Keith Baker along with Keith Baker Are Teaching Workshops at Dungeon Master Academy

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs manage Dungeons & Dragons games in historic castles in the UK and at a U.S. castle resort. These all-inclusive trips are especially popular among forever DMs who seldom have the chance to join in the game themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the coordinators began designing a systematic approach to answer these inquiries, which led to the establishment of DMU. The inaugural event is scheduled for early January 2026 at Oglethorpe University.

“You can watch numerous digital guides on almost every theme and gain significant knowledge, but the idea was that there’s just no substitute face-to-face interaction alongside peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with seasoned educators and your peers who are probably in the same boat and seek to enhance their abilities,” stated Jason Carl.

Available Classes and Ticket Packages

Dungeon Masters can select tiers ranging from just under $1,000 to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes a choice of four workshops:

• Skill Building: Focuses on the essentials of running D&D.
• Story Arc Development: Is dedicated to building persistent adventures.
• Setting Creation: Emphasizes the development of worlds.
• Industry Advancement: Designed for dungeon masters who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.

Every class includes two days of training divided across a weekend.

“The courses are created so that you leave with usable skills, probably greater confidence, and many practical techniques,” Carl noted. “They’re not just lectures and they go beyond recorded content. These are sessions that you can attend, gain knowledge from, and then return to your group the following week and put into practice in your regular session.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are instructed by two professors. Worldbuilding is taught by an industry veteran and the creator of Eberron, together instructing the art of worldbuilding.

Career building features multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, a podcast co-host, and a pioneering DM. The expanded teaching staff is meant to provide specialized information to attendees with particular aims.

“Various attendees want to launch their own real-play series and display their adventures with the world, several plan to produce and create new material,” Carl explained. “Several only seek to ask, What's the path to be a DM at something like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Advanced Options

A $1.5K gold tier includes access to a welcome reception, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This constitutes the debut of the program, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between campaigns at their immersive experiences.

“One could practically host an complete event just on office hours for career game masters,” Carl observed. “I'm not certain if that’s the optimal application of all participants' schedule – In my opinion the coursework and the practical exercises is too valuable – but I believe it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”

The $2.5K top package offers an 60-minute private session and the possibility to run a game for five players plus a teacher, who will then give comments and guidance.

“The aim is for the teacher to review any element is concerned with: I struggle with improvisation or I get blocked in specific fight encounters. Can I run a situation for you and get feedback on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl explained. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and information on a definite universe that they’ve been creating.”

Coming Developments

Input from the debut workshop will help shape future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl mentioned that potential adjustments could include increasing consultation time, making it longer to a longer period, or trying out different seminar structures.

“I expect that we conduct these regularly,” Carl stated. “I really want to see several DMU sessions in a given year, in multiple places, and in different countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I think it would be fantastic to be able to do this in partnership with large gatherings.”