Monte Cook along with Monte Cook Will Lead Classes at DMU

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where expert DMs run fantasy roleplaying games in ancient fortresses in Britain and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among forever DMs who seldom have the opportunity to join in the game themselves, and they often seek advice from experts on topics ranging from improv and creating challenges to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the planners began developing a organized method to address these questions, which led to the creation of the Dungeon Master Academy. The inaugural event is set for the start of 2026 at an Atlanta campus.

“You can watch countless online tutorials on virtually any subject and acquire valuable insights, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to an in-person experience in the company of peers in game mastering, where real-time interaction with seasoned educators and your peers who are probably in comparable situations and also want to improve their skills,” stated the program's dean.

Available Classes and Pricing Tiers

Game masters can opt for tiers ranging from $995 to $2,500, according to the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The starting package includes selection from four classes:

• Foundational Skills: Teaches the basics of leading a game.
• Long-Term Game Planning: Centers on designing extended campaigns.
• Setting Creation: Emphasizes the art of setting design.
• Career Building: Designed for game masters who want to learn more about the gaming industry.

Every class includes two days of training divided across 48 hours.

“The classes are structured so that you walk away with usable skills, increased self-assurance, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl noted. “They’re not just lectures and they go beyond recorded content. These are sessions that you can join, learn from, and then head back to your table the next week and apply in your home campaign.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are led by duo of instructors. Setting design is guided by the founder of Monte Cook Games and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the art of worldbuilding.

Professional development presents several experts, such as a puzzle design specialist, a podcast co-host, and an early professional game master. The extra instructors is meant to deliver focused advice to attendees with specific goals.

“Various attendees plan to create their own D&D actual play and display their adventures with the world, some of them want to publish and create new material,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at a program like an immersive experience? Which abilities that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Advanced Options

A $1,500 premium package offers access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with an instructor. This constitutes the debut of the program, though the organizers 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 professional dungeon masters,” Carl mentioned. “It's unclear if that’s the best use of all participants' schedule – I think the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I suspect it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The $2,500 premium option provides an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to run a game for five players plus a teacher, who will then give comments and guidance.

“The aim is for the teacher to evaluate whichever aspect is focused on: Hey I don’t do well with improv or I encounter obstacles in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a situation for you and get feedback on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl detailed. “Perhaps they want to get feedback and guidance on a specific world that they’ve been creating.”

Coming Developments

Responses from the first event will help shape future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl suggested that potential adjustments could include increasing consultation time, making it longer to three days, or trying out alternative workshop formats.

“I expect that we conduct these very often,” Carl expressed. “I really want to see several DMU sessions in a given year, in various locations, and in multiple countries. The reception has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with the results so far and I think it would be fantastic to be able to organize these in conjunction with major events.”