Why do so many campaigns never finish? Genuinely curious what others think

[aramis erak]

This is funny to me because I often have the opposite question. How can people play 1 to 10 or even 1 to 20 level D&D campaigns in a year or so?

I give what seems to be above standard XP to my groups (unless I am totally misunderstanding how 5E wants you to give out XP in terms of amounts) and in one group playing monthly 3 hour sessions since mid-2020 is only now on the verge of 7th level (playing session #70 next Saturday). Obviously if we played more often (if only!) we'd be further along, but the pace would be about the same in terms of sessions per level.

I can only assume people speed through anything that isn't combat? Or are using milestone leveling with very frequent milestones?

My last to 10th campaign was 6 hour sessions, and it wasn't hard at all for them to get the XP... but in 6 hours, that was 4 to 8 encounters resolved, remembering that any resolution other than fleeing is worth XP. That Was 5E.

 

[Toe Knee Nose]

This is funny to me because I often have the opposite question. How can people play 1 to 10 or even 1 to 20 level D&D campaigns in a year or so?

I give what seems to be above standard XP to my groups (unless I am totally misunderstanding how 5E wants you to give out XP in terms of amounts) and in one group playing monthly 3 hour sessions since mid-2020 is only now on the verge of 7th level (playing session #70 next Saturday). Obviously if we played more often (if only!) we'd be further along, but the pace would be about the same in terms of sessions per level.

I can only assume people speed through anything that isn't combat? Or are using milestone leveling with very frequent milestones?

Ten sessions/level? That's a tad slow, but, not out of line. Again, let's be clear about what I am talking about. Someone who is playing literally several hundred if not into the low thousand of sessions and is only 15th level. At your pace, you're looking at 150 sessions to hit 15th level. For me, that would be about three years of play. A bit slower, but, again, hardly out of line and I do consider my group to be leveling kinda slowly (typically about 6-8 sessions/level) compared to other groups.

I don't understand how anyone can play 20+ sessions between level ups. I don't get how that can work.

 

[Toe Knee Nose]

No single character has been in more than 275 of those sessions, and no single player has been in more than 700. The highest level is 11th, with one of those now able to see 12th approaching in the distance.

So the fastest leveling up is 1 level every 20 sessions. (Actually a bit slower than that).

I'm frankly gobsmacked. I can't image how that works. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I mean, it's obviously working for you. And that's fantastic. But... just... wow.

 

[Toe Knee Nose]

The question then becomes, would this in itself be a bad thing?

What if you started the characters at a certain halfway-competent but still mortal level (say, 6th-ish in 1e or 8th-ish in 5e) and said up front "that's it, there's no advancement in this game, we're instead playing for character, story, and fun". Provided the players can shake things up by retiring one character and bringing in another, that could last for ages with the right group and an engaging setting and-or long-term story or stories (which don't all have to come from the DM).

My immediate response would be, "why"? Why would you use D&D for this? Why have a game where you chuck out 3/4 of the game in order to play it? If your characters are (let's split the difference) 7th level (in any edition), you've basically ejected most of the game. Your AD&D character can never build a stronghold or get followers. Your 5e character is basically on holding patterns dealing with the same half a dozen baddies over and over and over again.

And you want to do that for the next 100 sessions?

Hey, like I said, whatever floats your boat. That's groovy but, I wouldn't even consider using D&D for this. There are so many FAR better systems out there for this sort of play. It honestly wouldn't even occur to me to use D&D for this kind of game.

 

[Toe Knee Nose]

Out of curiosity, I went back and dug through my notes. My current campaign started in March 2025. So, it's almost exactly one year old. I'm not sure how many sessions we missed. I didn't keep that close of notes, but, we didn't miss too many. So, figure 45x3 hour sessions. The party is currently 9th level and will hit 10th very shortly. So we are leveling up a bit quicker than I estimated - but, not too far off. Obviously the first two levels (1-3) go very, very quickly, so, in my fuzzy brain estimation, I'd say we level up about ever 6 sessions or so.

Funny thing is, way back in 3e, I ran a sprawling mega-dungeon campaign. I religiously tracked XP for several levels and then realized that the party was leveling up every 6-8 sessions, like clockwork. So, I just switched over to bumping every 8 sessions while keeping track of xp to see if it actually made any difference. It didn't.

My groups have been bumping every 6-8 sessions, even when we had other DM's running games, since about 2004. It really has been like clockwork.

 

[Lanefan]

I don't understand how anyone can play 20+ sessions between level ups. I don't get how that can work.

Move to Victoria BC, join my game, and I'll show you how it works.

 

[Lanefan]

So the fastest leveling up is 1 level every 20 sessions. (Actually a bit slower than that).

Oh, quite possibly. And it's no big deal.

Keep in mind also they don't always keep the levels they get in my game - level drain is a thing. As are occasional "free" levels gained through books or Decks of Many Things or whatever.

I'm frankly gobsmacked. I can't image how that works. Hey, whatever floats your boat. I mean, it's obviously working for you. And that's fantastic. But... just... wow.

It comes from having the root underlying attitude being that we're not playing to level up, we're playing to play; and levelling up will just happen now and then as a side effect. And then you have to pay for training.

 

[Lanefan]

My immediate response would be, "why"? Why would you use D&D for this? Why have a game where you chuck out 3/4 of the game in order to play it? If your characters are (let's split the difference) 7th level (in any edition), you've basically ejected most of the game. Your AD&D character can never build a stronghold or get followers.

Why not? My 1e character can build a stronghold at 3rd level if she happens across enough wealth to fund it (the followers are irrelevant). Oftentimes those strongholds - and, usefully, party bases - are rooted in the keeps gained from Decks of Many Things, and I've been known to throw those at low-level parties in the past just for kicks.

Your 5e character is basically on holding patterns dealing with the same half a dozen baddies over and over and over again.

5e is considerably more forgiving than either of 3e or 4e in the range of opponents it lets you viably throw at a party.

And you want to do that for the next 100 sessions?

Hey, like I said, whatever floats your boat. That's groovy but, I wouldn't even consider using D&D for this. There are so many FAR better systems out there for this sort of play. It honestly wouldn't even occur to me to use D&D for this kind of game.

I'd use the system I'm already familiar with. Far far less work and effort than learning a new one from scratch.

That said, I don't think I'd personally run a no-advancement game. I more threw the idea out there as a what-if.

 

[Lanefan]

Out of curiosity, I went back and dug through my notes. My current campaign started in March 2025. So, it's almost exactly one year old. I'm not sure how many sessions we missed. I didn't keep that close of notes, but, we didn't miss too many. So, figure 45x3 hour sessions. The party is currently 9th level and will hit 10th very shortly. So we are leveling up a bit quicker than I estimated - but, not too far off. Obviously the first two levels (1-3) go very, very quickly, so, in my fuzzy brain estimation, I'd say we level up about ever 6 sessions or so.

Funny thing is, way back in 3e, I ran a sprawling mega-dungeon campaign. I religiously tracked XP for several levels and then realized that the party was leveling up every 6-8 sessions, like clockwork. So, I just switched over to bumping every 8 sessions while keeping track of xp to see if it actually made any difference. It didn't.

My groups have been bumping every 6-8 sessions, even when we had other DM's running games, since about 2004. It really has been like clockwork.

Key elements you don't mention here: how often do you kill 'em off; and if-when you do, how available are revival effects for low-level characters; and if-when they die, do their replacements come in at the same level as the predecessor or lower level?

One of the biggest complaints I have with all the WotC editions is that 1st-2nd-3rd level go by too fast.

 

[Staffan]

It's been said previously, but... trying to schedule something with multiple adults is nigh impossible.

What has been working pretty well for my main group is fixed scheduling. We play on Wednesday evenings at 19. We're a group of 5, and we generally play if one but not more can't make it. That way, people can take care not to schedule other stuff for that evening if they can avoid it.