Keith Baker and Monte Cook Are Teaching Workshops at Dungeon Master University

Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs lead Dungeons & Dragons games in ancient fortresses in England and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are highly favored among forever DMs who seldom have the moment to actually play themselves, and they often look for guidance from experts on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and crafting riddles to managing conflicts at the table.

In response, the planners began crafting a structured way to address these questions, which led to the creation of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is set for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“There are countless online tutorials on almost every theme and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to a live, hands-on session together with other dungeon masters, where direct communication with faculty instructors and your peers likely in the same boat and aim to level up their game,” explained Jason Carl.

Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers

DMs can choose from packages ranging from just under $1,000 to $2.5K, based on the degree of interaction they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes one of four courses:

• Foundational Skills: Teaches the fundamentals of managing a session.
• Campaign Building: Centers on designing extended campaigns.
• Worldbuilding: Emphasizes the art of setting design.
• Industry Advancement: Designed for dungeon masters who aim to explore more about the gaming industry.

All workshops includes multiple sessions of training spread over two days.

“The workshops are designed so that you depart having usable skills, enhanced belief in your abilities, and many practical techniques,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These classes that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then go right back home the week after and implement in your regular session.”

Professional Teachers

The majority of workshops are taught by duo of instructors. Universe creation is guided by Monte Cook and a renowned campaign designer, jointly leading the skill of universe design.

Professional development presents multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, an entertainment professional, and an early professional game master. The expanded teaching staff is meant to deliver focused advice to students with specific goals.

“Some of them plan to create their own D&D actual play and share their stories with the world, several want to publish and write original content,” Carl stated. “Some just want to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Advanced Options

A $1,500 premium package provides access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This marks the debut of the program, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their premium gatherings.

“You could almost run an entire weekend just on office hours for career game masters,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the structured learning and the practical exercises is highly beneficial – but I think it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The $2,500 top package provides an extended personal consultation and the opportunity to lead a session for a small group plus one of the faculty members, who will then provide notes and guidance.

“The goal is for the teacher to assess any element is focused on: I have difficulty with spontaneous decisions or I feel stuck in certain battle scenarios. May I present a scenario for you and obtain advice on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl explained. “Alternatively they want to receive input and guidance on a definite universe that they’ve been building.”

Future Plans

Responses from the first event will help shape future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl suggested that potential adjustments could include expanding one-on-one sessions, extending the program to a longer period, or testing varied class arrangements.

“I expect that we conduct these regularly,” Carl expressed. “I would love to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a single year, in different cities, and in different countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”