Monte Cook and Keith Baker Will Lead Workshops at DMU

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running immersive events where expert DMs manage Dungeons & Dragons games in old manors in England and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among forever DMs who seldom have the moment to participate as players themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and creating challenges to handling difficult situations at the table.

In response, the organizers began designing a structured way to address these questions, which led to the founding of the Dungeon Master Academy. The inaugural event is planned for January 2-3, 2026 at Oglethorpe University.

“You can watch thousands of YouTube videos on almost every theme and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that there’s just no substitute an in-person experience in the company of other dungeon masters, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your peers likely in a similar position and aim to enhance their abilities,” noted the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Ticket Packages

Dungeon Masters can choose from tiers ranging from just under $1,000 to two thousand five hundred dollars, based on the degree of interaction they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:

• Foundational Skills: Focuses on the essentials of leading a game.
• Long-Term Game Planning: Focuses around crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Highlights the art of setting design.
• Industry Advancement: Designed for dungeon masters who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

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

“The courses are designed so that you leave with tangible results, increased self-assurance, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl explained. “These aren't simple talks and they’re not just static videos. These workshops that you can attend, learn from, and then go right back home the week after and apply in your regular session.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are taught by two professors. Setting design is taught by an industry veteran and a renowned campaign designer, jointly leading the art of worldbuilding.

Industry advancement includes several experts, such as an author on gaming puzzles, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The extra instructors is designed to provide specialized information to students with definite objectives.

“Some of them plan to create their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and create new material,” Carl explained. “Several only seek to ask, What does it take to be a DM at something like D&D in a Castle? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Premium Packages

A $1.5K enhanced option provides access to a welcome reception, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with an instructor. This represents the debut of the program, though the organizers has previously run Castle Days during breaks between game sessions at their immersive experiences.

“It would be possible to organize an full two days just on office hours for career game masters,” Carl mentioned. “I'm not certain if that’s the optimal application of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the coursework and the practical exercises is too valuable – but I suspect it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar platinum tier offers an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to run a game for several participants plus one of the faculty members, who will then give comments and guidance.

“The goal is for the instructor to assess whatever the DM is interested in: I struggle with spontaneous decisions or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a scenario for you and get feedback on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl said. “Perhaps they want to get feedback and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been creating.”

Future Plans

Feedback from the first event will help shape future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl mentioned that potential adjustments could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to three days, or testing alternative workshop formats.

“I hope that we host such events regularly,” Carl expressed. “I would love to see numerous academy events in a given year, in multiple places, and in various nations. The feedback has been extremely positive. We're quite pleased with what we’re seeing and I believe it would be fantastic to be able to conduct this in partnership with big conventions.”