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Gelcur
Senior Scribe
503 Posts |
 Posted - 05 Apr 2008 : 21:27:00
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I'm curious how "quickly" others campaigns move along? Many posts I see people state they are still in 136X DR as is the case with my campaign. But I find in game time tends to take a very long time out of game to progress.
We game about 3 times a month, about 36 times a year, and we get about a month to two months of in game time to pass. Not that I'm complaining we see some very good RP and some great combat. I'm just wondering if people see similar rate of time passing in their campaigns?
Thanks.
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The party come to a town befallen by hysteria
Rogue: So what's in the general store?
DM: What are you looking for?
Rogue: Whatevers in the store.
DM: Like what?
Rogue: Everything.
DM: There is a lot of stuff.
Rogue: Is there a cart outside?
DM: (rolls) Yes.
Rogue: We'll take it all, we may need it for the greater good. |
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Dalor Darden
Great Reader
USA
4211 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2008 : 22:06:34
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I ran a campaign in the FR that was played for six years in Real Time...but only a couple years passed in the Realms.
I've played in a campaign where one year passed in the Real World...but several years passed in the Realms (do to item creation, castle building and what have you)... |
The Old Grey Box and AD&D for me! |
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Afetbinttuzani
Senior Scribe
Canada
434 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2008 : 22:36:55
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Game time almost always takes longer than real time, unfortunately. But if you want to play in a different time period, you can do a number of things. Here's a few suggestions:
1)The simplest is to drop the period you're in and start new characters in the new period. But that's not a very interesting way to do it.
2) Have the existing PCs stumble through a time portal in a dungeon somewhere (but don't tell them. Let them discover it).
3) Have the PCs frozen in temporal stasis, Rip Vanwinkle style, by some magical means. They awake, covered in dust with their clothes and wooden weapons rotten and their armor rusted (that's if you want them to know time has past). There's an example of this in the HAUNTED HALLS OF EVENINGSTAR (2nd Ed.) adventure: a woman is found in chamber 17 who has been frozen for several hundred years. This method also forces them to reacquire clothes and weapons.
Cheers,
Afet |
Afet bint Tuzaní
"As the good Archmage often admonishes me, I ought not to let my mind wander, as it's too small to go off by itself."
- Danilo Thann in Elfsong by Elaine Cunningham |
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Mace Hammerhand
Great Reader
Germany
2296 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2008 : 22:59:19
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My campaign started back in 2001 the time, I think was, 1364 or 1365 DR, and now, 2008, we are in 1366 DR. Admittedly, we play about once a month, but we also had a time (about 8-10 months) where we didn't play at all. Having 7 players and me as DM to co-ordinate our games is tough, so if we play once a month we're good.
OK, we have one rule, well...maybe 2 rules, if we set a date you are expected to be there, with the exceptions of family, job, and illness, everything else doesn't count. And we play when 4 people can attend. Excluding me of course |
Mace's not so gentle gamer's journal My rants were harmless compared to this, beware! |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2008 : 23:58:14
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| My games never have a set time line, some advance a few days, some advance a few tendays or months, and some advance years. It all depends on the campaign for me and the events going on within the campaign. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2008 : 00:55:24
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Indeed. I don't usually follow a set timeline for my FR campaigns. It depends, mostly, on the type of story I'm trying to tell through the adventures. I've even had some adventures that have only advanced a few hours over several months -- just because there was so much to get through during each session. Fast-paced adventures will usually advance by days, or even weeks. I've only had two adventures that have advanced by years, and only one that has advanced nearly a century [though, that was a campaign that was set in the past (around 1260 DR) and saw the characters brought into the "then" present -- 1360 DR].
My current timeline, is set to advance around a few days, during the month of Hammer in 1356 DR. I don't expect it'll enter into Alturiak for at least four-to-six months Earth-time. |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 06 Apr 2008 00:56:33 |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2008 : 04:03:05
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My current campaign went as follows:
Campaign Start: September 2005 // 1372 DR.
Current time: April 2008 // 14th of Ches, 1378 DR.
So, for every year that passes in the real world, two years pass in the Realms! 
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Pasta Fzoul
Seeker
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2008 : 04:39:31
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
I've even had some adventures that have only advanced a few hours over several months -- just because there was so much to get through during each session.
Ah, epic-level combat encounters. Yeah, I've been there too... |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2008 : 07:03:25
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Actually, I've never ran an Epic-Level campaign -- I don't much care for the Epic rules, so I usually have the PCs retire after 20th level. I should note, however, that the PCs will usually experience years of both Earth and/or game time before retiring. In fact, my current group of players are still using PCs they generated well before 3e even existed as the faintest rumor.
What I meant earlier, was in reference to the amount of work and detail I like to incorporate into my gaming sessions. There can be a great deal of role-playing for the PCs to engage before the next stage of the campaign can even be achieved. And that's because I'm a firm believer in Ed's "...any good DM will spend about 4 hours of design time for every 1 hour of playing time" game-design theory. Though, I can sometimes spend a week, a month, and once, even a year, planning a campaign that may only last a few days, to a few weeks in game time. My players love campaigns that truly rely on the vast wealth of detail in the Realmslore, not to mention the extensive 15+ year history I've established for my own Realms. So when I say there's a lot for them to get through during each session, I'm really talking about my PCs engaging in plenty of role-playing, rather than roll-playing.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 06 Apr 2008 07:08:36 |
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Jorkens
Great Reader
Norway
2950 Posts |
Posted - 06 Apr 2008 : 10:00:56
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I have never thought much about time at all. I have had a tendency to run rather short campaigns, three or four levels, before giving the characters a break. That will at most be a month or two of game time and from twenty-five to fifty six to twelve hour sessions. Then the characters will be used again later in their lives, years later, when the adventure or the players wishes call for it.
In addition there are shorter one to three session adventures and others where there is little need for timekeeping.
I will usually start in the early 50's and go from there. There are a couple of the oldest characters that have gotten to about 1370 and their offspring have seen some use, but that cant be called a continuing campaign. |
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Pasta Fzoul
Seeker
USA
79 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 04:05:18
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quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
What I meant earlier <...snip>
I know, Sage, I was just making a sarcastic jab at the Epic rules.
Would that my own RP experiences had such depth! |
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AlorinDawn
Learned Scribe
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 04:17:54
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| In the last two and a half years of actual time, 18 months or so has elapsed in game time. |
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Alisttair
Great Reader
Canada
3054 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 13:22:26
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| There are so many times to set a campaign in that there are many great options....My current campaign started in 1372 and its now 1373 and we've been playing for 6 years |
Karsite Arcanar (Most Holy Servant of Karsus)
Anauria - Survivor State of Netheril as penned by me:
http://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/172023 |
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ShadezofDis
Senior Scribe
402 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 15:00:45
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| It totally depends on what's going on in the game, sometimes it's 4 or 5 sessions spanning a day or a couple days and then 1 session that spans a week, two, a month. All depends on what's going on. |
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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 15:24:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
My games never have a set time line, some advance a few days, some advance a few tendays or months, and some advance years. It all depends on the campaign for me and the events going on within the campaign.
Indeed |
The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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Aravine
Senior Scribe
USA
608 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 15:25:37
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| My current character is a Dragon, so our timeline goes much faster. We've had 3 out of game play days, and we've advanced 5 years |
The brave don't live forever,the cautious don't live at all |
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GoCeraf
Learned Scribe
147 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 18:59:36
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If I ran once a week every week, I'd more or less have a 1-to-1 ratio on time passage. My players are operating in the Border Kingdoms under the direction of a fairly new town lord, and it's very much a city-building game. In essence, they go around to the other cities to collect business opportunities, spread word of the town's development and employment opportunities, what have you.
Unfortunately, I also have a larger group than I am capable of handling, with tastes ranging from number crunching to immersive roleplaying. As such, not everyone appreciates the pace at which I tend to move, made doubly difficult when I try to give each player at least SOME spotlight time.
Regardless, most of my time passage occurs due to travel, and I'll generally have them RP an "evening 'round the fire" once for every four days or so. |
Being sarcastic can be more telling than simply telling. |
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Ithil
Acolyte
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 19:56:19
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I'm like most who have answered here, particularly concerning lengthy encounters because of high detail, and moving the calendar based on group events like artificing, research, etc. Our group moves game time pretty rapidly in down-time via e-mail, but at the table, we rarely progress more than a few hours.
As a corollary to the original question of advancing the campaign calendar, does anyone advance time through voluntary or mandatory training between levels? Or even require training to level-up? |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 07 Apr 2008 : 21:20:37
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quote:
Originally posted by Ithil
As a corollary to the original question of advancing the campaign calendar, does anyone advance time through voluntary or mandatory training between levels? Or even require training to level-up?
I do depending on the campaign, which is why some of my campaigns for table top advance weeks to years while my email games tend to be slower since the pc's get less exp because the in game days advance not as fast. It makes no sense to me that you can advance a level or two in a few days. |
For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet and excite you... Books are full of the things that you don't get in real life - wonderful, lyrical language, for instance, right off the bat. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 08 Apr 2008 : 01:03:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Ithil
As a corollary to the original question of advancing the campaign calendar, does anyone advance time through voluntary or mandatory training between levels? Or even require training to level-up?
Sometimes. It really does depend on whether the training itself is a necessary element that I'd like to have the PC's fully role-play.
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Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
Scribe for the Candlekeep Compendium -- Volume IX now available (Oct 2007)
"So Saith Ed" -- the collected Candlekeep replies of Ed Greenwood
Zhoth'ilam Folio -- The Electronic Misadventures of a Rambling Sage |
Edited by - The Sage on 08 Apr 2008 01:04:13 |
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Ergdusch
Master of Realmslore
Germany
1720 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2008 : 10:11:53
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Just to through in my two cents:
My last long time running campaign lasted 6 years but in Realmstime it went from the end of 1372 to the beginning of 1375. That is almost similar to PDKs time advancement (for every year in the real world, two years pass in the Realms). However, that was just coinsidental as I advanced the time as I saw it fitting for the campaign.
In all, I see it as bothering and encumbering for a DM and a campaign to strictly stick to a given timeline.
So much for that. Ergdusch |
"Das Gras weht im Wind, wenn der Wind weht." |
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A Question of Time
