What rpg system would you use for a 60+ session fantasy campaign?

[Elvish Lore]

It's a hypothetical question, with the following stipulations:

1. The campaign you'll be running will be at least 60 sessions long, more if you wish.
2. It's a fantasy campaign but the subgenre is whatever you want it to be. Heroic, grim-dark, military, whatever.
3. Can be any rpg system since the beginning of the hobby, out of print or currently published and you and your players have access to the materials.
4. Putting aside character death and character retirement in the course of playing, the intention is to run with the same characters for the entire campaign.
5. You have adequate time to read rules and prepare. Miraculous, i know... but for this hypothetical, you don't need to worry about that. You have the time.
6. Also don't worry about getting players - let's say you have them and they want to play and will learn the game if they don't already know it.
7. Let's say there's good online VTT support for whatever system you choose. I know, not realistic, but it's not a factor you need to consider if you would run this online.

So that's it. What system would you choose for a fantasy campaign of considerable duration given the stipulations above?

If you feel like you hate campaign durations of that length and wouldn't ever do this, good for you and there's no need for you to post in this thread. I'm looking for answer from people who might actually want to do something like this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[aco175]

I tend to just play D&D, so I am already playing 60+ sessions campaigns with that system. It works and we are still having fun.

 

[Reynard]

All things being equal and assuming no worries about getting players, I would probably say AD&D 2E. It's slow progression and emphasis away from dungeon crawling would support the 60 session idea. Note that I would import the Domain and War Machine rules from BECMI.

My honorable mention, not D&D answer is MERP: not in Middle Earth, but just using the stripped down Rolemaster rules.

There are lots of newer RPGs I would love to.ise except for the 60 session requirement. I don't feel like a lot of my other favorite games have that kind of longevity without seriously restructuring advancement.

 

[Thondor]

Well . . . my Dungeons Unleashed campaign game is around 20 sessions (a few were split sessions). That could go another dozen sessions easy. No sure I'll get the group back together -- lots of new kids. These were mostly done only, so it might restart.

I'd happily run a Hackmaster 5e game for 60 sessions, probably draw on some ideas from ACKS. But I wouldn't want to run Hackmaster online.

I haven't run either Fate of the Norns or Aegean yet (I have played FotN) and that may be a precursor before I would "plan" a long running game with either. I'd be interested to do so with both.

 

[Elvish Lore]

I tend to just play D&D, so I am already playing 60+ sessions campaigns with that system. It works and we are still having fun.

What version? Seems like it's hard to assume 5e anymore what with all the love 4e gets and nostalgia for AD&D nowadays.

 

[Umbran]

So that's it. What system would you choose for a fantasy campaign of considerable duration given the stipulations above?

It isn't hypothetical. When my Wild Beyond the Witchlight campaign ended, one of my players stepped up to give me a break and give me some time to work out what we'd do next!

I describe myself as a "service oriented GM" - I have my most fun when I am giving payers what they want. So, rather than just choose, I gave my players a bunch of questions about game styles, and then picked something that was close to what they wanted that I also liked.

We ended up with Savage Worlds - Deadlands: The Lost Colony. It isn't strictly fantasy, because we'd just done high fantasy, and they wanted a change.

 

[overgeeked]

For gritty but fun gaming, Dragonbane.

For Pirates of the Caribbean + Evil Dead, Pirate Borg.

For subtle absurdism, Modiphius’ Discworld. Or really any style as it’s incredibly light and versatile.

For over-the-top absurdism, Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme.

 

[Autumnal]

QuestWorlds or Fate Accelerated for me. They’ve got the kind of flexibility and extensibility I like. Doing it in Ironsworn would be an option for a small group who’d prefer it.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Umm...

I pretty much always run 60+ session campaigns. I've run them in 2e, 3e (twice), 5e, and am currently using PF2. And played in a few as well.

On the D&D branch and descendants, I've found that none of your stipulations are generally a problem. Going to other systems, that answer changes to some degree, but really, the issue isn't the system, it is the players. As long as their interest remains, the campaign can keep going.

There are some systems that are tightly focused on running one-shots/con-games, where the rules themselves aren't really supportive of long-term play. Others where the system officially enforces something that breaks one or more of your stipulations (usually "same character"). But even in those systems, it's quite possible to experience a long-term campaign with the same players, in the same world/setting.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Burning Wheel would be my first choice. Probably either something humanocentric set in a fantasy historical period or an all-dwarf campaign with a Dwarf Fortress vibe. If not that, for D&D, 4e Dark Sun.