Monte Cook along with Keith Baker Are Teaching Workshops at Dungeon Master University

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where expert DMs lead fantasy roleplaying games in ancient fortresses in England and at a U.S. castle resort. The comprehensive packages are highly favored among forever DMs who infrequently find the chance to join in the game themselves, and they often ask for tips from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and creating challenges to managing conflicts at the table.

In response, the organizers began developing a structured way to answer these inquiries, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is set for early January 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“You can watch numerous digital guides on almost every theme and acquire valuable insights, but the idea was that nothing compares to an in-person experience together with other dungeon masters, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and other game masters often in the same boat and also want to enhance their abilities,” stated the program's dean.

Available Classes and Pricing Tiers

Dungeon Masters can choose from packages ranging from $995 to $2.5K, based on the degree of interaction they desire with the experts. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:

• Skill Building: Teaches the basics of running D&D.
• Campaign Building: Focuses around building persistent adventures.
• Worldbuilding: Concentrates on the art of setting design.
• Professional Development: Aimed at dungeon masters who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.

Every class includes multiple sessions of classwork split over a weekend.

“The workshops are structured so that you walk away with tangible results, enhanced belief in your abilities, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl noted. “They’re not just lectures and they exceed pre-recorded material. These workshops that you can join, absorb insights from, and then head back to your table the week after and apply in your home campaign.”

Expert Instructors

Most classes are taught by two professors. Setting design is taught by the founder of Monte Cook Games and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the art of worldbuilding.

Career building features multiple instructors, such as an author on gaming puzzles, a podcast co-host, and an early professional game master. The additional faculty is meant to offer targeted guidance to participants with definite objectives.

“Some of them want to launch their own live gameplay show and present their narratives with the world, some of them want to publish and write original content,” Carl said. “Others simply wish to ask, What does it take to be a DM at an event like an immersive experience? What are the skills that I need? Is it for everyone?”

Higher Tiers

A $1.5K gold tier provides access to a welcome reception, a welcome gift pack, and a half-hour consultation appointment with a teacher. This represents the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the organizers has previously run similar events during breaks between adventures at their premium gatherings.

“It would be possible to organize an complete event just on consultation sessions for career game masters,” Carl mentioned. “I'm not certain if that’s the most effective utilization of each attendee's hours – I think the structured learning and the practical exercises is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The $2.5K top package includes an extended personal consultation and the possibility to manage an adventure for several participants plus a teacher, who will then offer feedback and guidance.

“The purpose is for the teacher to assess whatever the DM is focused on: Hey I don’t do well with spontaneous decisions or I get blocked in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a situation for you and obtain advice on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl explained. “Perhaps they want to receive input and information on a definite universe that they’ve been building.”

Future Plans

Feedback from the inaugural session will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that potential adjustments could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to three days, or trying out alternative workshop formats.

“I anticipate that we host such events frequently,” Carl stated. “I would love to see several DMU sessions in a given year, in different cities, and in different countries. The reception has been extremely positive. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to conduct this in partnership with big conventions.”