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

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been organizing immersive events where professional dungeon masters run fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in England and at an American castle venue. The comprehensive packages are highly favored among career game masters who rarely get the moment to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from the pros on topics ranging from improvisation and puzzle design to handling difficult situations at the table.

In response, the planners began crafting a systematic approach to address these questions, which led to the establishment of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is scheduled for January 2-3, 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“It's possible to view numerous digital guides on almost every theme and learn quite a lot, but the concept was that nothing truly replaces a live, hands-on session together with peers in game mastering, where real-time interaction with seasoned educators and your peers who are probably in a similar position and aim to enhance their abilities,” stated Jason Carl.

Workshop Options and Pricing Tiers

Dungeon Masters can select tiers ranging from $995 to two thousand five hundred dollars, depending on the degree of interaction they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:

• Core Techniques: Teaches the essentials of leading a game.
• Story Arc Development: Focuses around crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Highlights the crafting of environments.
• Professional Development: Tailored to game masters who want to learn more about the gaming industry.

Each course includes two days of instruction spread over a weekend.

“The courses are designed so that you depart having tangible results, enhanced belief in your abilities, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl said. “They’re not just lectures and they exceed pre-recorded material. These classes that you can participate in, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the week after and put into practice in your local game.”

Expert Instructors

Most classes are instructed by two professors. Universe creation is guided by an industry veteran and the creator of Eberron, together instructing the art of worldbuilding.

Industry advancement features multiple instructors, such as an author on gaming puzzles, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The additional faculty is designed to provide specialized information to participants with specific goals.

“Some of them want to launch their own real-play series and display their adventures with the world, some of them plan to produce and develop fresh ideas,” Carl said. “Several only seek to ask, What does it take to be a DM at a program like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Is this achievable?”

Premium Packages

A fifteen hundred dollar premium package includes access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a half-hour consultation appointment with a teacher. This represents the debut of the program, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between campaigns at their immersive experiences.

“You could almost run an full two days just on office hours for expert DMs,” Carl said. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the coursework and the hands-on activities is extremely important – but I suspect it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The $2.5K platinum tier provides an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to lead a session for a small group plus an instructor, who will then provide notes and guidance.

“The purpose is for the instructor to review any element is concerned with: I struggle with spontaneous decisions or I encounter obstacles in certain battle scenarios. May I present a situation for you and get feedback on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl detailed. “Alternatively they want to receive input and information on a particular setting that they’ve been creating.”

Next Steps

Feedback from the inaugural session will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl said that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to three days, or testing alternative workshop formats.

“I expect that we host such events frequently,” Carl stated. “I would love to see several DMU sessions in a single year, in different cities, and in multiple countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We’re very happy with current developments and I believe it would be amazing to be able to conduct this in conjunction with big conventions.”