Campaigns: How long is too long?

[der_kluge]

I started a 5th edition Wilderlands campaign earlier this year. We play every other Sunday for about 6 hours. So far we're having a blast, and becoming more comfortable with the rules. I'm using a heavily modified version of the Tomb of Abysthor as the dungeon, which encourages a lot of sandbox play. Between that, and the town, they've got lots of things on their list of things to do.

They also recently (unbeknownst to them) found the first piece of the Rod of Seven Parts. Which means I now have an excuse to send them all over the freaking world (and given the Wilderlands, that presents ALL KINDS of interesting possibilities). They are currently 3rd level. I don't use XP - I just level them up whenever I feel it is appropriate.

I don't plan to run the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set as is - I might run small pieces of it, or I might adhere to some of the flavor of it, but whereas that campaign has pieces 4+5 together, I'll likely pull them apart and create two different adventures around each.

I've also been sitting around reading the Caverns of Thracia today, as a possible place to put another rod piece. It might be a little low level for them by the time they get to it, but I could adjust that as needed. But it's obviously HUGE, and so I might have to look at it with an eye towards scaling it back if at all possible, although I don't know how feasible that is.

But it got me to wondering - and brings me to the point of this thread. 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.

 

[TwoSix]

2 years or 30 sessions, whichever comes first, is about my limit. Time to give the DM a break at that point.

 

[Campbell]

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.

 

[Jhaelen]

Why would a campaign ever be too long? As long as everyone's still enjoying it, why stop?

My D&D 3e campaign lasted for about 14 years. But it actually was the only one of my campaigns so far that didn't fizzle out but came to a satisfying conclusion.
I think it's worth mentioning, that in the end the highest character level was 15. I don't think a single character made it through the entire campaign.

It's much more common that a campaign ends because of DM 'burnout' or the group (slowly, but steadily) dissolving. 2-3 years appears to be the usual lifetime.

What I wouldn't recommend is to actually plan for a (much) longer campaign. Apart from a very broad general idea where things might eventually lead, I rarely detail anything beyond the next adventure. I very much prefer to prepare a bunch of encounters and events that may or may not turn out to be 'important' for the greater picture. It's my players' actions and reactions that determine how things develop.

 

[Lylandra]

It totally depends on the campaign. And on your stamina as a DM.

For example, a really good, character-heavy AP like campaign lasts as long as there is story to be told. Our current two AP based campaigns are already at 30 and 12 sessions and we're not really done yet. Epic stories like these need a good ending.

We also had a more episodic long-term Planescape campaign where we switched DMs from time to time. Again, as this was our first camapign we played together we wanted to explore everything, starting at level 3 and playing all the way up to 38 over years. We went from fetching materials for a shoppe in Sigil to cosmic relationships (up to the point where no one but me wanted to DM because I was the only one who'd happily juggle the schemes of Iyactu Xvim, the Princes of Shade, Jergal and our party on a political level. It was crazy, but also a lot of fun).

Other campaigns were far more brief, though.

 

[Caliburn101]

It should be axiomatic really, but a Campaign should go on as long as the players and GM are enjoying it.

Of course high level play becomes a pain in a long term campaign unless it is suddenly invaded by large numbers of varied belligerent demigods or some other ridiculous threat (like a mad alchemist cloning the Tarrasque with wings!), so actually, D&D (unlike skill based advancement rpgs) has a limit set by levelling power creep... but that can be modified heavily by slowing the pace of levelling of course.

 

[3ArmSally]

It depends one the people playing and the rules chosen. If players don't take ownership of the world (leading armies/nations/organizations, trying to achieve godhood, or starting families) high level D&D can become repetitive unless you move out to The Planes. Meanwhile an intrigue game like Vampire could go on for ten years and still seem fresh as mysteries unfold and subtleties shift about in the background. Opposite side of the coin if your Paranoia campaign goes two adventures you are doing it very wrong.
The real core of campaign length is based on goals and interest. If the player continue to see living vital characters instead of numbers on a page they'll keep coming back. Numbers are fun, but the Monster Manual only has so many pages, people will get bored. If a game master sees running as a job he/she will lose interest. Players need to take over and guide play at some point, people who can cast wish and slay armies shouldn't be waiting for a new dungeon they should be using their influence proactively.
Currently, due to everyone in my group having busy lives/families we target 6-9 months per campaign, finish the story arc and have a new GM run a new campaign using a new rule set. It's been our experience that when a player gets bored and they're older than thirty they just stop coming and it's hard to win them back.

 

[CydKnight]

When the Party and the DM collectively decide it's gone on long enough.

As for the campaign I currently DM, I have told the players that we can take it as far and as long as everyone wants. They are currently all at level 5 and I have told them I currently have material that would get them through level 12 and I can always come up with more beyond that if they wish. Alternatively, if they do not wish to continue that far with this campaign, I can always use the material I have gathered in other campaigns.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

It’s hard to say. Some people’s campaigns last 6 months, then there are others that are still running the same campaign from the AD&D days. But I think when a campaign is done, you just know it. It becomes harder for the DM to come up with ideas. The players get either bored or disruptive and restless, or just stop coming to gaming. When the fun starts to slip, I think that’s when it’s time to start closing things down. Predicting when that will be, to finish before you hit that point, that’s not easy. You have to really know your players, and know yourself. For my part, I know that I don’t particularly enjoy high-level play, so when the PCs get to the teens, I start looking at how to conclude the campaign on a satisfying note.

 

[Lanefan]

Too long? TOO long???

What is this strange blasphemy you speak?

You're worried that your campaign might go on as long as 4 years - I'd be worried if I was starting a campaign with only 4 years worth of projected storyboard.

Otherwise, this...

It’s hard to say. Some people’s campaigns last 6 months, then there are others that are still running the same campaign from the AD&D days. But I think when a campaign is done, you just know it. It becomes harder for the DM to come up with ideas. The players get either bored or disruptive and restless, or just stop coming to gaming. When the fun starts to slip, I think that’s when it’s time to start closing things down. Predicting when that will be, to finish before you hit that point, that’s not easy. You have to really know your players, and know yourself. For my part, I know that I don’t particularly enjoy high-level play, so when the PCs get to the teens, I start looking at how to conclude the campaign on a satisfying note.

...kinda says it all. Well put.

Lan-"there's many ways to spin a campaign out to last longer"-efan