D&D 5E How many of your campaigns ACTUALLY ever get to 20th level?

[wedgeski]

Pretty much never. The highest I've ever got, proportionately, was 14th level in AD&D. We also achieved 14th in a 3E campaign.

 

[Aenghus]

My highest level character in 2e was 20th level, though designed at high level. The highest level PC I played from 1st level rose to 12th level.

My own campaigns all aim to rise to high level. My 3rd ed campaign went to 23rd level, but became increasingly work-intensive. My previous 4e campaign rose to 20th level, and the PCs in my current 4e game just levelled to 19th so it's very likely most of them will get to 20th.

Campaign longetivity requires a number of prerequisites, primary amongst them being interest from the referee and players in continuing the campaign. Some players and referees get bored and want to regularly switch PCs or campaigns.

 

[Quartz]

Campaign longetivity requires a number of prerequisites, primary amongst them being interest from the referee and players in continuing the campaign. Some players and referees get bored and want to regularly switch PCs or campaigns.

This. Sometimes it's nice to play a shortish arc instead. Say 5 levels. And you pick a start point which might be 1st or 10th or 25th.

 

[Haffrung]

Campaign longetivity requires a number of prerequisites, primary amongst them being interest from the referee and players in continuing the campaign. Some players and referees get bored and want to regularly switch PCs or campaigns.

Let's not forget survivability. Unless the DM is fudging or pulling punches, the cumulative odds of an eventual TPK get higher and higher the more you play.

Frequency of play is also a huge factor. You pretty much have to be playing weekly to advance from 1-20. If you play monthly (which I know is the case for a lot of older games with families), it's almost impossible.

 

[evilbob]

Never in D&D. Best we got was level 13 in 3.5 from level 1, and also hit level 12 once from level 6. In 4.0 we started at 21 once and didn't even level up once; the characters were so stinkin' complex my group rebelled completely after two sessions.

Gotten to what would be the equivalent of "max level" in other games, though.

 

[Prism]

Our longest running campaign has been through a number of different systems

1st - 14th level was a hybrid rolemaster/Ad&d 2nd edition
15th - 18th level was d&d 3.5
19th - 23rd level was 4th edition

We will put something together for epic play 5th edition. We don't really do much actual adventuring anymore and probably don't need many rules at this point

Other campaigns tend to run up to 12th - 14th

 

[Grazzt]

My players hit upper 20's/low 30's with a couple of PCs back in 1e/2e. Those PCs have since retired (long ago actually) and the players that originally played them (that still play in our game) are playing their sons/daughters in the current campaign, and in some cases will likely end up playing their kids (grand-kids of the original PCs...same homebrewed campaign world we've played in since the 80's).

The original come out of retirement every so often, but now function almost as NPCs and advisors to others (including their offspring).

 

[Serendipity]

3 or 4 actually, though I've been gaming since 1981. Though two of those were WotC era editions. (Easier to reach the higher levels then but much less fun IMO.)

 

[pickin_grinnin]

When I was in my teens and 20s (back in the 80s and early 90s), they frequently got that high, because I had lots of free time to game and lots of friends who were into it.

These days I have trouble finding people to play with, much less people who will stay in it for the long haul.

 

[Serendipity]

When I was in my teens and 20s (back in the 80s and early 90s), they frequently got that high, because I had lots of free time to game and lots of friends who were into it.

These days I have trouble finding people to play with, much less people who will stay in it for the long haul.

Isn't that the truth!
I didn't really have any problems finding people until I moved...a few months before the 4e rollout left everyone holding hands and singing Kumbaya.
Possibly wasn't the best time to seek new players in a new state is all I'm saying. Nowadays I've got two and even then scheduling is a PITA. Being a responsible adult (or facilimile thereof) sucks sometimes.