What's a "typical" campaign length?

[Narfellus]

I've been reading on the boards today about all the games out there. It's really a lot, even without the d20 bandwagon. There's oodles of high quality stuff that i didn't even know existed until i see people vouching for them here, then i go and buy it and agree!

Anyway, it got me thinking, how long do you typically run a campaign? Does playing a game system once or twice suffice? Do you have years-long story arcs that take all of your time specifically in one game world, or do you run a half dozen shorter games just a few times each before moving on?

I've rarely finished a campaing start to finish myself, finished meaning "satisfactory." Players leave, a new game comes up, the steam runs out. Campaigns don't so much officially end as just "trail off." Is that common?

 

[Crothian]

Three years ago the games lasted years. But in the past couple years with family and other outside problems coming in the games have lasted much, much shorter. THe longest campaign is seven session long in the last year, but it is still going on.

 

[KB9JMQ]

Since 3E it has been about 6 to 8 months.
Back in the Red Box days it was 3-4 years but know that I am older real life seems to kick in about every six months and kills a campaign.
When we get back on track again for a while we normally start over rather than pick up where we left off.

 

[Jdvn1]

Short for me, I think, is six months. I've had them go to three years (and the GM could've made it longer, but there was an excellent stopping point and people were leaving town). It did "officially" end, though. I know some have gone much, much longer. Most of them die off, I think.

That's for campaigns, though. I've played shorter adventures that last a month or three. I like a good mix.

 

[diaglo]

in ye olde dayes.... it was measured in years if not decades.


with the new millenium. it is measured in days, weeks, and months.

got one just barely hanging on in the story hour in my sig.

 

[S'mon]

For it to count as a campaign to me it'd have to be at least 12 sessions over 6-8 months, and that's at absolute minimum, more a "mini campaign.". Playing a game 3 times does not make a campaign. I'd say a "typical campaign" in my mind was 2-3 years' play, probably around 50 sessions, but depends on the definition.

 

[The Shaman]

I think it depends on how you define "campaign."

For me, a campaign is a series of linked adventures around a common theme or with a distinct antagonist. Most of my campaigns include from four to a dozen adventures, with each adventure consisting of three to eight encounters/engagements. For me campaign is effectively the same as story-line.

A campaign in my games is rarely linear - players may have complete the encounters of one adventure interspersed with encounters from another adventure, depending on the choices they make. For example, in our threepointoh game, one campaign consisted of a disgraced captain of the guard who turned brigand to bring down the noble who sacked him. The campaign consisted of four adventures, each of about four encounters - however, the encounters and adventures tended to be part of the matrix of the game world, so a series of encounters with bandits in a forest, a couple of encounters with spies in a tavern, and defending a village from a goblin raid were all part of the "brigand campaign" but took place during or between other things the adventurers were doing in the game world.

As far as how long a given game in a particular setting lasts, our one-eeee game in the Wilderlands of High Fantasy lasted nine years, from junior high through college, and saw the characters rise from 1st to about 16th or 17th level (including building strongholds, becoming lords, and so on). Our threepointoh game lasted about two years, breaking up do to a player moving, another changing jobs and travelling a lot, and another getting married and deciding he didn't need friends anymore ( ) - the characters in that game resolved several of my campaigns/story-lines and rose from 1st level to around 14th level (in spite of my best efforts to rein in the bloated XP of 3.x).

 

[Runesong42]

"Campaigning" has proven most impractical over the years.

Back in the day, and I mean 15 or so years ago, it was common to play once or twice a week, more in the summer, and we used the same characters and changed DM's so that the adventures we ran would never end and that was great. I played the same character through to level 36 over the course of a few years, and I used the old "dual-classing" rules to keep her alive. Mage 20/Cleric 16. I was miffed that I never got over my cap so I could fling spells, but it got to the point that I didn't care about gaining xp so I cast my wizard spells anyway.

The last serious campaigns I ran or played in generally lasted about a year. Again, this was due to "real-life" interference, though me and my DM lived together and we had 2 campaigns on the go. We had a falling out, so we never really 'finished' either -- my campaign ran to level 7, but was very heavy on sicla interaction and, frankly, my player just didn't care about xp. The one I RAN in was "Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil" and it took us forever but I got to level 16 running two characters and three NPC's.

Nowadays, my cuurent gaming group is breaking up; they're all moving away for the summer, and some permanently. I stared a 'campaign' back in September and we played anywhere from once a week to once a month. Were in April now, and I'm struggling to get it wrapped up before they leave, which will be around mid-May.

So, I guess a "typical" campaign can last as long as you feel that the story still has steam and the players are readily available.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I would say a 6-12 months in 3.x But lately I have been campaigns that had a definate end. It was a style choice after running for several years and having other things break up campaigns.
we also rotate DMs so change is mandatory. We have yet to pick up an old game after endiing it. Although there have been 2 of 3 that could be resumed. In HS the games lasted years, in colleage it was 1 yr per game as graduations etc. interfered.

 

[Narfellus]

"
So, I guess a "typical" campaign can last as long as you feel that the story still has steam and the players are readily available.

And that's how i think i'll approach it. Rather than suffering the loss of yet another storyline, if i see a potential "endgame" coming up, like players leaving, etc., i'll wrap the story up and drop it. Not finishing a campaign for me is like not finishing a book you liked reading because someone borrowed it and didn't give it back.