Keith Baker along with Monte Cook Are Teaching Classes at Dungeon Master Academy
Beginning in 2018, Tabletop Vacations has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs lead Dungeons & Dragons games in ancient fortresses in the UK and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are especially popular among career game masters who seldom have the moment to participate as players themselves, and they often look for guidance from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from spontaneous storytelling and crafting riddles to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.
In response, the organizers began crafting a systematic approach to address these questions, which led to the creation of DMU. The debut workshop is set for early January 2026 at a university in Atlanta.
“There are numerous digital guides on any topic and gain significant knowledge, but the concept was that nothing compares to a live, hands-on session alongside other dungeon masters, where there’s live engagement with faculty instructors and your peers often in the same boat and seek to enhance their abilities,” noted the program's dean.
Available Classes and Ticket Packages
DMs can select packages ranging from $995 to $2,500, depending on the amount of contact they desire with the professionals. The base tier includes selection from four classes:
- Skill Building: Covers the essentials of running D&D.
- Story Arc Development: Is dedicated to crafting long-running games.
- Setting Creation: Emphasizes the art of setting design.
- Professional Development: Designed for game masters who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.
All workshops includes eight hours of training spread over two days.
“The classes are created so that you depart having tangible results, probably greater confidence, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl noted. “It's more than presentations and they go beyond recorded content. These classes that you can attend, absorb insights from, and then head back to your table the week after and apply in your local game.”
Expert Instructors
Most classes are led by two professors. Worldbuilding is taught by Monte Cook and a renowned campaign designer, together instructing the craft of setting creation.
Professional development features several experts, such as an author on gaming puzzles, an entertainment professional, and an early professional game master. The extra instructors is intended to provide specialized information to participants with particular aims.
“Various attendees want to launch their own D&D actual play and share their stories with the world, some of them want to publish and create new material,” Carl said. “Some just want to ask, What's the path to be a DM at an event like a castle event? What capabilities that I need? Is it for everyone?”
Advanced Options
A fifteen hundred dollar premium package offers access to a welcome reception, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This marks the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the team has previously run comparable workshops during breaks between adventures at their castle events.
“It would be possible to organize an full two days just on consultation sessions for expert DMs,” Carl said. “I don’t know if that’s the most effective utilization of all participants' schedule – I think the coursework and the lab work is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”
The $2,500 platinum tier offers an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to run a game for five players plus a teacher, who will then give comments and instruction.
“The goal is for the faculty member to review any element is interested in: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I feel stuck in certain battle scenarios. May I present a scenario for you and receive input on where I excel and need improvement?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and information on a definite universe that they’ve been building.”
Next Steps
Responses from the inaugural session will help guide upcoming academy workshops. Carl said that potential adjustments could include expanding one-on-one sessions, lengthening the event to three days, or trying out different seminar structures.
“I expect that we host such events regularly,” Carl stated. “I would love to see several DMU sessions in a single year, in different cities, and in multiple countries. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with the results so far and I think it would be fantastic to be able to conduct this in conjunction with large gatherings.”