Keith Baker and Monte Cook Will Lead Workshops at DMU

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where expert DMs manage Dungeons & Dragons games in ancient fortresses in the UK and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are especially popular among long-time dungeon masters who infrequently find the chance to actually play themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improvisation and creating challenges to managing conflicts at the table.

In response, the coordinators began designing a organized method to answer these inquiries, which led to the creation of the Dungeon Master Academy. The debut workshop is set for the start of 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“You can watch thousands of YouTube videos on any topic and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that nothing truly replaces face-to-face interaction in the company of fellow DMs, where there’s live engagement with faculty instructors and your fellow DMs likely in the same boat and also want to level up their game,” explained the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers

DMs can select tiers ranging from just under $1,000 to two thousand five hundred dollars, based on the level of access they desire with the professionals. The entry-level option includes one of four courses:

• Skill Building: Covers the basics of running D&D.
• Story Arc Development: Centers on crafting long-running games.
• Universe Design: Concentrates on the development of worlds.
• Career Building: Tailored to game masters who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.

Each course includes two days of classwork split over a weekend.

“The courses are created so that you depart having usable skills, probably greater confidence, and many practical techniques,” Carl explained. “These aren't simple talks and they’re not just static videos. These are sessions that you can attend, learn from, and then head back to your table the next week and put into practice in your home campaign.”

Seasoned Educators

The majority of workshops are led by a pair of experts. Universe creation is taught by the founder of Monte Cook Games and the creator of Eberron, together instructing the craft of setting creation.

Industry advancement features multiple instructors, such as an author on gaming puzzles, Clint McElroy, and Hunter Fell. The extra instructors is intended to provide specialized information to attendees with particular aims.

“Various attendees plan to create their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, some of them aim to release and create new material,” Carl explained. “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 $1,500 enhanced option provides access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a brief one-on-one appointment with an instructor. This marks the debut of the program, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between campaigns at their castle events.

“One could practically host an full two days just on consultation sessions for professional dungeon masters,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the best use of all participants' schedule – I believe the coursework and the lab work is extremely important – but I suspect it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The $2,500 platinum tier includes an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to lead a session for several participants plus a teacher, who will then offer feedback and guidance.

“The aim is for the teacher to review whatever the DM is interested in: I have difficulty with improvisation or I encounter obstacles in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a scenario for you and receive input on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl detailed. “Alternatively they want to obtain critique and advice on a specific world that they’ve been building.”

Next Steps

Input from the first event will help determine subsequent DMU events. Carl said that possible changes could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to 72 hours, or trying out varied class arrangements.

“I expect that we do this regularly,” Carl expressed. “I would love to see numerous academy events in a calendar year, in various locations, and in multiple countries. The response has been really terrific. We're quite pleased with the results so far and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to conduct this in partnership with big conventions.”