Keith Baker along with Keith Baker Are Teaching Classes at DMU

Beginning in 2018, a specialized event organizer has been hosting deeply engaging experiences where professional dungeon masters lead D&D games in old manors in the UK and at an American castle venue. The comprehensive packages are widely appreciated among forever DMs who rarely get the moment to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from seasoned professionals on topics ranging from improv and crafting riddles to managing conflicts at the table.

In response, the organizers began developing a organized method to tackle these topics, which led to the creation of DMU. The first session is scheduled for the start of 2026 at a university in Atlanta.

“There are thousands of YouTube videos on any topic and acquire valuable insights, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to face-to-face interaction alongside peers in game mastering, where there’s live engagement with seasoned educators and other game masters often in a similar position and aim to enhance their abilities,” stated the program's dean.

Course Offerings and Pricing Tiers

Dungeon Masters can select tiers ranging from just under $1,000 to $2.5K, depending on the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The starting package includes selection from four classes:

• Skill Building: Focuses on the essentials of running D&D.
• Campaign Building: Is dedicated to crafting long-running games.
• Setting Creation: Highlights the development of worlds.
• Career Building: Designed for game masters who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.

Each course includes eight hours of training spread over two days.

“The workshops are structured so that you depart having tangible results, probably greater confidence, and many practical techniques,” Carl noted. “It's more than presentations and they exceed pre-recorded material. These workshops that you can join, learn from, and then go right back home the week after and put into practice in your home campaign.”

Seasoned Educators

The majority of workshops are led by duo of instructors. Setting design is led by the founder of Monte Cook Games and the creator of Eberron, both teaching the art of worldbuilding.

Industry advancement features several experts, such as a puzzle design specialist, Clint McElroy, and Hunter Fell. The additional faculty is designed to provide specialized information to attendees with definite objectives.

“Some of them want to launch their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, others want to publish and create new material,” Carl explained. “Some just want to ask, What's the path to be a DM at a program like D&D in a Castle? What are the skills that I need? Can anyone do it?”

Advanced Options

A $1.5K gold tier includes access to a welcome reception, a starter kit, and a 30-minute office hour appointment with an instructor. This constitutes the inaugural DMU session, though the team has previously run similar events during breaks between game sessions at their premium gatherings.

“One could practically host an complete event just on one-on-one meetings for career game masters,” Carl mentioned. “It's unclear if that’s the best use of each attendee's hours – 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 $2,500 platinum tier provides an hour of one-on-one time and the possibility to manage an adventure for several participants plus a teacher, who will then provide notes and coaching.

“The aim is for the instructor to review any element is concerned with: I have difficulty with improv or I feel stuck in certain battle scenarios. May I present a scene for you and get feedback on what my strengths and weaknesses are?” Carl said. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and information on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.”

Future Plans

Responses from the inaugural session will help shape subsequent DMU events. Carl mentioned that likely modifications could include adding more office hours, lengthening the event to three days, or testing different seminar structures.

“I expect that we host such events regularly,” Carl expressed. “I truly hope to see numerous academy events in a single year, in various locations, and in different countries. The feedback has been extremely positive. We’re very happy with current developments and I think it would be wonderful to be able to organize these in collaboration with major events.”