Monte Cook and Keith Baker Are Instructing Sessions at DMU

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where professional dungeon masters run D&D games in old manors in the UK and at an American castle venue. The comprehensive packages are especially popular among forever DMs who infrequently find the opportunity to participate as players themselves, and they often look for guidance from experts on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and crafting riddles to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the planners began crafting a systematic approach to answer these inquiries, which led to the establishment of DMU. The inaugural event is scheduled for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“You can watch numerous digital guides on any topic and acquire valuable insights, but the concept was that there’s just no substitute face-to-face interaction alongside fellow DMs, where direct communication with faculty instructors and your peers who are probably in the same boat and seek to level up their game,” noted the dean of Dungeon Master University.

Course Offerings and Ticket Packages

Game masters can choose from tiers ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to $2.5K, based on the level of access they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes one of four courses:

• Skill Building: Teaches the basics of managing a session.
• Story Arc Development: Focuses around crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Highlights the art of setting design.
• Industry Advancement: Aimed at game masters who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

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

“The courses are created so that you depart having usable skills, increased self-assurance, and many practical techniques,” Carl said. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These workshops that you can participate in, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the next week and implement in your home campaign.”

Seasoned Educators

Most classes are led by duo of instructors. Universe creation is guided by an industry veteran and Keith Baker, together instructing the skill of universe design.

Career building presents four different teachers, such as an author on gaming puzzles, an entertainment professional, and Hunter Fell. The expanded teaching staff is intended to provide specialized information to students with definite objectives.

“Certain participants plan to create their own live gameplay show and share their stories 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 a program like D&D in a Castle? What are the skills that I need? Is this achievable?”

Premium Packages

A fifteen hundred dollar enhanced option provides access to a introductory event, a welcome gift pack, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This represents the inaugural DMU session, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their immersive experiences.

“You could almost run an entire weekend just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I'm not certain if that’s the best use of all participants' schedule – I believe the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I suspect it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The $2,500 premium option includes an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to manage an adventure for several participants plus one of the faculty members, who will then provide notes and guidance.

“The goal is for the faculty member to review any element is concerned with: I have difficulty with improv or I get blocked in this kind of combat situation. May I present a situation for you and obtain advice on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.”

Next Steps

Responses from the first event will help determine subsequent DMU events. Carl suggested that possible changes could include adding more office hours, lengthening the event to three days, or experimenting with different seminar structures.

“I hope that we host such events frequently,” Carl stated. “I truly hope to see several DMU sessions in a single year, in different cities, and in multiple countries. The reception has been really terrific. We’re very happy with what we’re seeing and I think it would be amazing to be able to conduct this in partnership with large gatherings.”