuses around building persistent adventures.
• Setting Creation: Concentrates on the art of setting design.
• Career Building: Tailored to dungeon masters who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

All workshops includes two days of instruction divided across 48 hours.

“The classes are created so that you walk away with usable skills, enhanced belief in your abilities, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl said. “They’re not just lectures and they go beyond recorded content. These workshops that you can participate in, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the next week and put into practice in your home campaign.”

Expert Instructors

The majority of workshops are led by duo of instructors. Worldbuilding is taught by Monte Cook and a renowned campaign designer, jointly leading the art of worldbuilding.

Professional development presents multiple instructors, such as an author on gaming puzzles, Clint McElroy, and a pioneering DM. The extra instructors is intended to provide specialized information to attendees with definite objectives.

“Certain participants aim to start their own D&D actual play and display their adventures with the world, some of them want to publish and create new material,” Carl stated. “Others simply wish to ask, How do I get to be a DM at an event like D&D in a Castle? Which abilities that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Higher Tiers

A $1,500 enhanced option provides access to a opening gathering, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This marks the inaugural DMU session, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between adventures at their immersive experiences.

“One could practically host an full two days just on office hours for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I'm not certain if that’s the most effective utilization of all participants' schedule – I think the formal instruction and the hands-on activities is too valuable – but I think it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The $2.5K platinum tier provides an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to run a game for five players plus one of the faculty members, who will then give comments and coaching.

“The aim is for the instructor to assess whichever aspect is interested in: Hey I don’t do well with spontaneous decisions or I encounter obstacles in specific fight encounters. Could I demonstrate a scenario for you and get feedback on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to receive input and advice on a specific world that they’ve been building.”

Next Steps

Input from the inaugural session will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that possible changes could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to three days, or testing different seminar structures.

“I anticipate that we conduct these frequently,” Carl stated. “I would love to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a calendar year, in different cities, and in different countries. The response has been really terrific. We’re very happy with the results so far and I think it would be wonderful to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”