How long do your campaigns last, then and now?

[Odhanan]

I now realize most of my campaigns last more than a few years. Most of my campaign arcs are linked to each other in some way, which creates some sort of 'tapestry' most players are not even aware of.

I also notice that my campaigns are getting longer. I agree from my own XP that this has much to do with being older and next to nothing to do with the actual game system.

 

[Piratecat]

My first post-college campaign (1e, 1989 --> 2e, 1991) was about 3 years. My second (2e, 1992 --> 3e --> 3.5e, 2006) is at 14 years and counting. We'll probably finish next year.

I could never have run this long a game in 2e; the higher levels just didn't scale well enough for my taste.

 

[Wombat]

Back in OD&D days, it was, "Campaign? You mean there is something other than disconnected dungeons?"

In the D&D 3.Wombat days, the three campaigns each lasted, on average, 14 months.

 

[Shade]

In the old days, most of our campaigns lasted somewhere between six months and two years. Since character options were so limited and there was little point in playing past 9th level, we tended to reboot frequently.

Both our current 3E campaigns began at the dawn of 3E and are still going strong into epic levels.

 

[BryonD]

Conversely, my 3E campaigns last much shorter. Despite being much better at managing my time, my entire gaming group is older, and thus we have a greater number of responsibilities (ie - jobs, spouses, kids) pulling at us, leaving much less time to play in general, and causing major disruptions to campaigns, causing most to peter out.

For me it isn't a time management thing. It is that I find myself enjoying an on-going game more than rushing into one idea and then rushing off to another. Which is how I used to play.

 

[drothgery]

Hmm... the 2e campaigns I played in lasted 2-4 years, and the 3e games I've played in have lasted 9-18 months. But the 2e games were every other week, while I was in college and classes were in session (i.e. about half the year, by the time you factored out summers, term breaks, and weekends when the DM had too much homework); the 3e games are almost every week (excepting holidays and when players were missing due to vacations, business trips, or other stuff) year round. So there's at least as much time of actual gaming involved in the 3e games.

 

[shilsen]

Only ran one campaign in 2e, clocking in at just under 6 months.

In 3e, there have been three, one just under a year in length, one that went 1.5 years, and one that's also 1.5 years and going.

 

[MonsterMash]

Very similar with all editions so far 1-2 years usually.

 

[Dykstrav]

Campaign Length

My 1E/2E campaigns always lasted longer than any of the 3E campaigns I've done so far. My last serious 2E campaign lasted just shy of 3 years, and would have kept going on strong had I not moved out of state.

My first 3E campaign (that I DMed) lasted right around 16 months with regular weekly marathon sessions. We concluded that one because the story goal was reached. Epic-level characters (started from 1st level) taking on Baalzebul in Maladomini. Good times.

Every other 3E campaign I've been involved in since then (as either a player or DM) has typically lasted about six months. The sessions are also much shorter- typically around 2-3 hours as opposed to the 8-10 hour sessions of my previous games. I personally believe this trend has more to do with the way the game is set up than personal preferences.

In my experience, high-level D&D tends to break apart for most DMs. There are only so many times that a credible threat challenges the PCs before there is some sort of status quo reached. If the characters put down an evil cult in their low-level days, then the king will ask them to do it again now that they are around 12th-level, right? This sort of setup makes perfect sense in terms of the setting, but makes for a poor adventure unless it challenges the characters in some new way and interests the players.

Every DM has their own idea about what "high level" is. (I personally think characters hit high levels around 10-12, and certainly by 15th.) Unless the DM enjoys and is skilled at dealing with high-level games, of course they're going to break down over time. It just seems to happen far more frequently in 3E games from what I've seen.

3E is set up so that (roughly) 13 encounters appropriate to your APL gets you a level. 260-some encounters (to get to 20th level) goes by alot faster than you might think. One of the things I've been doing to slow down my games (without being blatant about it) is stocking the dungeons with hordes upon hordes of low-level monsters instead of only monsters appropriate to the APL. The players seem to enjoy this- they get to mow down swaths of enemies that play to Cleave, area effect spells and the like. It's just as much of a challenge because the characters have to decide if they're going to use their awesome spells on a huge pack of piddly 2 HD monsters or try to save them for a tougher encounter later. Encounters can be challenging and even deadly with monsters far below the APL.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Red Box / AD&D Days - 4 to 6 years
3E - 6 months to a year but closer to 6 months.