By
Austin King
Published 33 minutes ago
Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.
In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.
He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
Summary
Generate a summary of this story
follow
Follow
followed
Followed
Like
Like
Thread
Log in
Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
Try something different:
Show me the facts
Explain it like I’m 5
Give me a lighthearted recap
Trying to put together a multi-year campaign in Dungeons & Dragons sounds like a fool's errand. It's the kind of well-meaning idea that I've seen crash and burn so many times. Between scheduling conflicts and DM planning, it can quickly become a headache, especially if players aren't engaged enough.
But there's something enticing about the idea of spending literal years as the same characters, in the same setting, working toward the same goal. It's the main reason why my group, which has been playing D&D every week since 2020, decided to go for it. I mean, why not? We already play together most weeks, so a long campaign shouldn't be a problem. Thankfully, two years into this campaign, we're still playing, but we all learned a valuable lesson along the way.
Why Long D&D Campaigns Are Always Challenging
Partially inspired by a friend group that'd been playing D&D for over 30 years, we decided to give it a shot in earnest and start meeting weekly. Taking turns DMing, my group and I have played through both official books like Rime of the Frostmaiden and our own written adventures. We've played other tabletop games like Pirate Borg and Vaesen along the way, but there's something about D&D that keeps calling us back.
So, diving into a years-long campaign sounded like a fun idea. We knew what was arguably the biggest risk: scheduling conflicts. We're all adults with families and full-time jobs, so scheduling conflicts come up. We're used to it.
Still, these were the top problems I'd heard from friends who'd tried it. People drop out. Players lose interest. DMs get bored and underplan. People get distracted with the hottest new thing, whether that's a new adventure module or new subclasses to try out. They fall out of love with their character (admittedly, the idea of playing the same character for multiple years was my own biggest concern). Could my group really keep that going?
Subbing In Party Members To Keep The Campaign Going
With the best intentions, we decided that we would only play when we could all make it. One person has to go to their kids' cello concert? No problem; the rest of us will do a one-shot instead. Somebody has to work late? That's okay, because the others will just play a quick game of The One Ring RPG that night.
This, of course, quickly fell through. If we never played when a single person was out, then it meant we rarely played in this campaign at all. At one point, there was a full month when we didn't touch it. When we met up, we played a different tabletop RPG instead, or just talked about boring adult things like insurance premiums and more fun things like X-Men comics.
Eventually, we decided to simply sub people in and out. Sometimes, it might mean I was playing my own character and my missing friend's character simultaneously. Other times, we just pretended like our missing friend's character was asleep at the inn or off on an errand. It wasn't ideal, but it meant we could keep going with our multi-year campaign.
Sometimes People Just Can't Make It
Now, two years into this campaign, it's not perfect, but we're making it work. It's a harsh truth we all had to face — most of the time, not everyone can make it. It's not because we're bored or our DM didn't plan accordingly. It's just because life gets in the way. But as much as we miss the people who don't show up that week, we keep on.
Anyone planning for a multi-year campaign should prepare for that: Not everyone is going to show up. If you try to only play when everyone is free, the campaign is most likely going to fail. Some weeks, there might be only two of us and the DM, but we persevere anyway. And it makes us love the weeks when everyone can be together even more.
The sad truth is, if we wait for everyone, then that's really when people start to lose interest. Not because this particular Dungeons & Dragons campaign is boring, but because it's hard to get invested in characters and stories that you're only seeing once a month (or even less). And, really, boredom is the ultimate campaign killer.
Your Rating
close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10Your comment has not been saved
Like Follow Followed Dungeons and Dragons Franchise Dungeons & Dragons Original Release Date 1974 Publisher TSR Inc., Wizards of the Coast Designer E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson Player Count 2-7 Players See at Amazon See at Walmart Expand Collapse-
Dungeons and Dragons
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Be the first to post Images Attachment(s) Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.Your comment has not been saved
Send confirmation emailThis thread is open for discussion.
Be the first to post your thoughts.
- Terms
- Privacy
- Feedback
23 hours ago
Gangsta Boo's Tragic Death: The Hidden Truth Behind A Lost Icon
22 hours ago
16 Years Later, Batman Is Setting Straight The Arkham Games' Worst Mistake
2 days ago
10 Best TV Couples Who Were Married IRL (Or Fell In Love On Set)
1 day ago
Netflix's Next Harlan Coben Series Reveals First Look At Returning Actor's Twisted New Mystery
Trending Now
10 Mystery Movies You Need To Be A Genius To Understand Properly
Russell Crowe's All-Time Great Tactical War Movie Becomes Global Streaming Sensation 22 Years Later
Jingle Bell Heist Review: Netflix's Latest Rom-Com is A Holiday Caper With Surprising Twists
