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

[aco175]

Some of the idea of a long campaign also depends on session length and not just on number of sessions. My group tends to just play for 2 hours so we have lots of sessions.

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

We play 5e right now while we finish the current campaign and will use 5.5e when we start a new campaign.

I'm not sure I would want to play an older edition of D&D. I mean I liked all of them at the time but there is also a reason I sold all those books.

 

[Blue]

My last four campaigns lasted 3-7 years each, so this is a practical questions for me, not theoretical.

Specifying both fantasy and the players willing to learn, then it's 13th Age 2nd edition.

13th Age is my favorite D&D-like RPG, including every version of D&D. Don't get me wrong, I've played and loved every version of D&D since Moldvay Red Box Basic. I just loved 13th Age even more. And the 2nd edition rules I've been reading smooth out some rough spots and make it even better.

It's a hard choice, because I'm a big fan of PbtA systems and for pretty much any other genre would likely pick one of those, or maybe something related like a FitD system. But when you get to many genres of fantasy it comes with lethal-combat-as-common-stakes, and I've got decades of that leaning D&D-ish to me. I've played other fantasy RPGs from Warhammer to Pathfinder to Pendragon to fantasy-themed Fate and Fantasy Hero (vintage Hero System).

 

[aramis erak]

Some of the idea of a long campaign also depends on session length and not just on number of sessions. My group tends to just play for 2 hours so we have lots of sessions.

Left to my preferences, I run two sessions a week, on the same day... 3-4 hours, dinner, 3-4 hours. if counting it that way, I got to 60 sessions on 2 different editions of L5R. (2nd and 3rd.) And on Dark Heresy 1e.

 

[The Soloist]

I'd try it with Shadow of the Weird Wizard. PCs gaining one level every 6 sessions. We play about 20 games per year, so 3 years to reach 60 sessions and level 10, which is the climax of the campaign for that RPG.

 

[sevenbastard]

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.

If this was true then I would run my homebrew rules. Back in 2013 I ran a long (80? Sessions) campaign of my homebrew on VTT but that was before players expected integrated character sheets and automation of abilities and such.

Now trying to run even 5e with some slight house rules is tough as rules are integrated into the VTTs.

 

[DragonLancer]

D&D 2024 would be my vote. It's the system I would largely always turn to for fantasy roleplaying.

 

[Umbran]

Fate Accelerated is a good choice. It will specifically let you do any subgenre of fantasy with a little modification, whereas most dedicated fantasy systems are somewhat locked into doing a very specific subgenre of fantasy.

Not a bad choice - especially for an online game. I've been playing a FAE online Space:1889 game through the pandemic, that just wrapped up recently.

If I were running a face-to-face game, I might also consider Fate Core, because more of the Fate System Toolkit, and its magic subsystems, might be more easily applicable. Also, the monster, swashbuckling dueln and mass combat subsystems might be relevant, depending on fantasy genre.

 

[el-remmen]

Sounds like D&D to me.

60 sessions for my tastes is about half to three quarters the way through a successful campaign that reaches around level 10. One of my current 5e games is about to play their 65th session on Saturday. They are 6th level (nearing 7th).

 

[TwoSix]

Considering point 6 (having interested, motivated players) is the breaker for like 98% of systems, I'd go with something relatively obscure to try out something I wouldn't normally get to try.

I'm thinking Mage: The Awakening 2e. For a long term game, I like systems with incremental change over the constant plateaus of leveling, but the vertical progression in the game is still slow enough to have lots of time to explore various capability levels.

 

[payn]

For a good solid decade I ran Pathfinder Classic and it remains my favorite fantasy RPG to date. During that time I was running twice a month sessions of about 4 hours. It would take roughly 30 sessions to complete an AP. So, if I was going 60 sessions id probably do an E8 campaign to keep the sweet spot rolling for the long haul.