Keith Baker and Keith Baker Are Teaching Workshops at DMU

Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs lead fantasy roleplaying games in ancient fortresses in the UK and at a U.S. castle resort. These all-inclusive trips are highly favored among career game masters who infrequently find the opportunity to actually play themselves, and they often seek advice from the pros on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and puzzle design to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.

In response, the coordinators began developing a structured way to address these questions, which led to the creation of Dungeon Master University. The inaugural event is scheduled for January 2-3, 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“You can watch thousands of YouTube videos on any topic and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing truly replaces an in-person experience together with peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with seasoned educators and your peers often in the same boat and aim to enhance their abilities,” explained the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Cost Levels

DMs can choose from options ranging from $995 to $2,500, according to the degree of interaction they desire with the professionals. The starting package includes one of four courses:

• Foundational Skills: Covers the basics of managing a session.
• Campaign Building: Is dedicated to crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Emphasizes the development of worlds.
• Professional Development: Designed for DMs who want to learn more about the roleplaying business.

Each course includes two days of training divided across 48 hours.

“The classes are created so that you leave with tangible results, 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 join, absorb insights from, and then return to your group the week after and put into practice in your regular session.”

Expert Instructors

Many sessions are instructed by two professors. Worldbuilding is taught by Monte Cook and the creator of Eberron, jointly leading the skill of universe design.

Professional development presents multiple instructors, such as a puzzle design specialist, a podcast co-host, and an early professional game master. The expanded teaching staff is designed to provide specialized information to attendees with particular aims.

“Some of them aim to start their own live gameplay show and present their narratives with the world, some of them plan to produce and write original content,” Carl stated. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at an event like an immersive experience? What capabilities that I need? Is this achievable?”

Higher Tiers

A fifteen hundred dollar gold tier offers access to a introductory event, a welcome gift pack, and a brief one-on-one appointment with one of the faculty. This represents the debut of the program, though the company has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their castle events.

“You could almost run an complete event just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl mentioned. “I don’t know if that’s the most effective utilization of each attendee's hours – In my opinion the structured learning and the practical exercises is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be one of the most popular parts of the program.”

The $2,500 platinum tier offers an extended personal consultation and the possibility to lead a session for five players plus an instructor, who will then provide notes and instruction.

“The aim is for the instructor to review whatever the DM is interested in: Hey I don’t do well with improv or I get blocked in specific fight encounters. Could I demonstrate a scene for you and obtain advice on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl said. “Alternatively they want to obtain critique and guidance on a definite universe that they’ve been building.”

Coming Developments

Input from the inaugural session will help shape subsequent DMU events. Carl suggested that potential adjustments could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to a longer period, or testing different seminar structures.

“I expect that we do this very often,” Carl expressed. “I really want to see several DMU sessions in a single year, in different cities, and in various nations. The feedback has been really terrific. We're quite pleased with current developments and I feel it would be fantastic to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”