Monte Cook along with Keith Baker Will Lead Sessions at DMU

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where experienced game masters manage Dungeons & Dragons games in old manors in Britain and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. These all-inclusive trips are highly favored among long-time dungeon masters who rarely get the moment to participate as players themselves, and they often seek advice from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and puzzle design to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the coordinators began developing a systematic approach to address these questions, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is scheduled for early January 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“There are countless online tutorials on virtually any subject and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that nothing truly replaces face-to-face interaction in the company of fellow DMs, where direct communication with seasoned educators and other game masters likely in comparable situations and aim to improve their skills,” explained the program's dean.

Available Classes and Cost Levels

DMs can choose from tiers ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to two thousand five hundred dollars, based on the degree of interaction they desire with the professionals. The entry-level option includes one of four courses:

• Core Techniques: Focuses on the basics of running D&D.
• Long-Term Game Planning: Focuses around designing extended campaigns.
• Worldbuilding: Emphasizes the art of setting design.
• Industry Advancement: Designed for DMs who seek to understand more about the roleplaying business.

Each course includes multiple sessions of training split over a weekend.

“The courses are designed so that you walk away with immediate practical outcomes, increased self-assurance, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl said. “It's more than presentations and they’re not just static videos. These classes that you can participate in, learn from, and then go right back home the week after and implement in your local game.”

Seasoned Educators

The majority of workshops are taught by duo of instructors. Worldbuilding is taught by an industry veteran and the creator of Eberron, jointly leading the skill of universe design.

Industry advancement features multiple instructors, such as Elisa Teague, Clint McElroy, and Hunter Fell. The extra instructors is meant to deliver focused advice to participants with definite objectives.

“Certain participants aim to start their own D&D actual play and present their narratives with the world, some of them want to publish and create new material,” Carl stated. “Some just want to ask, How do I get to be a DM at an event like an immersive experience? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Higher Tiers

A $1.5K premium package offers access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This constitutes the inaugural DMU session, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their premium gatherings.

“You could almost run an full two days just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the best use of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the structured learning and the hands-on activities is extremely important – but I suspect it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”

The $2,500 premium option includes an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to lead a session for a small group plus a teacher, who will then give comments and instruction.

“The purpose is for the instructor to review whichever aspect is concerned with: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I encounter obstacles in certain battle scenarios. Can I run a situation for you and get feedback on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl said. “Alternatively they want to get feedback and advice on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.”

Coming Developments

Feedback from the first event will help shape future Dungeon Master University sessions. Carl said that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, making it longer to 72 hours, or testing different seminar structures.

“I hope that we host such events frequently,” Carl said. “I really want to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a calendar year, in various locations, and in various nations. The feedback has been really terrific. We're extremely satisfied with what we’re seeing and I think it would be wonderful to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”