Keith Baker and Monte Cook Will Lead Workshops at Dungeon Master University

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs run Dungeons & Dragons games in historic castles in England and at an American castle venue. The comprehensive packages are widely appreciated among forever DMs who infrequently find the opportunity to actually play themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the organizers began designing a structured way to address these questions, which led to the establishment of Dungeon Master University. The inaugural event is planned for early January 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“There are countless online tutorials on any topic and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to an in-person experience together with peers in game mastering, where direct communication with faculty instructors and your peers who are probably in a similar position and also want to level up their game,” explained Jason Carl.

Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers

DMs can opt for packages ranging from $995 to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the amount of contact they desire with the experts. The base tier includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Focuses on the basics of managing a session.
• Campaign Building: Focuses around building persistent adventures.
• Universe Design: Concentrates on the crafting of environments.
• Career Building: Designed for game masters who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

Every class includes eight hours of instruction spread over two days.

“The workshops are structured so that you leave with usable skills, increased self-assurance, and many practical techniques,” Carl said. “It's more than presentations and they exceed pre-recorded material. These classes that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the next week and implement in your home campaign.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are instructed by a pair of experts. Setting design is guided by an industry veteran and Keith Baker, together instructing the art of worldbuilding.

Industry advancement features four different teachers, such as Elisa Teague, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The additional faculty is meant to offer targeted guidance to students with particular aims.

“Various attendees plan to create their own real-play series and present their narratives with the world, some of them aim to release and develop fresh ideas,” Carl said. “Several only seek to ask, What does it take to be a DM at an event like an immersive experience? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Premium Packages

A $1.5K gold tier offers access to a opening gathering, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This represents the debut of the program, though the team has previously run Castle Days during breaks between game sessions at their castle events.

“One could practically host an full two days just on office hours for professional dungeon masters,” Carl observed. “I'm not certain if that’s the optimal application of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the structured learning and the practical exercises is too valuable – but I believe it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar platinum tier provides an hour of one-on-one time and the opportunity to lead a session for a small group plus a teacher, who will then offer feedback and coaching.

“The purpose is for the instructor to assess any element is interested in: I have difficulty with improvisation or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a scenario for you and obtain advice on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl said. “Or maybe they want to obtain critique and guidance on a specific world that they’ve been creating.”

Next Steps

Responses from the inaugural session will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl said that likely modifications could include adding more office hours, lengthening the event to three days, or trying out varied class arrangements.

“I hope that we host such events very often,” Carl stated. “I really want to see numerous academy events in a given year, in different cities, and in different countries. The response has been extremely positive. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be amazing to be able to conduct this in partnership with big conventions.”