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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
David Barnett

‘Theatre of the mind’: celebrating 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons

Sam Gyseman, left, who has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 1986, enjoys a game with friends.
Sam Gyseman, left, who has been playing Dungeons & Dragons since 1986, enjoys a game with friends. Photograph: Sam Gyseman

Everyone remembers their first Dungeons & Dragons character. For Sam Gyseman, it was a dwarf called Sven Olafson. “For some reason I thought dwarves were all Scandinavian,” says Gyseman, who lives in the Midlands and works for the local city council. “He had a long beard and a huge, double-headed axe.”

For Erik Olsen, his character in his first game was a cleric called Maxis. “We played an adventure called The Lichway,” says Olsen, a university professor. “He died from a spider bite in that dungeon. Because it was the first adventure I played, it has always had a special place in my heart.”

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