Keith Baker and Keith Baker Are Teaching Classes at DMU
Since 2018, a specialized event organizer has been organizing deeply engaging experiences where expert DMs lead fantasy roleplaying games in historic castles in England and at a U.S. castle resort. These all-inclusive trips are widely appreciated among forever DMs who rarely get the opportunity to actually play themselves, and they often ask for tips from experts on topics ranging from improvisation and creating challenges to dealing with tough scenarios at the table.
In response, the planners began developing a systematic approach to tackle these topics, which led to the creation of the Dungeon Master Academy. The debut workshop is set for early January 2026 at a university in Atlanta.
“There are thousands of YouTube videos on any topic and learn quite a lot, but the idea was that nothing truly replaces a live, hands-on session together with other dungeon masters, where direct communication with expert teachers and your fellow DMs who are probably in the same boat and also want to level up their game,” explained the program's dean.
Available Classes and Pricing Tiers
Game masters can choose from packages ranging from $995 to two thousand five hundred dollars, according to the amount of contact they desire with the instructors. The base tier includes selection from four classes:
- Skill Building: Focuses on the fundamentals of running D&D.
- Story Arc Development: Focuses around building persistent adventures.
- Setting Creation: Emphasizes the development of worlds.
- Professional Development: Aimed at DMs who want to learn more about the gaming industry.
All workshops includes multiple sessions of training divided across two days.
“The classes are designed so that you leave with usable skills, enhanced belief in your abilities, and a lot of usable tools,” Carl noted. “These aren't simple talks and they’re not just static videos. These are sessions that you can join, absorb insights from, and then head back to your table the week after and implement in your home campaign.”
Expert Instructors
The majority of workshops are led by a pair of experts. Setting design is guided by an industry veteran and Keith Baker, together instructing the craft of setting creation.
Professional development presents four different teachers, such as an author on gaming puzzles, an entertainment professional, and a pioneering DM. The additional faculty is designed to provide specialized information to students with specific goals.
“Certain participants aim to start their own live gameplay show and display their adventures with the world, several want to publish and write original content,” Carl explained. “Some just want to ask, How do I get to be a DM at a program like an immersive experience? What capabilities that I need? Can anyone do it?”
Advanced Options
A fifteen hundred dollar enhanced option includes access to a introductory event, a introductory package, and a half-hour consultation appointment with one of the faculty. This constitutes the first Dungeon Master Academy, though the organizers has previously run Castle Days during breaks between campaigns at their castle events.
“You could almost run an full two days just on consultation sessions for career game masters,” Carl said. “I'm not certain if that’s the most effective utilization of each attendee's hours – I believe the formal instruction and the lab work is extremely important – but I suspect it’s going to be among the most sought-after parts of the program.”
The $2,500 top package provides an 60-minute private session and the opportunity to lead a session for a small group plus an instructor, who will then offer feedback and instruction.
“The aim is for the faculty member to assess any element is focused on: Hey I don’t do well with improvisation or I get blocked in certain battle scenarios. Could I demonstrate a scenario for you and obtain advice on my areas of proficiency and challenge?” Carl detailed. “Or maybe they want to get feedback and information on a particular setting that they’ve been developing.”
Coming Developments
Input from the first event will help determine upcoming academy workshops. Carl suggested that possible changes could include increasing consultation time, extending the program to a longer period, or experimenting with different seminar structures.
“I hope that we conduct these very often,” Carl expressed. “I truly hope to see numerous academy events in a single year, in multiple places, and in various nations. The feedback has been overwhelmingly favorable. We're quite pleased with what we’re seeing and I feel it would be wonderful to be able to do this in collaboration with big conventions.”