Every game franchise has its most dedicated members, whether they choose to put hours of their time in to play time, creating art for others to enjoy, or deep-diving for theories in the code. Dungeons & Dragons is a prime example of a franchise that draws in super passionate players, who are known to participate in "Epic" mega-DnD games just for the fun of it.
Many Dungeons & Dragons players have a party they've stuck with for months or even years, but not a lot of people can top a super long DnD campaign. Most campaigns follow sourcebooks, official adventures, or a DM homebrew, the first two being designed to end at a certain point and the last often petering out when people get bored with the campaign or have other commitments take priority.
Robert Wardhaugh is a Canadian DM for a game of Dungeons & Dragons that has been going on since 1982, and it's showing no signs of stopping yet, even in a pandemic. The game started with a group of four players, but has grown to include a mind-boggling 60, which is a number intimidating to even the best and most experienced Dungeon Masters.
Wardhaugh says that the biggest change to his group during the pandemic is that they can't play in-person at his home, but that hosting sessions multiple times a week over Zoom has allowed the game to keep going, especially for members that live as far away as Great Britain. He also credits his own background as a history professor with making the game so diverse and intricate, which has kept the game interesting for so long.
This game is quite different from other DnD games, as the DM and his players have adapted the rules significantly over the years to better suit the various play styles around the table. When Wardhaugh started his game, Dungeons & Dragons was still in its first edition, and has since come as far as 5e and people are talking more and more about if and when the sixth edition will come out. Wardhaugh and his players have created their own version of the game that's suited to them the best, which must be a very unique campaign indeed.
Wardhaugh says he has no intention of ending the game any time soon, and that he's loved that his outspoken love for Dungeons & Dragons have drawn his own daughter and some of his university students into enjoying their own campaigns. According to Wardhaugh, the game's ultimate objective was to keep his close friend group together, and since he's been able to create an intriguing DnD game for them, he has accomplished that goal.
Source: CNN