Robert A. Wardhaugh
Robert Wardhaugh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert A. Wardhaugh |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Employer | University of Western Ontario |
| Known for | Hosting the longest uninterrupted game of Dungeons & Dragons |
Robert A. Wardhaugh is a Canadian historian known as a host of the longest uninterrupted Dungeons & Dragons campaign. As of 2023[update], the game has been going on for 42 years, since 1982.
Career[edit]
Wardhaugh is a professor at University of Western Ontario, author of several books on Canadian political history.[1] Before that, he worked at the University of Manitoba.[2]
Dungeons and Dragons campaign[edit]
Wardhaugh is known as a host and Dungeon master of the longest uninterrupted Dungeons & Dragons campaign. His game world is vast and incorporates "an 'alternate version of our Earth' which also includes the continent of Tolkien's Middle Earth, picking up 400 years after the destruction of the One Ring".[3][4] He runs the game based on AD&D 1st edition rules, though the rules changed over the years. "Permadeath" is a rule, meaning that when a character dies in a game the player can't continue the game.[2] The games' website describes it as:
Because the world is an alternative fantasy version of historical Earth, you can choose from any pre-gunpowder society: Roman, Greek, Celtic, Norse, Indigenous, Aztec, Mayan, Incan, Scythian, Persian, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, African, Babylonian, Sumerian, Phoenician, Assyrian, Slavic, Frankish, Spanish, etc. It is important to remember, however, that these civilizations are placed on their own unique historical timelines. So, some events from our history have happened, while others have not (and will not). Also, remember that you can choose to come from Middle Earth (400 years after the One Ring has been destroyed) or Hyboria (Conan’s world, 500 years after Conan’s death).[5]
Wardaugh started this campaign in 1982, and he said that: "Perhaps 3 weeks has been the longest we've ever gone without a session".[3] The game was covered by Popular Mechanics,[3] Wired,[6] and PC Gamer.[2] Wardaugh created more than 30,000 miniatures for the game. He stated that he wants to run the game as long as he can, "hopefully for all my life, I won't lose my friends."[2]
The campaign's duration has made it dynastic, with players—of which there have been more than 50—playing the children of their previous characters over the course of generations. Permadeath is embraced, and Wardhaugh says, "When your character dies, if you don't have any other characters, you're out of the game." All told, he says "about 500 characters" have come and gone over the past 40 years.[2]
Selected bibliography[edit]
- (with Barry Ferguson) The Rowell-Sirois Commission and the Remaking of Canadian Federalism (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2021)
- Behind the Scenes: The Life and Work of W.C. Clark (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010)
- Mackenzie King and the Prairie West (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000)
- (with Alan MacEachern) Origins: Canadian History to Confederation, 8th ed., Nelson, 2017
- (with Alan MacEachern) Destinies: Canadian History since Confederation, 8th ed. Nelson, 2017.
References[edit]
- ^ "Robert A. Wardhaugh". history.uwo.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Jody Macgregor (1 May 2022). "This D&D campaign has been running for 40 years". PC Gamer. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ a b c Grossman, David (25 October 2017). "This Dungeons & Dragons Game Has Been Going On for 35 Years". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "'This is my passion,' says man who's been running Dungeons & Dragons campaign for over 38 years". cbc.ca. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "A continually-run D&D campaign, since 1982". Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Inside the 40 Year-Long Dungeons & Dragons Game | Obsessed | WIRED". Wired. Retrieved 26 May 2022.