Monte Cook and Monte Cook Will Lead Classes at DMU
Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been organizing deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs manage Dungeons & Dragons games in old manors in Britain and at an American castle venue. These all-inclusive trips are highly favored among long-time dungeon masters who infrequently find the chance to join in the game themselves, and they often seek advice from experts on topics ranging from improvisation and crafting riddles to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.
In response, the coordinators began designing a structured way to tackle these topics, which led to the founding of Dungeon Master University. The debut workshop is planned for the start of 2026 at a university in Atlanta.
“You can watch countless online tutorials on almost every theme and learn quite a lot, but the philosophy was that nothing compares to face-to-face interaction alongside peers in game mastering, where direct communication with faculty instructors and your peers often in a similar position and also want to enhance their abilities,” stated the program's dean.
Available Classes and Pricing Tiers
DMs can opt for tiers ranging from $995 to $2.5K, depending on the level of access they desire with the instructors. The entry-level option includes a choice of four workshops:
- Foundational Skills: Covers the fundamentals of leading a game.
- Long-Term Game Planning: Is dedicated to crafting long-running games.
- Setting Creation: Highlights the art of setting design.
- Professional Development: Designed for DMs who seek to understand more about the gaming industry.
Every class includes two days of classwork divided across two days.
“The courses are created so that you leave with immediate practical outcomes, probably greater confidence, and many practical techniques,” Carl explained. “It's more than presentations and they’re not just static videos. These workshops that you can participate in, gain knowledge from, and then go right back home the following week and put into practice in your local game.”
Expert Instructors
Most classes are taught by a pair of experts. Universe creation is taught by Monte Cook and a renowned campaign designer, both teaching the craft of setting creation.
Industry advancement presents four different teachers, such as an author on gaming puzzles, a podcast co-host, and an early professional game master. The expanded teaching staff is intended to deliver focused advice to participants with particular aims.
“Various attendees plan to create their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, some of them aim to release and create new material,” Carl said. “Several only seek to ask, What does it take to be a DM at a program like an immersive experience? Which abilities that I need? Can anyone do it?”
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 represents the inaugural DMU session, though the company has previously run Castle Days during breaks between adventures at their premium gatherings.
“One could practically host an entire weekend just on one-on-one meetings for expert DMs,” Carl observed. “I'm not certain if that’s the most effective utilization of everybody’s time – In my opinion the formal instruction and the hands-on activities is extremely important – but I believe it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”
The $2,500 platinum tier provides an extended personal consultation and the opportunity to lead a session for a small group plus an instructor, who will then provide notes and guidance.
“The goal is for the faculty member to review whichever aspect is concerned with: Hey I don’t do well with spontaneous decisions or I encounter obstacles in certain battle scenarios. Can I run a scene for you and obtain advice on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to obtain critique and information on a definite universe that they’ve been building.”
Coming Developments
Input from the first event will help guide upcoming academy workshops. Carl mentioned that likely modifications could include expanding one-on-one sessions, making it longer to three days, or experimenting with alternative workshop formats.
“I hope that we host such events very often,” Carl said. “I truly hope to see multiple Dungeon Master Universities in a calendar year, in different cities, and in different countries. The reception has been really terrific. We're extremely satisfied with the results so far and I believe it would be amazing to be able to conduct this in partnership with big conventions.”
