Campaigns: How long is too long?

Sunseeker · May 4, 2017

Having never played in a campaign longer than a year, I can't really say. I like big campaigns, but I like them in parts. I think as long as the game is interesting and people are willing to play, "how long" should be an issue for if the DM wants to take a break or not. Though I favor "taking breaks" (speaking from a weekly session perspective) every other month or so.

bkwrm79 · May 5, 2017

Campbell said:
I prefer what I call season play to campaign play. We play about 12-15 sessions of one game depending on where we find a good breaking point. Then we play a different game for awhile. Sometimes a game will get a 2nd or 3rd season if there is enough appeal to go back.

This is what my group does, at least in theory. Everyone gets chances to run and play (if anyone didn't want to run that would have been fine). I'm really enjoying running a VTR campaign, but after two more sessions we will rotate, and I'll come back to it with more energy eventually.

Blue · May 5, 2017

The last two campaigns I ran totaled 8 years and the current one is in it's 3rd and still has a while to go, but that's that group. And I love running log sandbox-y-ish games.

The game I'm playing in now about eight months, but it's at a game store with set seasons.

The longest running game I was in was well over a decade, but it was like five interwoven campaigns with crossover with very similar players where we picked which we were going to do based on attendance.

But many I've played in are under 2 years, and some are under one year. Depends on the DM and the group.

was · May 5, 2017

...We usually determine campaign length by character level. Usually somewhere around 10th to 12th level we get tired and start a new one.

uzirath · May 5, 2017

der_kluge said:
When is a campaign too long? In my mind, this thing could easily go for 4 years, depending on how much complexity I decide to include, and how many things the party decides to venture off on tangents for.

As others have said, it all depends on the particular group and storyline. Ruleset matters to a lesser degree, though I've found that once people are fully engaged with the story/world, they don't pay much attention to mechanical advancement. I've run a few 3-4 year D&D campaigns and a 10 year GURPS campaign in the same world. That latter game would have kept going if I hadn't moved away. By the end of it, most players had a few dozen unspent character points that they banked until something in the story piqued their interest in new abilities ("Hmm, could I convince the swamp witches to teach me how to make those nifty snake tooth amulets?").

Have fun!

Tony Vargas · May 5, 2017

der_kluge said:
But it got me to wondering - and brings me to the point of this thread. When is a campaign too long?

When the DM burns out on it. My current campaign has been going since late 2011, I'm taking my second break from it - the whole month of May 'off' - due to burnout.

In my mind, this thing could easily go for 4 years, depending on how much complexity I decide to include, and how many things the party decides to venture off on tangents for.

Not too long for a campaign, IMHO. I've known campaigns to go 5+ and even 10 years. If your group's that stable, great.

S'mon · May 6, 2017

Well I think my 5.5 year, 29 level 4e Loudwater campaign went a bit long. It would have been stronger I think as 3-4 years and 20 levels. I think most successful campaigns tend to have a natural lifespan in the 2-4 year range. For 5e for typical group play I think playing through the 20 levels and some time at 20 is plenty.