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

[overgeeked]

I was just distracted by the thought of Marvel Super-Heroes (FASERIP) or the Awfully Cheery Engine (Ghostbusters) for a campaign in the Old World, maybe even Enemy Within. Don’t mind me.

Not the same but similar, I keep thinking Call of Cthulhu would be a great game system for running Curse of Strahd.

 

[Elvish Lore]

Lots of great thoughtful replies. And it's time I answer my own question.

Earthdawn 4th would be my current choice for a long-campaign. It's extremely 'horizontal' in its advancement - PCs get many choices from tons of talents, abilities and spells and are encouraged - both in game, and diegetically -- to learn traits from their power level before moving 'up' in experience. The game is grounded but character abilities are, for the most part, magical. They never quite become superheroes but certainly achieve a level of power and skill that feels satisfying in the long run. After a decade plus, I've grown bored of superheroic fantasy like 5e and P2e - both in terms of system power and setting premise -- and something like Warhammer 4e or The Old World or Earthdawn appeals to me nowadays.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I might have mentioned Earthdawn as a zero-to-hero alternative if I'd thought of it.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

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

Thanks in advance!

This is a fun question.

OK, I’ve done this with Third Edition D&D for a campaign played in the Forgotten Realms that went about 8 or 9 years.

For your hypothetical I figure I’d use the current D&D rules set, still play in the Realms (starting in Cormyr), and make darn sure my players got to adventure everywhere in Faerûn, in the Underdark, over in Laerakond, beneath the Sea of Fallen Stars, in the outer planes and Sigil, and maybe throw in a trip to Ravenloft or Greyhawk.

I’d be super curious to see how the Bastion rules fit in with a long-running campaign, too.

In long-running games henchman and hirelings and followers sometimes turn into secondary or even tertiary characters, so I’d expect that to happen and be ready for it.

EDIT: I would ask my players to present me with some knives during character creation, too.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

What stands out to me about this question isn’t the choice of system, but the way it’s framed. The stipulations remove every real-world constraint that usually shapes how campaigns form—time, player interest, preparation, and technical support. What’s left is a thought experiment about design endurance: how well a system can sustain meaningful play when everything external works perfectly.

Viewed that way, the question isn’t really “what would you run,” but “what kind of system remains engaging across 60 or more sessions?” Once you strip away the practical friction, the focus turns to internal qualities—progression durability, narrative elasticity, and mechanical variety.

The “60 sessions” benchmark feels deliberately arbitrary. If the group meets weekly, that’s about fourteen months of play, but there’s no clear reason that number should define a long campaign. It functions more as shorthand for “long enough that system fatigue becomes noticeable.”

In practice, I wouldn’t start a campaign by setting a target session count and then choosing a system to match. Most campaigns take shape around shared interest in a setting, tone, or ruleset the group already enjoys. The length follows naturally from those choices. Some stories conclude when their premise runs its course; others continue as long as the players stay engaged.

So my answer would be straightforward: I’d use the systems I already know and like, that my players are interested in, and that are accessible. The intended duration wouldn’t change that decision. If the group remains invested and the story still has room to grow, the system will hold up as long as we do.

In the end, pacing determines everything. A well-paced campaign—one that balances escalation, reflection, and evolution—can thrive in any system and adjust to whatever lifespan the table settles into.

 

[Thomas Shey]

@Jacob Lewis, while I thought your post was thoughtful, I've seen enough cases of campaigns chosen for various time frames to suggest picking them on that basis may be uncommon for you, but its not generically so (though 60 is clearly a nice-round-number case, but I've absolutely seen campaigns chosen because they'd fit in a particular calender range, often based on things like school calenders, when people were moving, or when some other GM thought they'd have a campaign ready).

 

[thullgrim]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I think I’d choose Pathfinder 1e. It’s a robust game. I hear about white room balance issues but I’m actual play I think it’s rarely an issue, or at least has not been at our table.

If I wanted zero to superhero it will do that with ease. If I wanted a slower or lower level experience an e(x [6,7,8-dealers choice]) can get you that.

If I wanted a more real world approach to physics and simulation I’d pick GURPS.

Both games offer opportunities for character growth and advancement so players get new toys. Both games offer robust tools for GMs to use with or against players. Both are heavily customizable.

 

[Micah Sweet]

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!

Level Up or ACKS II, depending on my mood.

 

[Elvish Lore]

I'm a big fan of Rolemaster 2 using the MERP sourcebooks and maps. I've run it a couple of times, never longer than 12 sessions but that was simply the circumstances rather than because it feel apart in any way. PC survival is potentially an issue, I got round this by giving each player a fate point a la WFRP1e - a 'get out of jail free' card that lets them ignore or survive a death or significant injury. I think RM2 is beautiful, its reputation for complexity is much overdone and it's really a well crafted system for full simulationism.

I played in -- didn't run -- a RM2 campaign for a long while about 20 years ago. What a blast. Yea, very sim but I really missed that style of game and the system did a great job of supporting long-term play.

 

[Elvish Lore]

D&D 3.0e would be my go to.

I had such fun with 3.0, and I love that edition of the game more than 3.5. I know 3.5 fixed lot of things but I rather liked monsters being both deadlier and easier to kill. And I liked magic having... as one YT video put it... a more strategic component and less tactical.