Your greatest level span in a campaign?

[S'mon]

Diaglo - your GM must have been really mean with the treasure, after all gp = XP!

IMC 1e we played 5 times a week for most of the period ca 86-91, starting ca 3rd, I think (but am unsure) the PCs were in the high 20s at the end of this period. Although play became much more occasional 91-99 advancement speeded up due to 1e's flat xp/level, hence Thrin getting to ca 118, or 115 levels, in about 13 years of play. Other PCs reached deity status but most subsequently died & none got nearly that high.

Edit: Actually thinking about it, 115 levels in 13 years is still well under WotC's recommended 19 levels (1-20) in 1 year.

 

[Ellie_the_Elf]

The game I'm running has gone from level 1-26 over about 20 months- we've been playing it weekly during that time for about 5 hours each time, and had quite a few additional sessions for sidequests and whole days gaming when we've all been off work (bank holidays are a wonderful thing!)

The longest it's ever taken anyone to level in my game was a little over 6 months (due to him acquiring a +7 ECL template). Generally they get about a level a month these days, but it was faster at first.

Ellie

 

[the Jester]

I've run a 3.0-3.5 game from 1st to ~26th level (and still going).

I've played 1st to 16th level so far, and still going.

 

[RuminDange]

Right at 40 level span for my current campaign over 5+ years time. Started at 1st and most of the remaining three out of 6 starting chracters are about to hit or have hit 40th level. This campaign started right before 3E came out and was converted over once we had the first books.

RD

 

[diaglo]

Diaglo - your GM must have been really mean with the treasure, after all gp = XP!

IMC 1e we played 5 times a week for most of the period ca 86-91, starting ca 3rd, I think (but am unsure) the PCs were in the high 20s at the end of this period. Although play became much more occasional 91-99 advancement speeded up due to 1e's flat xp/level, hence Thrin getting to ca 118, or 115 levels, in about 13 years of play. Other PCs reached deity status but most subsequently died & none got nearly that high.

Edit: Actually thinking about it, 115 levels in 13 years is still well under WotC's recommended 19 levels (1-20) in 1 year.

i was the referee.

 

[DaveMage]

What usually happens to us is:

--player roster changes
--DM burns out after about six months
--people lose their character sheets between breaks
--after a hiatus, players have little drive left to continue characters

Yeah, you're definitely not alone in this. My group(s) have experienced all of the above multiple times.

Current campaign is about to end after a year and a half, levels 3-23.

The last long term before that went from levels 1-26, in about a year. However, due to lack of scheduling conflicts and what not, we were able to play 2-3 times a week for 8-12 hours.

I am in extreme envy of your play schedule.

For the one that went from 1-26, why did it end?

 

[DaveMage]

Right at 40 level span for my current campaign over 5+ years time. Started at 1st and most of the remaining three out of 6 starting chracters are about to hit or have hit 40th level. This campaign started right before 3E came out and was converted over once we had the first books.

RD

I am in awe...

 

[Inconsequenti-AL]

The one I'm playing at the moment is 5th to 17th in roughly 2 years. Only 1 original character left - he's not even died once. I've been through about half a dozen!

 

[Talmun]

In the original 3e game I ran, the PC's went from 1st to 30th and then ascended to godhood and NPC status. That game started right after the 3.0 DMG was released and ended about a year ago.

In the current game, which started several months after the last one (time off playing other stuff) the PCs started at 1st and are currently 16. I have told them we'll be switching to something else before they get too far into epic.

EDIT: Three of the current players have played through all of both campagins.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

3rd 1st-8th Cleric
2nd 1st-30th/15th (45) cleric/runecaster
1st 3rd-12th thief, oh yeah 1st to 10th mage (I can't count)
0d&d 1st-12th fighter

I think...seems close enough.