Learn How to Become a DM
Our online course helps young Dungeons & Dragons fans create and run their own games and become confident leaders—both at the gaming table and in real life.
Dragon Leaders: An Online Course for Aspiring Dungeon Masters
If you’re the member of your friend group daring enough to tackle the role of Dungeon Master, it’s virtually guaranteed that you’ll always have interested players flocking to your games. Dungeon Mastering is an art, and it’s not something that every casual D&D player is interested in doing.
Even if you’ve played a lot of D&D, trying to DM for the first time can feel…intimidating.
How do you overcome writer’s block to come with cool campaign ideas?
What do you need to prepare in advance, and what can be made up as you go along?
How do you create an interesting villain that won’t accidentally wipe out your whole party?
What exactly are you supposed to do during a Session Zero?
Fear not! We have gathered the wisdom of our professional Dungeon Masters to get aspiring DMs started on their journey.
By the end of the course, students will have created an original game that they can confidently run for friends and fans.
Wondering How to Be a Good DM? Start Here.
At Young Dragonslayers, we specialize in running online, homebrew games for kids and teens. We have run thousands of hours’ worth of D&D with players from across the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
In Dragon Leaders, we pass on everything our team has learned about good DM-ing to you. Students will learn the techniques our professional Game Masters use to create compelling, original content for our players.
But it takes more than technical skill to be a good Dungeon Master. Plenty of folks have deep D&D knowledge, but that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically do a great job behind the DM screen.
Truly excellent DMs have leadership skills: they can read a room, resolve issues between players, and handle unexpected setbacks. We’ll teach those skills, too.
Learn Leadership Skills That Go Beyond D&D
Dungeon Mastering is the gaming equivalent of building an airplane while also flying the airplane: you’re creating a story in real time, while also performing in the story, and responding to whatever chaotic decisions your party members happen to make. It requires creativity, flexibility, and confidence. Plus, you are leading a team: you need to be able to read the room and notice how your players are feeling.
91% of students say they feel more comfortable being a Dungeon Master after taking our course. 85% say they feel more comfortable leading a group in general. We like those odds!
You won’t find these “soft skills” listed in the Player’s Handbook. It’s not the easiest thing to learn them at school, either—especially if a kid isn’t enthusiastic about team sports or extracurriculars. While leadership skills can definitely help you excel as a Dungeon Master, they’re equally as important outside of the game.
Through learning to DM, Dragon Leaders students also learn about:
Managing perfectionism
Flexible thinking and creative problem-solving
Perspective-taking
Public speaking
Collaboration
Frustration tolerance
Conflict resolution
…and a lot more. Research suggests that developing SEL skills in childhood has positive impacts for the rest of a person’s life. The World Economic Forum predicts that social skills will be as important as STEM skills in the future job market. Why not learn leadership in a way that’s fun?
An Online, Self-Paced “How to DM” Course for Teens
Short videos + helpful worksheets = your map to Dungeon Mastering Greatness.
The course is divided into 5 chapters, each of which focuses on a different aspect of Dungeon Mastery. Inside, you’ll find bite-sized videos (around 5 minutes long) that you can watch at your own pace. Each chapter includes a worksheet to record your ideas and reference when you run your game.
Even though you’re watching videos on your own, you’ll still be learning by doing: this course teaches you skills by helping you build your own “one-shot” (single session) Dungeons & Dragons adventure. That means you’ll leave with a creation you can share with friends and the skills to confidently lead your party to victory.
Here’s what’s included:
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Spark your creativity, find sources of inspiration, and beat writer’s block as you com up with an original concept for your one-shot game that both you and your players will love.
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Learn about classic story structure, and how it can help you figure out what plot points and scenes to prepare in advance to create a well-paced story.
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Learn how to create helpful and interesting non-player characters (NPCs), compelling villains, and take a crash course on voice and speech so you can perform your characters confidently.
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Learn the top 5 traits and habits we’ve found all great DMs have in common…and how you can easily bring them to your own sessions.
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Sometimes even the best-laid plan doesn’t work out the way you expected. Don’t panic! We’ll discuss how to handle the most common problems you’ll encounter during game play.
Ready to lead?
Who Should Learn How to DM with Us?
This course was designed for young D&D fans who are already familiar with the game and ready to take their skills to the next level. It’s the best fit for middle and high school students between the ages of 11 and 16.
Dragon Leaders is a good fit if you or your child…
Has played D&D before and knows the rules
Is self-motivated to “level up” their skills
Is between the ages of 11 and 16
Wants to develop leadership skills and expertise in a non-traditional way (encouraged, but not required!)
Dragon Leaders is not a good fit if you or your child…
Is completely new to the world of D&D
Is not self-motivated to learn a new skillset
Is younger than 11 or older than 16
Feels totally uncomfortable with the idea of being the leader of a group of peers
Ready to Become the Next Great Dungeon Master?
We can’t wait to get you started on your journey to Dungeon Mastering greatness. When you join Dragon Leaders, you’ll get access to:
3.5 hours of self-paced video content, divided into bite-sized lessons
5 worksheets to help you design and run your D&D game
Bonus content, including a list of our favorite DM resources, a leadership skills checklist for parents, and tips on how to use AI in your campaign
You can access the course for $199. Once you’ve enrolled, you’re free to complete it at your own pace.
We can’t wait to hear all about the campaign you create!
Frequently Asked Dungeon Mastering Questions
If you’ve made it to the bottom of this page, you must be really interested in becoming (or helping your child become) an expert Dungeon Master. Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions about the Dragon Leaders course.
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The course costs $199. If you're also joining us for a 10-week game group, it's available at a discounted rate along with that purchase.
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Yes. Students will want to have a solid grasp of the basic rules of D&D before starting this course. If your child is a total newbie, start with our weekly game groups.
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Students or parents can email us any time if they get stuck or need help navigating the course material. We're here to help!
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Being a Dungeon Master is basically the fantasy version of managing a team: you are helping your fellow adventurers to achieve a common goal. Sometimes this means challenging them, other times it means making sure they feel comfortable enough to take a risk. There's a lot of public speaking involved, and a fair amount of creative problem-solving, too.
This course was created by both a therapist and a professional DM. We've intentionally added relevant leadership skills into each chapter of the course, and outlined them in our skills checklist for interested parents.
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Yes. If your child is just here for the D&D skills, they won't feel like they've stumbled into an after school special with this course. There's so much overlap between "good DM-ing" and "good leadership" that the skills we've incorporated don't feel out of place. They're useful for every aspiring Dungeon Master!
Looking for something a little different? Check out our other services here:
D&D for Kids | D&D for Teens | Parties & Events | D&D Intro Classes
Still have questions? Check out our FAQ.