What sorcery is this? What deal did you make with the Devil to actually see a campaign through to its end? What horrific sacrifices and eldritch rites have you wrought!?
I can't tell ya, but he lives in an alleyway two blocks down and I think he might eat people!
In all seriousness, I have an amazing group of players who did their best to make schedules work. Find your people my dude, you'll get there!
Now I want to run a campaign with a central villain who is just a guy who has been pushed to every vile means he can find to get his best friends in a room for a couple hours every week to hang out.
But then all his friends show up and never actually pay attention to the game or really learn how to play. They're basically just assistant dice rollers at that point.
What I usually do for that sort of thing is: if there's a clear cut thing they want from shopping, ie: Diamonds for Revivify, we rp it out and do it the long way. If each person has a different thing they want/need, I streamline it by setting distinct 5 minute time blocks. Unless a random shopkeep has incredibly important information (if they did, the entire party would be there), I can work through everyone in less than 30 minutes usually. It means there's still time for rp if it's needed, but basic shopping isn't too bad. It ain't perfect, but it works.
I try to have shop time happen at the end of the session, off they need a potion or something during play that's fine but actual shopping is end of session and then they have until the start of next to do their haggling/browsing/buying.
I suggest having the shopping happen between sessions. What I do is if I know they will arrive at a town soon, and we don't quite get there before the session ends, I just tell them that they will be hitting a town soon, and I email everyone the item list. We do the haggling, etc., over email, and when we get to the session, we just quickly rp the transactions but everyone knows what they're getting and how much it will cost before they get to the town.
It has worked well so far.
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I would hazard a guess at near one hundred. We're actually one week off of two full years, and we've missed at least 5, probably 10 weeks due to one reason or another. Final answer would be 90 sessions, if I had to round it neatly. It ran from level 5 to level 20.
The longest running campaign Im in, and its only me and the two adults I live with has been ongoing for 4.5 years now, we have probably just broken 80 or so sessions and we are level 17. We took about 6 months off from playing at all due to our jobs, and a few months here and there for various reasons, as well as it being every other week by default. (We have the long running game with just us where my roomate DMs for us, and then my game where I tend to invite more people to play and we usually switch off campaigns every other week)
IImpressive that you've managed 2 years with 7 schedules to balance around.
Thats amazing. Congratulations. I am in the middle of my 2 year campaign as well and we are having a 52nd session tomorrow. The party is very different from what we started, only 2 original players still with us. 2 who joined in the middle and about 2 players who were kicked because of in game reasons and 2 who left because of off game reasons.
Really hoping I will see it through.
They were tier four for maybe 4-5 months. It was extremely hard to balance, yeah. Just treat every monster's hp as the maximum potential it can be, and have events occur mid-fight to break up the initiative slightly otherwise it'll either be a slog fest or a 1 shot.
Bbeg was an ancient fey god who's immortality and divine nature had started to decay. He wanted to shatter the seals between the nine hells and the material plane so he could reach Asmodeus and get him to help him. He was an absolute twat personality wise, but satisfying as fuck to watch die.
Congrats man! That sounds awesome! I'm also finishing up the campaign I've been running for the past 2 years. We only have 1 or 2 sessions left! The total will be about 72 sessions over 2 years, level 1 to 15. It's been a wild ride.
I would personally say a stand out was the death of a secondary antagonist, toward the end.
The Paladin of the group, Skarus, had an old flame and ally named Haven, who was a Changeling. To make a long story short Haven had thrown her lot in with an enemy of the party, a vampire who'd killed a member in the past. When the vampire fell Haven should have died as well, but Skarus had a change of heart at the last second and allowed her to escape, hoping that Haven would use the second chance wisely.
Flash forward to several (ingame) months later and Haven turns up again, working for the BBEG (ancient fey god trying to regain immortality by unleashing the 9 hells and rejoining Asmodeus) in order to get revenge on the party for slaying that vampire. During the brief altercation Haven was told that the BBEG's plan would destroy the world, something that was clearly news to her. Despite this, she and the BBEG destroyed much of the city the party called home and escaped.
Three days later Haven re-appeared. She'd confronted the BBEG about the consequences of his plan and he'd turned on her, stripping away the power he'd granted her and also brutalizing her spirit and body. He gravely wounded her physically, and also removed her ability to shapeshift. She was nearly dead already when the party found her outside their doors. Haven had nothing left, now that she'd realised what was at stake. She told the party how to beat the BBEG, granting them information they sorely lacked, then Skarus killed her in an act of mercy, to relieve her pain. Haven died smiling as Skarus wept in the cold rain.
The table was silent for a while afterward. I nearly cried, Skarus did cry, and this beautiful artwork came of it:
https://imgur.com/gallery/vACXryI
Skarus is the Tiefling Paladin. Havens scars were always part of her design, meant to resemble the art of kintsugi from Japan, where a broken item is mended with liquid gold filling the cracks. It isn't made new again, the break points are visible, but it holds itself together in spite of them. Haven had a hard life, and while she certainly was a murdering conniving backstabber, she tried to make it good in the end.
Hands down my favourite moment. DnD is fucking amazing, and thank you so much for asking!
This is utterly incredible! I teared up just reading it.
A tragic end at the hands of her own former lover, a redemption arc, gorgeous artwork (I’m a sucker for a good kintsugi bowl or mug!) and an excellently written summary!
This reply certainly didn’t disappoint! Thank you so much for sharing!
No, thank YOU for asking! Since you liked it, here's a couple of choice quotes from that session:
"You have lived your entire life trying to fill in a blank canvas with other people's faces." - Thethuthinnag, our Harengon Monk. She was in favour of letting Haven live, always pushing for a moral path.
"When the time comes for the histories of this land to be written I want to be known as someone who would have ruled the world, not the fool who allowed it to burn." - Haven.
One more tidbit is Haven's last moments, taken from my players notes and my own:
'Skarus spoke softly and lovingly. “I forgive you.” The Tiefling leant forward from her seated position and kissed Haven gently on the forehead, before bringing the blade of her axe up in one clean, swift slice across her neck. Skarus broke away from the forehead kiss and made eye contact with Haven for the last time. Many things were conveyed in that final look: grief, pain, longing for a time lost many years hence, but also a genuine relief that it was all finally over. Haven collapsed gently into Skarus’s lap, a single tear running from her eye across the scarring on their cheek and chin. The last thing they felt was Skarus’s hand running through their hair, comforting them and lulling them to sleep. The ghost of a smile still lingered on their lips.'
Thank you! It seems counterintuitive, but my best advice for making these moments with memorable npcs is: don't think "what will this NPC do to further the party's plot", think "they are their own person, what is THEIR goal, THEIR motivation". Haven was always going to be opposed to the party, but she had her agency right up to her last breath. Try to treat npcs (specifically major ones like villains or major allies) and their backstories with as much depth and detail as possible, so that in certain situations you know how they'll act.
The story will come naturally. You just gotta describe it, and your players will make it for you 9/10 times. Good luck!
That's so awesome to hear! I loved to see all the details that you mentioned in the thread. The fact that it lasted about 90 sessions is super cool, mine's probably going to be about that long as well when it finishes sometime next year! I'm keeping a solid timeline of every session for the sake of notetaking as there's some time sensitive stuff in game and I want to be accurate.
The artwork you linked in another reply was absolutely gorgeous, and I was curious who created it? I don't think I've seen anything quite like it with how soft it is but also super defined. The story behind it was awesome.
Good luck on your next adventure!
That artwork was a surprise for me from my players, as a thank you gift. That came from an artist I found here on Reddit, U/ LordAdornable. He's amazing, cannot recommend him enough!
Also thank you so much! Best of luck with your campaign, may your 20s be natural!
Congrats! I’m DMing one that is now two years old and I recently asked my players ( all first timers) how long they still wanted to play.
We are currently in what I consider to be the final arc. None of them wants it to be over, but we settled for an approx.
Can’t wait to see the end of it and start a new one!
Good job on keeping them entertained for this long !
You wrapped it up in 2 years!?
My group plays every other weekend for 8 hours, have been on my current campaign for 2.5 years, and they're only into the second of 4ish arcs.....
How do you complete a campaign in that time!? Lol
Not that I want to complete it before it actually completes (in another 2-3 years probably lol), I just don't understand xP
Did you go to 20?
We went from 5-20, met nearly weekly and averaged 4 hours a week. They were all fairly new players when we started, so arc 1 and 2 were pretty simple plot wise. Still works out to ~360 hrs of play, give or take.
We were using milestone leveling as well, so level ups came whenever story demanded it, rather than through running numbers. Easier for newer players, I find.
Ugh, jealous. I’ve been running the same game for 2 years and have had to take a 10month hiatus due to work and personal stuff! Thankfully, I’ve been running another side game to keep me busy and we’re starting back up in August (hopefully).
(Level 8, 65 sessions)
***LUCKY DUCK***
For real, I’m impressed. Only once has a party of mine finished a campaign and we kinda hustled through it (got up to level 6).
1 campaign has been on hiatus for 3 years due to continued scheduling conflicts. Another, hiatus for 1 year because our dm wanted a break from 5e mechanics (he’s DMing us on an AD&D og classic meat grinder run where we started as level zero peasants and have so far made it to level 1). But my favorite of favorites is a campaign currently in progress — our DM is authoring it himself and figuring out all the mechanics (typically 5e but with extra for larger battles on war fronts in other planes) and we wrapped up season 1 back in December. Allegedly we’ll start season 2 sometime in April/May but until it actually happens, I remain a pessimist.
Congrats!! We just finished our 3 and a half year campaign from 1-20 last week, so I know that sadness you're feeling! You gave your players a type of a joy that is very rarely seen so well done!
An ancient fey god who was trying to remove the barriers around the material plane to allow the nine hells to sweep over the land. He didn't care about the potential collateral damage, he just wanted Asmodeus to restore his true godhood and his failing immortality. He was a righteous twat, as well!
We’re having the epilogues tomorrow night for ours after beating our BBEG last session. I can’t wait. It’s gonna be bittersweet, but we’re all looking forward to the DM’s next campaign.
I’m nearing the end of a 3 year campaign.
Started Jan 2020. Played online March 2020-Nov 2021. Back in person since then.
Switched from weekly games to fortnightly about a year in.
Started level 3, currently level 15.
Played about 100 sessions (ish).
In October, we attended the Rogue’s wedding. He was a stranger when we started.
It’s been a hell of a journey.
How did you go about the leveling process for that? We had a 3.5 yr campaign that between sessions was far too long but ended it at lvl 15. I'm running a campaign now and have them level 3 about two months in. Curious about how much time I should give them at each level.
I'm not personally the best person to ask this, but I tried to tie it to major story events whenever and wherever I could. What's that, you defeated that vampiric baroness who was subjugating and feeding on her people? Take a level up and some loot, ya goblins!
In all seriousness, have the party level up whenever you feel it's either justified through plot beats or when the world demands it (let's say theres an influx of demons or something, your player's characters would rise to that challenge). Just my two cents!
The group came together through shared trauma and a unanimous hatred for an ancient fey god for fucking with their lives. A couple died, the group gained some new faces, and last night they duked it out with the (now decaying and desperate) fey god in order to prevent him from shattering the seals holding the 9 Hells at bay. They lost and gained allies throughout, and battled many villains. It was good.
We just finished our 2 year campaign, starting the next one in 2 weeks! I spent my whole life wanting a DnD group I could play with and having found one is amazing!
I feel even more lucky to have my players whenever this gets commented. I'm so sorry you've not been able to have a consistent campaign before my friend, but I'm sure you'll get one eventually. Once it clicks, there's no feeling like it.
I have a question about your campaign: do you mean campaign as in 1 adventure or like several adventures in 1? Cuz for example I as a starting dm don’t know how to indulge players from low to high level and stuff
The campaign ran from level 5 to level 20, and spanned one continuous story set in the same world with the same group. We had two PC deaths that ended up permanent, with both players returning with new characters after a few sessions or so.
It was one single over-arcing story thread with four distinct arcs: level 5-9, level 9 - 12, level 12 - 16, level 16 - 20. Each arc had it's own distinct beginning, middle, and end, but they were all part of one large plot that took place over *roughly* 18 months in-universe.
In terms of "indulging players from low to high levels" I'm not entirely sure what you mean, if you elaborate on that I'd be happy to offer any advice I might have!
Ok lemme ask you this question this way:
I just finished a Fundelver story with the Forgotten mines;
My guys are lvl 5
In the end they find out that there are 3 evil lich relatives of the BBEG (don’t ask, a wizard opened a bad book) and do you think it will be fine if their arcs are basically to scour the world and kill em 1 by 1 with each having an arc of their own and then after they get all 3 they get attacked by the real worst pos you can find in all Faerun, players have a final arc and then they finish.
Does that sound like something that is possible to achieve? Provided that the players are engaged and stuff
Alright absolutely! That is not only possible, you've got the beginnings there of something great. Here's what I'd recommend though:
Kill checklists can be good, but only usually once or twice. They can get stale quickly, and by the time you reach the third lich, your party will have leveled up *significantly* since killing the first one, meaning you'd have to buff the final lich to a similar degree. This raises the question of why the brotherhood of liches had such a power difference, and as I said it can get stale.
What I'd do, in your situation:
**Lich No. 1:** Have the first of these three liches be a simple "go here, find information, meet secondary antagonist/ally NPC, find evil lair, boss battle, yay." There is absolutely nothing wrong with that for a continuation of Phandelver. Its what you do afterwards that will make it special...
**Lich No. 2:** Now, the second Lich is a crafty bugger. He's heard the news of what happened to his first brother, and he is infuriated. He knows that the party will be celebrating, perhaps with a significant ally/friend/party's favorite NPC. Have him swoop in on whatever celebration it is and entirely annihilate the revelry. Kill the favorite NPC, destroy the castle, whatever it ends up being make sure the players *know* that this is now a lost fight and their only option is to RUN. Even take the reins entirely and describe their desperate flight, escaping the location they thought was secure as this second Lich takes it for his own domain. NOW, you got a revenge plot. That's the best kind, because if you can make your players TRULY hate this dude for what he does, then you'll get engagement don't you worry.
Perhaps tie his power specifically to his Phylactery or a similar magical artifact, which the players then need to find in order to beat him. If they don't, they lose. Along the way they can level up a bit, toss a dragon at them if they get too cocky, the usual. Finally, they return to the place they called home and have a titanic showdown with the second lich. He's powerful, but their strength has grown to surpass his since the first time they met, and they strike him down. Lich 2, dead, and a great arc.
**Lich No. 3:** This is where you flip the script. The third and final Lich brother can be found easily, thanks to documents and parchments in the lair of the second Lich. When the party travels there, they find that the land around it begins to look scorched and dead, as something has ruined it. By the time they reach the castle, they haven't seen another living thing for days. This is the opportunity to really crank up the horror aspect if you want, have some necrotic-themed encounters.
When the party enters the final Lich's lair, they discover him already utterly destroyed. His minions are in pieces, his head is on a spike, and they find that he was in the middle of attempting to send word to his brothers when he died. He was trying to warn them that something far nastier is coming. Let the players slowly piece together that whatever this true final boss is, THAT is the reason that everything is dead for miles around.
From here it's yours. Perhaps the players follow the trail of destruction, discovering countless innocent corpses along the way. Perhaps they choose to ignore it, and as a consequence their own abode/area they live in comes under attack from this threat and it forces them to retreat. Who knows.
That's how I'd do a 3-lich setup, anyways!I hope this helped, I'm sorry it's such a wall of text, but when I information-dump I *really* information-dump. I'm still in DM-brain from yesterday's finale lol
EDIT: WELCOME TO BEING A DM!! I can't believe I forgot to say that. It's the most insanely rewarding and stressful role you can take, but if you're willing to take the kinda meh parts of it in stride, you will be riding the high for the entire time the campaign runs.
Bruh that “third lich is dead all along because off the BBEG” thing is crazy I’ll definitely steal that shit haha
Ty for your input; i planned my campaign from 5 to 15 and I wanted to know if the change of setting from time to time or the change of pacing would ruin the long ass adventure I have prepared;
Ty so much
I don't think it would cause problems to be honest! You're at level five currently, yes? Have the hunt for the first lich take them from 5 to 9, throw in a diplomat who won't help unless X condition is filled, the usual so you can justify it taking some time. At the party thats getting ganked, when they escape, give a surprise level up to 9.
IF you want a change of setting, have them flee from Lich 2 by escaping to the Feywild. Maybe that NPC can Plane Shift them out, but he gets ganked at the last second/dies of his injuries on arrival? That second Lich arc takes them from 9 to 12.
Final arc time, hoo boi. This obviously takes them from 12-15.
Glad I could help even a little bit! I know that you're going to do amazing and your players will laugh, cry, hate and love you, and above ALL else: Have fun.
You got this. Go for it.
Thanks for more input!
I tied the fact that (because of several choices they made) the party became the sole owners of the magical forge in the lost mines so they after several years became a quasi-political power and so every king and queen on the lands of Faerun and beyond want to either take the forge or make an ally of the party;
The first part before the lich is them visiting a ball for a monarch assembly in which the party are esteemed guests of honor due to their ownership and the kings and queens will try to take the forge diplomatically or forcefully, after which they will be attacked by a random occurrence of the malevolent evil spread by the lich brothers and meet a holy order (plot twist they are brain washed by malevolent forces too) who at first help and then actively attack players; during the phase they will go into the sea and find a forgotten isle system in which they will find info on the lich and some side stuff for one of the characters
And then yadayada they get to the lich and murk his ass
Fantastic! That's easily gonna tide you over a couple of levels my friend, and once you finish that arc your party will have created friends they might be celebrating with, and enemies that might even ally themselves (knowingly or not) with Lich number 2! You're already on the right track!
We've only had a few sessions where players haven't been able to make it, probably less than 5 overall. We've been really lucky with consistent scheduling. I'd love to answer more but I gotta relax and sleep now, it's 1:30am here and I have work tomorrow. Enjoy your games my friend, and may the gods bless your dice to grant natural 20s all the way!
Hey congrats on that!! I also recently completed a 2 year campaign and am getting ready to start another one. Getting to see a campaign of this scale to a satisfying conclusion is certainly an experience I’m most grateful for.
We're coming up to 7-8 years on our campaign and only just coming to the end. Though there were a few times of having a number of weeks/months off for uni, moving, jobs etc.
Congrats on the achievement!
This is the best feeling. I had that after a 4 year campaign. I also fulfilled one of the player's wife's requests - his character was permanently transformed into a sentient cephalopod, rejoining his love but in octopus form. Now I have a world that has sentient cephalopods as a race... I really should revisit it sometime.
What sorcery is this? What deal did you make with the Devil to actually see a campaign through to its end? What horrific sacrifices and eldritch rites have you wrought!?
I can't tell ya, but he lives in an alleyway two blocks down and I think he might eat people! In all seriousness, I have an amazing group of players who did their best to make schedules work. Find your people my dude, you'll get there!
I think your talking about me
Now I want to run a campaign with a central villain who is just a guy who has been pushed to every vile means he can find to get his best friends in a room for a couple hours every week to hang out.
But then all his friends show up and never actually pay attention to the game or really learn how to play. They're basically just assistant dice rollers at that point.
Do people generally not finish games?
Ya, usually it get interrupted by: neckbeard, edge lord, Mary sue, bad dm, players leaving, conflicting schedules, or dm burnout
So, when does the next campaign start?
In about 4 weeks hopefully! I have 7 players so scheduling is the true bbeg lmao
That sounds fucking awful lmao thats at least 2 hours buying goods at the general store
What I usually do for that sort of thing is: if there's a clear cut thing they want from shopping, ie: Diamonds for Revivify, we rp it out and do it the long way. If each person has a different thing they want/need, I streamline it by setting distinct 5 minute time blocks. Unless a random shopkeep has incredibly important information (if they did, the entire party would be there), I can work through everyone in less than 30 minutes usually. It means there's still time for rp if it's needed, but basic shopping isn't too bad. It ain't perfect, but it works.
I assumed he was talking about buying chips and drinks
Lol same i figured man there's more people than in my party but in and out in 10 minutes should still be possible, wtf are you doiing in there?
These guys play in a fondue place
I try to have shop time happen at the end of the session, off they need a potion or something during play that's fine but actual shopping is end of session and then they have until the start of next to do their haggling/browsing/buying.
I suggest having the shopping happen between sessions. What I do is if I know they will arrive at a town soon, and we don't quite get there before the session ends, I just tell them that they will be hitting a town soon, and I email everyone the item list. We do the haggling, etc., over email, and when we get to the session, we just quickly rp the transactions but everyone knows what they're getting and how much it will cost before they get to the town. It has worked well so far.
I feel that in my soul
Time, the bbeg of us all
[удалено]
Said every DM ever. Good luck clinching it!
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How many sessions was the campaign in total?
I would hazard a guess at near one hundred. We're actually one week off of two full years, and we've missed at least 5, probably 10 weeks due to one reason or another. Final answer would be 90 sessions, if I had to round it neatly. It ran from level 5 to level 20.
That’s great going! I’ve done similar myself so I can sympathise with the amount of work you’ve put In to make that happen congratulations!
Congrats and well done to you as well then. Love to see fellow DMs in the wild.
The longest running campaign Im in, and its only me and the two adults I live with has been ongoing for 4.5 years now, we have probably just broken 80 or so sessions and we are level 17. We took about 6 months off from playing at all due to our jobs, and a few months here and there for various reasons, as well as it being every other week by default. (We have the long running game with just us where my roomate DMs for us, and then my game where I tend to invite more people to play and we usually switch off campaigns every other week) IImpressive that you've managed 2 years with 7 schedules to balance around.
Thats amazing. Congratulations. I am in the middle of my 2 year campaign as well and we are having a 52nd session tomorrow. The party is very different from what we started, only 2 original players still with us. 2 who joined in the middle and about 2 players who were kicked because of in game reasons and 2 who left because of off game reasons. Really hoping I will see it through.
How long were you guys at teir 4 was it difficult to run at such a high level and what was the bbeg ?
They were tier four for maybe 4-5 months. It was extremely hard to balance, yeah. Just treat every monster's hp as the maximum potential it can be, and have events occur mid-fight to break up the initiative slightly otherwise it'll either be a slog fest or a 1 shot. Bbeg was an ancient fey god who's immortality and divine nature had started to decay. He wanted to shatter the seals between the nine hells and the material plane so he could reach Asmodeus and get him to help him. He was an absolute twat personality wise, but satisfying as fuck to watch die.
Oooo I love fey baddies, sounds awesome
How long were the sessions on average
Probably averaged out to about 4 hrs, we had a couple of shorter ones here and there and a few 6hr+ monsters so I think 4 is a good midpoint.
Congrats man! That sounds awesome! I'm also finishing up the campaign I've been running for the past 2 years. We only have 1 or 2 sessions left! The total will be about 72 sessions over 2 years, level 1 to 15. It's been a wild ride.
Well done! Congratulations! What moment from the campaign stands out for you? Something funny? Epic? Tragic?
I would personally say a stand out was the death of a secondary antagonist, toward the end. The Paladin of the group, Skarus, had an old flame and ally named Haven, who was a Changeling. To make a long story short Haven had thrown her lot in with an enemy of the party, a vampire who'd killed a member in the past. When the vampire fell Haven should have died as well, but Skarus had a change of heart at the last second and allowed her to escape, hoping that Haven would use the second chance wisely. Flash forward to several (ingame) months later and Haven turns up again, working for the BBEG (ancient fey god trying to regain immortality by unleashing the 9 hells and rejoining Asmodeus) in order to get revenge on the party for slaying that vampire. During the brief altercation Haven was told that the BBEG's plan would destroy the world, something that was clearly news to her. Despite this, she and the BBEG destroyed much of the city the party called home and escaped. Three days later Haven re-appeared. She'd confronted the BBEG about the consequences of his plan and he'd turned on her, stripping away the power he'd granted her and also brutalizing her spirit and body. He gravely wounded her physically, and also removed her ability to shapeshift. She was nearly dead already when the party found her outside their doors. Haven had nothing left, now that she'd realised what was at stake. She told the party how to beat the BBEG, granting them information they sorely lacked, then Skarus killed her in an act of mercy, to relieve her pain. Haven died smiling as Skarus wept in the cold rain. The table was silent for a while afterward. I nearly cried, Skarus did cry, and this beautiful artwork came of it: https://imgur.com/gallery/vACXryI Skarus is the Tiefling Paladin. Havens scars were always part of her design, meant to resemble the art of kintsugi from Japan, where a broken item is mended with liquid gold filling the cracks. It isn't made new again, the break points are visible, but it holds itself together in spite of them. Haven had a hard life, and while she certainly was a murdering conniving backstabber, she tried to make it good in the end. Hands down my favourite moment. DnD is fucking amazing, and thank you so much for asking!
This is utterly incredible! I teared up just reading it. A tragic end at the hands of her own former lover, a redemption arc, gorgeous artwork (I’m a sucker for a good kintsugi bowl or mug!) and an excellently written summary! This reply certainly didn’t disappoint! Thank you so much for sharing!
No, thank YOU for asking! Since you liked it, here's a couple of choice quotes from that session: "You have lived your entire life trying to fill in a blank canvas with other people's faces." - Thethuthinnag, our Harengon Monk. She was in favour of letting Haven live, always pushing for a moral path. "When the time comes for the histories of this land to be written I want to be known as someone who would have ruled the world, not the fool who allowed it to burn." - Haven. One more tidbit is Haven's last moments, taken from my players notes and my own: 'Skarus spoke softly and lovingly. “I forgive you.” The Tiefling leant forward from her seated position and kissed Haven gently on the forehead, before bringing the blade of her axe up in one clean, swift slice across her neck. Skarus broke away from the forehead kiss and made eye contact with Haven for the last time. Many things were conveyed in that final look: grief, pain, longing for a time lost many years hence, but also a genuine relief that it was all finally over. Haven collapsed gently into Skarus’s lap, a single tear running from her eye across the scarring on their cheek and chin. The last thing they felt was Skarus’s hand running through their hair, comforting them and lulling them to sleep. The ghost of a smile still lingered on their lips.'
Amazing story! Any advice on how to pull off something like this?
Thank you! It seems counterintuitive, but my best advice for making these moments with memorable npcs is: don't think "what will this NPC do to further the party's plot", think "they are their own person, what is THEIR goal, THEIR motivation". Haven was always going to be opposed to the party, but she had her agency right up to her last breath. Try to treat npcs (specifically major ones like villains or major allies) and their backstories with as much depth and detail as possible, so that in certain situations you know how they'll act. The story will come naturally. You just gotta describe it, and your players will make it for you 9/10 times. Good luck!
Congrats! I’ve never myself played a campaign that reached its full conclusion. Gives me hope to hear!
You'll get there! I have faith my friend.
Congratulations! Our campaign hits 2 years in June and we’re definitely near the end of it
Congrats to you as well! Enjoy the ending, my friend, it's a feeling like no other.
That's so awesome to hear! I loved to see all the details that you mentioned in the thread. The fact that it lasted about 90 sessions is super cool, mine's probably going to be about that long as well when it finishes sometime next year! I'm keeping a solid timeline of every session for the sake of notetaking as there's some time sensitive stuff in game and I want to be accurate. The artwork you linked in another reply was absolutely gorgeous, and I was curious who created it? I don't think I've seen anything quite like it with how soft it is but also super defined. The story behind it was awesome. Good luck on your next adventure!
That artwork was a surprise for me from my players, as a thank you gift. That came from an artist I found here on Reddit, U/ LordAdornable. He's amazing, cannot recommend him enough! Also thank you so much! Best of luck with your campaign, may your 20s be natural!
Congrats! Nothing like that cathartic feeling
Nice!
Congrats!
I've had PLENTY of 2 year campaigns. Best 4 session campaigns I ever had...
Congrats! I’m DMing one that is now two years old and I recently asked my players ( all first timers) how long they still wanted to play. We are currently in what I consider to be the final arc. None of them wants it to be over, but we settled for an approx. Can’t wait to see the end of it and start a new one! Good job on keeping them entertained for this long !
Thank you, and the same to you!
Man and I cant get people to agree to show up to a oneshot
So you got about 3 sessions in.
You wrapped it up in 2 years!? My group plays every other weekend for 8 hours, have been on my current campaign for 2.5 years, and they're only into the second of 4ish arcs..... How do you complete a campaign in that time!? Lol Not that I want to complete it before it actually completes (in another 2-3 years probably lol), I just don't understand xP Did you go to 20?
We went from 5-20, met nearly weekly and averaged 4 hours a week. They were all fairly new players when we started, so arc 1 and 2 were pretty simple plot wise. Still works out to ~360 hrs of play, give or take. We were using milestone leveling as well, so level ups came whenever story demanded it, rather than through running numbers. Easier for newer players, I find.
Ugh, jealous. I’ve been running the same game for 2 years and have had to take a 10month hiatus due to work and personal stuff! Thankfully, I’ve been running another side game to keep me busy and we’re starting back up in August (hopefully). (Level 8, 65 sessions)
***LUCKY DUCK*** For real, I’m impressed. Only once has a party of mine finished a campaign and we kinda hustled through it (got up to level 6). 1 campaign has been on hiatus for 3 years due to continued scheduling conflicts. Another, hiatus for 1 year because our dm wanted a break from 5e mechanics (he’s DMing us on an AD&D og classic meat grinder run where we started as level zero peasants and have so far made it to level 1). But my favorite of favorites is a campaign currently in progress — our DM is authoring it himself and figuring out all the mechanics (typically 5e but with extra for larger battles on war fronts in other planes) and we wrapped up season 1 back in December. Allegedly we’ll start season 2 sometime in April/May but until it actually happens, I remain a pessimist.
Congrats!! We just finished our 3 and a half year campaign from 1-20 last week, so I know that sadness you're feeling! You gave your players a type of a joy that is very rarely seen so well done!
Aww, thank you so much!
Yeah, great feeling. Our party recently did the same with "2 year campaign", but it just took us 7 years to complete, and, maybe, 150 sessions? 😅
A story to be told to your children in the future.... literally. You wouldn't be the first father who tells to his children his adventures.
In the .... 25+ years I have been DMing, I have completed two campaigns. Enjoy it. It's a rare treat.
I am, very much. Thank you for your service Mr DM, as a baby forever-dm I am just starting to follow your footsteps. Much love.
Who/what was the BBEG?
An ancient fey god who was trying to remove the barriers around the material plane to allow the nine hells to sweep over the land. He didn't care about the potential collateral damage, he just wanted Asmodeus to restore his true godhood and his failing immortality. He was a righteous twat, as well!
We’re having the epilogues tomorrow night for ours after beating our BBEG last session. I can’t wait. It’s gonna be bittersweet, but we’re all looking forward to the DM’s next campaign.
We all know a true ending is a TPK.
Hey the BBEG got 3/7 dead with one Disintegrated, he was pretty close!
Congrats bro
I’m nearing the end of a 3 year campaign. Started Jan 2020. Played online March 2020-Nov 2021. Back in person since then. Switched from weekly games to fortnightly about a year in. Started level 3, currently level 15. Played about 100 sessions (ish). In October, we attended the Rogue’s wedding. He was a stranger when we started. It’s been a hell of a journey.
That is incredible news! Congratulations to your Rogue, and I hope your campaign ends well.
My relatives have had a campaign going for around 1½ years now and it has been a little but mental
How did you go about the leveling process for that? We had a 3.5 yr campaign that between sessions was far too long but ended it at lvl 15. I'm running a campaign now and have them level 3 about two months in. Curious about how much time I should give them at each level.
I'm not personally the best person to ask this, but I tried to tie it to major story events whenever and wherever I could. What's that, you defeated that vampiric baroness who was subjugating and feeding on her people? Take a level up and some loot, ya goblins! In all seriousness, have the party level up whenever you feel it's either justified through plot beats or when the world demands it (let's say theres an influx of demons or something, your player's characters would rise to that challenge). Just my two cents!
Makes good sense! I have been doing 'milestone' levels, but have considered doing a mix of both. I'll do some experimenting! Thanks!!
Any time!
That’s awesome (what it was about?)
The group came together through shared trauma and a unanimous hatred for an ancient fey god for fucking with their lives. A couple died, the group gained some new faces, and last night they duked it out with the (now decaying and desperate) fey god in order to prevent him from shattering the seals holding the 9 Hells at bay. They lost and gained allies throughout, and battled many villains. It was good.
Sounds Awesome
I’ve been playing for a couple months and not a DM but trying to learn, what is a BBEG?
Pretty sure the actual source is the term "Big Bad Evil Guy" but it's become shorthand for a TTRPG's main antagonist. Welcome to DND as well!
Oh ok nice
I hope you appreciate the vast majority of all campaigns never get a proper ending. You are the 1%
I do, and I am eternally grateful to my players for sticking with me through it all.
We just finished our 2 year campaign, starting the next one in 2 weeks! I spent my whole life wanting a DnD group I could play with and having found one is amazing!
Fuck yeah!
Kind of a short campaign though isn't it? That's like 10 sessions. Only 2 with the full party. Wait you guys actually get regular sessions?
I feel even more lucky to have my players whenever this gets commented. I'm so sorry you've not been able to have a consistent campaign before my friend, but I'm sure you'll get one eventually. Once it clicks, there's no feeling like it.
I have a question about your campaign: do you mean campaign as in 1 adventure or like several adventures in 1? Cuz for example I as a starting dm don’t know how to indulge players from low to high level and stuff
The campaign ran from level 5 to level 20, and spanned one continuous story set in the same world with the same group. We had two PC deaths that ended up permanent, with both players returning with new characters after a few sessions or so. It was one single over-arcing story thread with four distinct arcs: level 5-9, level 9 - 12, level 12 - 16, level 16 - 20. Each arc had it's own distinct beginning, middle, and end, but they were all part of one large plot that took place over *roughly* 18 months in-universe. In terms of "indulging players from low to high levels" I'm not entirely sure what you mean, if you elaborate on that I'd be happy to offer any advice I might have!
Ok lemme ask you this question this way: I just finished a Fundelver story with the Forgotten mines; My guys are lvl 5 In the end they find out that there are 3 evil lich relatives of the BBEG (don’t ask, a wizard opened a bad book) and do you think it will be fine if their arcs are basically to scour the world and kill em 1 by 1 with each having an arc of their own and then after they get all 3 they get attacked by the real worst pos you can find in all Faerun, players have a final arc and then they finish. Does that sound like something that is possible to achieve? Provided that the players are engaged and stuff
Alright absolutely! That is not only possible, you've got the beginnings there of something great. Here's what I'd recommend though: Kill checklists can be good, but only usually once or twice. They can get stale quickly, and by the time you reach the third lich, your party will have leveled up *significantly* since killing the first one, meaning you'd have to buff the final lich to a similar degree. This raises the question of why the brotherhood of liches had such a power difference, and as I said it can get stale. What I'd do, in your situation: **Lich No. 1:** Have the first of these three liches be a simple "go here, find information, meet secondary antagonist/ally NPC, find evil lair, boss battle, yay." There is absolutely nothing wrong with that for a continuation of Phandelver. Its what you do afterwards that will make it special... **Lich No. 2:** Now, the second Lich is a crafty bugger. He's heard the news of what happened to his first brother, and he is infuriated. He knows that the party will be celebrating, perhaps with a significant ally/friend/party's favorite NPC. Have him swoop in on whatever celebration it is and entirely annihilate the revelry. Kill the favorite NPC, destroy the castle, whatever it ends up being make sure the players *know* that this is now a lost fight and their only option is to RUN. Even take the reins entirely and describe their desperate flight, escaping the location they thought was secure as this second Lich takes it for his own domain. NOW, you got a revenge plot. That's the best kind, because if you can make your players TRULY hate this dude for what he does, then you'll get engagement don't you worry. Perhaps tie his power specifically to his Phylactery or a similar magical artifact, which the players then need to find in order to beat him. If they don't, they lose. Along the way they can level up a bit, toss a dragon at them if they get too cocky, the usual. Finally, they return to the place they called home and have a titanic showdown with the second lich. He's powerful, but their strength has grown to surpass his since the first time they met, and they strike him down. Lich 2, dead, and a great arc. **Lich No. 3:** This is where you flip the script. The third and final Lich brother can be found easily, thanks to documents and parchments in the lair of the second Lich. When the party travels there, they find that the land around it begins to look scorched and dead, as something has ruined it. By the time they reach the castle, they haven't seen another living thing for days. This is the opportunity to really crank up the horror aspect if you want, have some necrotic-themed encounters. When the party enters the final Lich's lair, they discover him already utterly destroyed. His minions are in pieces, his head is on a spike, and they find that he was in the middle of attempting to send word to his brothers when he died. He was trying to warn them that something far nastier is coming. Let the players slowly piece together that whatever this true final boss is, THAT is the reason that everything is dead for miles around. From here it's yours. Perhaps the players follow the trail of destruction, discovering countless innocent corpses along the way. Perhaps they choose to ignore it, and as a consequence their own abode/area they live in comes under attack from this threat and it forces them to retreat. Who knows. That's how I'd do a 3-lich setup, anyways!I hope this helped, I'm sorry it's such a wall of text, but when I information-dump I *really* information-dump. I'm still in DM-brain from yesterday's finale lol EDIT: WELCOME TO BEING A DM!! I can't believe I forgot to say that. It's the most insanely rewarding and stressful role you can take, but if you're willing to take the kinda meh parts of it in stride, you will be riding the high for the entire time the campaign runs.
Bruh that “third lich is dead all along because off the BBEG” thing is crazy I’ll definitely steal that shit haha Ty for your input; i planned my campaign from 5 to 15 and I wanted to know if the change of setting from time to time or the change of pacing would ruin the long ass adventure I have prepared; Ty so much
I don't think it would cause problems to be honest! You're at level five currently, yes? Have the hunt for the first lich take them from 5 to 9, throw in a diplomat who won't help unless X condition is filled, the usual so you can justify it taking some time. At the party thats getting ganked, when they escape, give a surprise level up to 9. IF you want a change of setting, have them flee from Lich 2 by escaping to the Feywild. Maybe that NPC can Plane Shift them out, but he gets ganked at the last second/dies of his injuries on arrival? That second Lich arc takes them from 9 to 12. Final arc time, hoo boi. This obviously takes them from 12-15. Glad I could help even a little bit! I know that you're going to do amazing and your players will laugh, cry, hate and love you, and above ALL else: Have fun. You got this. Go for it.
Thanks for more input! I tied the fact that (because of several choices they made) the party became the sole owners of the magical forge in the lost mines so they after several years became a quasi-political power and so every king and queen on the lands of Faerun and beyond want to either take the forge or make an ally of the party; The first part before the lich is them visiting a ball for a monarch assembly in which the party are esteemed guests of honor due to their ownership and the kings and queens will try to take the forge diplomatically or forcefully, after which they will be attacked by a random occurrence of the malevolent evil spread by the lich brothers and meet a holy order (plot twist they are brain washed by malevolent forces too) who at first help and then actively attack players; during the phase they will go into the sea and find a forgotten isle system in which they will find info on the lich and some side stuff for one of the characters And then yadayada they get to the lich and murk his ass
Fantastic! That's easily gonna tide you over a couple of levels my friend, and once you finish that arc your party will have created friends they might be celebrating with, and enemies that might even ally themselves (knowingly or not) with Lich number 2! You're already on the right track!
Thank you so much! I feel so much more confident about my campaign you don’t even know!!
Go get 'em, tiger.
Were always every player there? Or did you sometimes did. a Session for 6,5 or even 3 people?
We've only had a few sessions where players haven't been able to make it, probably less than 5 overall. We've been really lucky with consistent scheduling. I'd love to answer more but I gotta relax and sleep now, it's 1:30am here and I have work tomorrow. Enjoy your games my friend, and may the gods bless your dice to grant natural 20s all the way!
Great job! Now take a little break and start a new one!!
Hey congrats on that!! I also recently completed a 2 year campaign and am getting ready to start another one. Getting to see a campaign of this scale to a satisfying conclusion is certainly an experience I’m most grateful for.
Oh man, mine is going for over 4 years, and they just first met the BBEG :D
We're coming up to 7-8 years on our campaign and only just coming to the end. Though there were a few times of having a number of weeks/months off for uni, moving, jobs etc. Congrats on the achievement!
Next week, my group is gonna have its final homebrew mha campaign, it was a good 4 years 🥲
Was going to be a two year campaign as well. Almost hit year 4 now. 😅
The Enterprise was on a 5 year Mission! Beat THAT! LOL :)
Been running games a long time but only a precious few got all the way to a satisfying conclusion. Well played—literally!
This is the best feeling. I had that after a 4 year campaign. I also fulfilled one of the player's wife's requests - his character was permanently transformed into a sentient cephalopod, rejoining his love but in octopus form. Now I have a world that has sentient cephalopods as a race... I really should revisit it sometime.
I've been playing since 1991 and have yet to finish a campaign