Monte Cook along with Monte Cook Are Teaching Classes at DMU

Beginning in 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where expert DMs run fantasy roleplaying games in ancient fortresses in the UK and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among forever DMs who rarely get the chance to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improvisation and crafting riddles to managing conflicts at the table.

In response, the coordinators began developing a structured way to address these questions, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The inaugural event is set for the start of 2026 at Oglethorpe University.

“There are countless online tutorials on any topic and learn quite a lot, but the idea was that nothing truly replaces face-to-face interaction alongside fellow DMs, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your peers likely in comparable situations and aim to level up their game,” noted the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Cost Levels

Game masters can select tiers ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the level of access they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:

• Skill Building: Covers the fundamentals of leading a game.
• Long-Term Game Planning: Is dedicated to crafting long-running games.
• Worldbuilding: Concentrates on the crafting of environments.
• Professional Development: Aimed at DMs who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

Every class includes multiple sessions of instruction split over 48 hours.

“The courses are designed so that you depart having usable skills, increased self-assurance, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl noted. “These aren't simple talks and they’re not just static videos. These workshops that you can join, learn from, and then head back to your table the week after and put into practice in your local game.”

Expert Instructors

The majority of workshops are taught by a pair of experts. Worldbuilding is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and Keith Baker, both teaching the skill of universe design.

Industry advancement features four different teachers, such as Elisa Teague, Clint McElroy, and Hunter Fell. The expanded teaching staff is meant to offer targeted guidance to participants with particular aims.

“Some of them want to launch their own D&D actual play and display their adventures with the world, others aim to release and create new material,” Carl explained. “Some just want to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like an immersive experience? What are the skills that I need? Is this achievable?”

Premium Packages

A $1.5K enhanced option offers access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with one of the faculty. This represents the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the company has previously run similar events during breaks between adventures at their castle events.

“You could almost run an full two days just on consultation sessions for career game masters,” Carl observed. “I don’t know if that’s the best use of everybody’s time – I think the formal instruction and the practical exercises is extremely important – but I believe it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The $2.5K premium option includes an extended personal consultation and the opportunity to run a game for five players plus one of the faculty members, who will then give comments and coaching.

“The aim is for the instructor to review whatever the DM is focused on: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I get blocked in certain battle scenarios. Can I run a scenario for you and receive input on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl said. “Alternatively they want to obtain critique and guidance on a specific world that they’ve been creating.”

Next Steps

Feedback from the first event will help guide subsequent DMU events. Carl mentioned that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, lengthening the event to 72 hours, or experimenting with varied class arrangements.

“I anticipate that we do this regularly,” Carl said. “I would love to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a calendar year, in multiple places, and in multiple countries. The response has been really terrific. We're quite pleased with current developments and I think it would be amazing to be able to do this in conjunction with big conventions.”