Monte Cook along with Keith Baker Will Lead Classes at DMU
Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs lead fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in Britain and at an American castle venue. The comprehensive packages are widely appreciated among forever DMs who seldom have the moment to join in the game themselves, and they often look for guidance from the pros on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to handling difficult situations at the table.
In response, the organizers began crafting a organized method to answer these inquiries, which led to the creation of Dungeon Master University. The first session is scheduled for the start of 2026 at Oglethorpe University.
“You can watch countless online tutorials on any topic and gain significant knowledge, but the idea was that there’s just no substitute a live, hands-on session together with peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with expert teachers and your peers likely in a similar position and also want to level up their game,” stated Jason Carl.
Available Classes and Ticket Packages
DMs can choose from tiers ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to $2.5K, according to the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:
- Skill Building: Teaches the essentials of running D&D.
- Long-Term Game Planning: Focuses around building persistent adventures.
- Universe Design: Emphasizes the development of worlds.
- Career Building: Tailored to DMs who want to learn more about the gaming industry.
All workshops includes multiple sessions of instruction spread over two days.
“The classes are designed so that you leave with immediate practical outcomes, increased self-assurance, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl noted. “It's more than presentations and they exceed pre-recorded material. These classes that you can participate in, absorb insights from, and then head back to your table the next week and implement in your local game.”
Expert Instructors
Most classes are taught by duo of instructors. Universe creation is guided by an industry veteran and a renowned campaign designer, jointly leading the craft of setting creation.
Career building includes multiple instructors, such as a puzzle design specialist, an entertainment professional, and an early professional game master. The expanded teaching staff is designed to provide specialized information to students with definite objectives.
“Certain participants want to launch their own real-play series and display their adventures with the world, some of them want to publish and develop fresh ideas,” Carl explained. “Several only seek to ask, What does it take to be a DM at something like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Is this achievable?”
Advanced Options
A $1,500 gold tier offers access to a welcome reception, a introductory package, and a half-hour consultation appointment with an instructor. This represents the debut of the program, though the team has previously run Castle Days during breaks between campaigns at their immersive experiences.
“You could almost run an complete event just on consultation sessions for professional dungeon masters,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of everybody’s time – I think the formal instruction and the hands-on activities is extremely important – but I think it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”
The twenty-five hundred dollar platinum tier provides an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to lead a session for five players plus one of the faculty members, who will then offer feedback and instruction.
“The goal is for the instructor to review whichever aspect is interested in: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I encounter obstacles in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a scenario for you and obtain advice on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl explained. “Alternatively they want to get feedback and advice on a specific world that they’ve been building.”
Next Steps
Responses from the first event will help determine future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl suggested that potential adjustments could include increasing consultation time, making it longer to three days, or trying out different seminar structures.
“I anticipate that we host such events regularly,” Carl expressed. “I really want to see numerous academy events in a given year, in various locations, and in multiple countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We're quite pleased with current developments and I feel it would be fantastic to be able to conduct this in conjunction with major events.”