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

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running deeply engaging experiences where experienced game masters run Dungeons & Dragons games in historic castles in Britain and at Landoll’s Mohican Castle. The full-service getaways are especially popular among career game masters who rarely get the opportunity to participate as players themselves, and they often seek advice from experts on topics ranging from improv and creating challenges to handling difficult situations at the table.

In response, the organizers began designing a organized method to tackle these topics, which led to the creation of the Dungeon Master Academy. The first session is planned for early January 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“It's possible to view countless online tutorials on almost every theme and acquire valuable insights, but the idea was that nothing truly replaces face-to-face interaction together with peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with faculty instructors and your peers who are probably in the same boat and seek to enhance their abilities,” noted Jason Carl.

Workshop Options and Pricing Tiers

DMs can opt for options ranging from just under $1,000 to $2,500, according to the level of access they desire with the instructors. The starting package includes a choice of four workshops:

• Core Techniques: Teaches the fundamentals of managing a session.
• Campaign Building: Centers on designing extended campaigns.
• Worldbuilding: Concentrates on the crafting of environments.
• Industry Advancement: Tailored to DMs who seek to understand more about the tabletop profession.

All workshops includes multiple sessions of classwork split over 48 hours.

“The courses are designed so that you walk away with tangible results, increased self-assurance, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These are sessions that you can join, learn from, and then return to your group the following week and implement in your local game.”

Expert Instructors

The majority of workshops are taught by two professors. Universe creation is taught by Monte Cook and the creator of Eberron, together instructing the craft of setting creation.

Industry advancement features several experts, such as Elisa Teague, an entertainment professional, and an early professional game master. The expanded teaching staff is intended to deliver focused advice to participants with specific goals.

“Certain participants plan to create their own real-play series and share their stories with the world, some of them want to publish and write original content,” Carl said. “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?”

Higher Tiers

A $1.5K enhanced option provides access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a brief one-on-one appointment with an instructor. This represents the debut of the program, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between game sessions at their castle events.

“One could practically host an full two days just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl said. “It's unclear if that’s the best use of everybody’s time – I think the formal instruction and the lab work is extremely important – but I think it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The twenty-five hundred dollar platinum tier offers an extended personal consultation and the chance to run a game for several participants plus a teacher, who will then give comments and coaching.

“The purpose is for the instructor to assess any element is concerned with: I struggle with spontaneous decisions or I encounter obstacles in this kind of combat situation. Can I run a situation for you and obtain advice on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl explained. “Alternatively they want to receive input and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been building.”

Coming Developments

Responses from the first event will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to three days, or trying out different seminar structures.

“I expect that we host such events frequently,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see numerous academy events in a given year, in various locations, and in multiple countries. The feedback has been really terrific. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be amazing to be able to conduct this in collaboration with major events.”