🔗 Share this article Monte Cook and Monte Cook Are Instructing Classes at Dungeon Master Academy Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where professional dungeon masters lead D&D games in old manors in England and at an American castle venue. The full-service getaways are highly favored among forever DMs who rarely get the opportunity to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and creating challenges 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 DMU. The debut workshop is planned for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus. “It's possible to view countless online tutorials on virtually any subject and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to an in-person experience together with fellow DMs, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your fellow DMs likely in a similar position and aim to improve their skills,” explained Jason Carl. Workshop Options and Cost Levels DMs can choose from packages ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to $2.5K, depending on the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes one of four courses: Foundational Skills: Teaches the fundamentals of running D&D. Long-Term Game Planning: Focuses around building persistent adventures. Setting Creation: Emphasizes the crafting of environments. Professional Development: Aimed at dungeon masters who aim to explore more about the gaming industry. All workshops includes multiple sessions of classwork split over a weekend. “The courses are structured so that you leave with immediate practical outcomes, enhanced belief in your abilities, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they’re not just static videos. These classes that you can join, learn from, and then go right back home the next week and implement in your local game.” Professional Teachers Many sessions are led by a pair of experts. Setting design is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and Keith Baker, both teaching the craft of setting creation. Industry advancement features four different teachers, such as a puzzle design specialist, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The extra instructors is meant to deliver focused advice to participants with definite objectives. “Some of them want to launch their own live gameplay show and share their stories with the world, several aim to release and develop fresh ideas,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at an event like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?” Premium Packages A $1,500 premium package includes access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a brief one-on-one appointment with an instructor. This marks the debut of the program, though the team has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between game sessions at their castle events. “It would be possible to organize an entire weekend just on one-on-one meetings for expert DMs,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of everybody’s time – I believe the structured learning and the practical exercises 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 premium option provides an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to run a game for five players plus a teacher, who will then offer feedback and guidance. “The aim is for the faculty member to review any element is interested in: I have difficulty with improv or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a situation for you and get feedback on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.” Coming Developments Feedback from the first event will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that likely modifications could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to three days, or testing different seminar structures. “I hope that we host such events very often,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see several DMU sessions in a calendar year, in different cities, and in different countries. The feedback has been really terrific. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be fantastic to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”
Since 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been organizing immersive events where professional dungeon masters lead D&D games in old manors in England and at an American castle venue. The full-service getaways are highly favored among forever DMs who rarely get the opportunity to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and creating challenges 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 DMU. The debut workshop is planned for January 2-3, 2026 at an Atlanta campus. “It's possible to view countless online tutorials on virtually any subject and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to an in-person experience together with fellow DMs, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your fellow DMs likely in a similar position and aim to improve their skills,” explained Jason Carl. Workshop Options and Cost Levels DMs can choose from packages ranging from nearly a thousand dollars to $2.5K, depending on the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes one of four courses: Foundational Skills: Teaches the fundamentals of running D&D. Long-Term Game Planning: Focuses around building persistent adventures. Setting Creation: Emphasizes the crafting of environments. Professional Development: Aimed at dungeon masters who aim to explore more about the gaming industry. All workshops includes multiple sessions of classwork split over a weekend. “The courses are structured so that you leave with immediate practical outcomes, enhanced belief in your abilities, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they’re not just static videos. These classes that you can join, learn from, and then go right back home the next week and implement in your local game.” Professional Teachers Many sessions are led by a pair of experts. Setting design is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and Keith Baker, both teaching the craft of setting creation. Industry advancement features four different teachers, such as a puzzle design specialist, a podcast co-host, and Hunter Fell. The extra instructors is meant to deliver focused advice to participants with definite objectives. “Some of them want to launch their own live gameplay show and share their stories with the world, several aim to release and develop fresh ideas,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, What does it take to be a DM at an event like a castle event? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?” Premium Packages A $1,500 premium package includes access to a introductory event, a starter kit, and a brief one-on-one appointment with an instructor. This marks the debut of the program, though the team has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between game sessions at their castle events. “It would be possible to organize an entire weekend just on one-on-one meetings for expert DMs,” Carl observed. “It's unclear if that’s the optimal application of everybody’s time – I believe the structured learning and the practical exercises 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 premium option provides an hour of one-on-one time and the chance to run a game for five players plus a teacher, who will then offer feedback and guidance. “The aim is for the faculty member to review any element is interested in: I have difficulty with improv or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. Could I demonstrate a situation for you and get feedback on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and guidance on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.” Coming Developments Feedback from the first event will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that likely modifications could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to three days, or testing different seminar structures. “I hope that we host such events very often,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see several DMU sessions in a calendar year, in different cities, and in different countries. The feedback has been really terrific. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I feel it would be fantastic to be able to do this in conjunction with major events.”