Keith Baker and Keith Baker Are Teaching Workshops at Dungeon Master University
Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been running immersive events where expert DMs lead fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in England and at an American castle venue. The full-service getaways are highly favored among long-time dungeon masters who rarely get the chance to participate as players themselves, and they often look for guidance from experts on topics ranging from improvisation and puzzle design to managing conflicts at the table.
In response, the organizers began designing a structured way to answer these inquiries, which led to the creation of the Dungeon Master Academy. The first session is planned for early January 2026 at an Atlanta campus.
“There are numerous digital guides on any topic and gain significant knowledge, but the philosophy was that there’s just no substitute an in-person experience in the company of other dungeon masters, where real-time interaction with faculty instructors and your peers likely in comparable situations and seek to improve their skills,” noted the program's dean.
Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers
Dungeon Masters can select options ranging from just under $1,000 to two thousand five hundred dollars, based on the level of access they desire with the professionals. The starting package includes one of four courses:
- Foundational Skills: Focuses on the essentials of managing a session.
- Long-Term Game Planning: Centers on building persistent adventures.
- Setting Creation: Concentrates on the art of setting design.
- Professional Development: Tailored to game masters who seek to understand more about the tabletop profession.
Every class includes multiple sessions of classwork spread over a weekend.
“The workshops are designed so that you walk away with usable skills, probably greater confidence, and numerous applicable methods,” Carl noted. “They’re not just lectures and they go beyond recorded content. These are sessions that you can attend, gain knowledge from, and then return to your group the following week and apply in your local game.”
Professional Teachers
Many sessions are taught by a pair of experts. Universe creation is guided by an industry veteran and the creator of Eberron, together instructing the craft of setting creation.
Professional development features several experts, such as an author on gaming puzzles, Clint McElroy, and an early professional game master. The extra instructors is meant to provide specialized information to students with definite objectives.
“Some of them want to launch their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and write original content,” Carl stated. “Several only seek to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like D&D in a Castle? Which abilities that I need? Is it for everyone?”
Advanced Options
A $1,500 premium package includes access to a opening gathering, a introductory package, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with a teacher. This constitutes the debut of the program, though the company has previously run similar events during breaks between campaigns at their immersive experiences.
“You could almost run an complete event just on office hours for professional dungeon masters,” Carl observed. “I'm not certain if that’s the optimal application of everybody’s time – In my opinion the coursework and the practical exercises is highly beneficial – but I believe it’s going to be a highly favored parts of the program.”
The twenty-five hundred dollar platinum tier includes an 60-minute private session and the chance to lead a session for a small group plus a teacher, who will then give comments and instruction.
“The purpose is for the faculty member to assess whichever aspect is concerned with: I struggle with spontaneous decisions or I feel stuck in this kind of combat situation. May I present a scenario for you and receive input on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl said. “Perhaps they want to get feedback and guidance on a specific world that they’ve been building.”
Next Steps
Feedback from the debut workshop will help shape upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that likely modifications could include increasing consultation time, lengthening the event to three days, or trying out alternative workshop formats.
“I expect that we do this regularly,” Carl stated. “I would love to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a given year, in various locations, and in different countries. The response has been overwhelmingly favorable. We’re very happy with what we’re seeing and I believe it would be fantastic to be able to do this in conjunction with big conventions.”
