der_kluge
Adventurer
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.
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.