D&D General How long has your Current Group gamed together?

[FitzTheRuke]

My after hours group has been together since 2007, though someone new just joined us last week. Does he count if I've gamed with the new guy before, but not as part of that particular group? It was probably even earlier than 2007 - and again a few times in 2015 or so. Some of the group had met him before.

My other groups change quite frequently, being learning sessions for new players.

 

[pablomaz]

I'm 43. I've been playing with my (high) school group since 1995. Ten years ago, a guy joined us when one of our friends from school decided he didn't like RPGs anymore . In 2018, another guy joined us after we had transitioned to online gaming. So, yeah, even by your criteria, it's more than five years.

 

[Lanefan]

Took in a new player (who had played in other campaigns long ago but not yet this one) last spring. Another player came back after a 9-year gap (same campaign).

The last time I took in a player new to our greater crew was probably 2012 or so.

And for these purposes can we ignore lockdown gaps? (during lockdown I only had one player but we kept it going)

What we have is a fairly stable (these days) large group of players and DMs who play in a group of campaigns, sometimes overlapping; similar to a large adventuring company from which various field parties emerge. The central core of that group has been in place since the early 80s, the outer core since the early 90s.

And so, my vote would be both "less than 6 months" and "5 years or more", as both are true as I see it.

 

[pukunui]

I voted for more than 5 years but that only applies to one of my four groups.

The group I play in just got a new player, so yeah, it’s one week old in that respect. The other players and the DM are all long-term. I’ve been playing with them since late 4e.

My main DM group has been together for more than 5 years. We’re just finishing up a 3-year Mad Mage campaign, and we have had people come and go but the core group is still the same.

My other group includes my wife and a couple who are friends of ours. I’ve been DMing for them since 5e started but my children have since joined as they’ve gotten old enough, with my youngest being the most recent.

And then I also started running Witchlight just for my family last year.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Just a poll to see. I'm actually curious what the half life of a D&D group is.

My "current" group has been running for about 18 years or so. However, only my son has been through most of the iterations. A particular person lasts about 6 months to 8 years or so. People move, friends get busy or fall out, some are a poor fit for your style of game.

There's a young couple that are joining my game in the next 2-3 weeks, ironically. A young romance, I can't help but wonder who will stay after the tragic but inevitable break-up.

 

[Shiroiken]

My current group, minus one player, has been together since the D&D Next Playtest. We've lost several along the way, going from a group of 9 down to a group of 6 (including DM), picking up only 1 player about a year and a half ago. Personally I'm fine with the smaller group, even though it means we occasionally have to miss sessions due to lack of attendance.

 

[Voadam]

I currently have three regular groups for the first time in my life (not counting play by post games).

The first face to face group I am currently in I joined in I think 2010. The most recent change to that group happened two to three years ago I think when one person moved out of state. Of the four of us in the 2010 group three are still with the group which now numbers six (a friend I brought in a few weeks after joining also is still with us so for his group of five to start four are still gaming together).

My online fantasy grounds game group I joined in 2019, one other guy (the same one who I brought into the face to face game) joined two years ago I think.

My second face to face group did a specific defined length campaign early in 2024 as an improv-rpg class then started up a second open ended one with some different members in July.

 

[Hussar]

Wow. That’s some seriously stable groups.

I think, although this is just my gut feeling, that one of the primary reasons why people have such differing views on the game has so much to do with this sort of thing - group stability, length of campaign, single dm groups vs rotating DMs. That sort of thing.

I think it’s really probably the first thing to nail down when talking about the game. Because the perspectives that people have about the game will be so incredibly influenced by these sort of realities that aren’t really directly part of the game itself.

 

[payn]

Wow. That’s some seriously stable groups.

I think, although this is just my gut feeling, that one of the primary reasons why people have such differing views on the game has so much to do with this sort of thing - group stability, length of campaign, single dm groups vs rotating DMs. That sort of thing.

I think it’s really probably the first thing to nail down when talking about the game. Because the perspectives that people have about the game will be so incredibly influenced by these sort of realities that aren’t really directly part of the game itself.

Yeap, I dont ever commit to long or open campaigns with folks I dont know. I start with one shots, organized play, playtests, etc.. I work my way up to a stable gaming group and then start a long campaign.

 

[jmartkdr2]

All three groups are "almost ten years now".

Edit: didn't realize you meant "in the exact current makeup" - so two of them are about two years when we started new campaigns and recruited new members.