🔗 Share this article Monte Cook and Keith Baker Will Lead Workshops at DMU Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where experienced game masters run D&D games in historic castles in Britain and at a U.S. castle resort. The comprehensive packages are widely appreciated among forever DMs who rarely get the moment to actually play themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to managing conflicts at the table. In response, the planners began designing a systematic approach to tackle these topics, which led to the establishment of the Dungeon Master Academy. The first session is planned for January 2-3, 2026 at Oglethorpe University. “You can watch numerous digital guides on virtually any subject and learn quite a lot, but the concept was that nothing truly replaces a live, hands-on session alongside other dungeon masters, where there’s live engagement with faculty instructors and your peers often in a similar position and also want to level up their game,” stated the program's dean. Course Offerings and Cost Levels DMs can select options ranging from $995 to $2,500, according to the level of access they desire with the professionals. The starting package includes one of four courses: Skill Building: Focuses on the fundamentals of leading a game. Story Arc Development: Focuses around building persistent adventures. Universe Design: Emphasizes the development of worlds. Career Building: Tailored to DMs who want to learn more about the tabletop profession. All workshops includes eight hours of training split over a weekend. “The workshops are created so that you depart having immediate practical outcomes, enhanced belief in your abilities, and many practical techniques,” Carl said. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These workshops that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the following week and put into practice in your local game.” Seasoned Educators The majority of workshops are led by a pair of experts. Worldbuilding is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the skill of universe design. Industry advancement presents multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, an entertainment professional, and a pioneering DM. The expanded teaching staff is intended to offer targeted guidance to attendees with specific goals. “Certain participants want to launch their own real-play series and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and develop fresh ideas,” Carl explained. “Several only seek to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like D&D in a Castle? What capabilities that I need? Is it for everyone?” Advanced Options A fifteen hundred dollar enhanced option offers access to a welcome reception, a welcome gift pack, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This constitutes the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between game sessions at their premium gatherings. “You could almost run an entire weekend just on office hours for career game masters,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the best use of all participants' schedule – In my opinion the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.” The twenty-five hundred dollar top package offers an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to lead a session for a small group plus one of the faculty members, who will then provide notes and guidance. “The purpose is for the instructor to evaluate whatever the DM is concerned with: I have difficulty with spontaneous decisions or I get blocked in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a scenario for you and receive input on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl said. “Or maybe they want to receive input and information on a definite universe that they’ve been building.” Next Steps Responses from the debut workshop will help guide subsequent DMU events. Carl said that possible changes could include expanding one-on-one sessions, extending the program to three days, or testing alternative workshop formats. “I expect that we conduct these very often,” Carl stated. “I truly hope to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a single year, in various locations, and in different countries. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with the results so far and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to organize these in collaboration with large gatherings.”
Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where experienced game masters run D&D games in historic castles in Britain and at a U.S. castle resort. The comprehensive packages are widely appreciated among forever DMs who rarely get the moment to actually play themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to managing conflicts at the table. In response, the planners began designing a systematic approach to tackle these topics, which led to the establishment of the Dungeon Master Academy. The first session is planned for January 2-3, 2026 at Oglethorpe University. “You can watch numerous digital guides on virtually any subject and learn quite a lot, but the concept was that nothing truly replaces a live, hands-on session alongside other dungeon masters, where there’s live engagement with faculty instructors and your peers often in a similar position and also want to level up their game,” stated the program's dean. Course Offerings and Cost Levels DMs can select options ranging from $995 to $2,500, according to the level of access they desire with the professionals. The starting package includes one of four courses: Skill Building: Focuses on the fundamentals of leading a game. Story Arc Development: Focuses around building persistent adventures. Universe Design: Emphasizes the development of worlds. Career Building: Tailored to DMs who want to learn more about the tabletop profession. All workshops includes eight hours of training split over a weekend. “The workshops are created so that you depart having immediate practical outcomes, enhanced belief in your abilities, and many practical techniques,” Carl said. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These workshops that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the following week and put into practice in your local game.” Seasoned Educators The majority of workshops are led by a pair of experts. Worldbuilding is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the skill of universe design. Industry advancement presents multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, an entertainment professional, and a pioneering DM. The expanded teaching staff is intended to offer targeted guidance to attendees with specific goals. “Certain participants want to launch their own real-play series and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and develop fresh ideas,” Carl explained. “Several only seek to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like D&D in a Castle? What capabilities that I need? Is it for everyone?” Advanced Options A fifteen hundred dollar enhanced option offers access to a welcome reception, a welcome gift pack, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This constitutes the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between game sessions at their premium gatherings. “You could almost run an entire weekend just on office hours for career game masters,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the best use of all participants' schedule – In my opinion the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.” The twenty-five hundred dollar top package offers an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to lead a session for a small group plus one of the faculty members, who will then provide notes and guidance. “The purpose is for the instructor to evaluate whatever the DM is concerned with: I have difficulty with spontaneous decisions or I get blocked in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a scenario for you and receive input on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl said. “Or maybe they want to receive input and information on a definite universe that they’ve been building.” Next Steps Responses from the debut workshop will help guide subsequent DMU events. Carl said that possible changes could include expanding one-on-one sessions, extending the program to three days, or testing alternative workshop formats. “I expect that we conduct these very often,” Carl stated. “I truly hope to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a single year, in various locations, and in different countries. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with the results so far and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to organize these in collaboration with large gatherings.”