Campaign Reliability Survey Results
Early directional results from self-reported campaign survey responses.
Campaign Status
Play Format
Campaign Type
Biggest Threat to Continuation
Cancellation Frequency
GM Burnout
Consistency and Scheduling:
Campaigns are significantly aided by maintaining a consistent schedule, such as a set day and time (e.g., Sunday evenings). Momentum is critical, and continuing sessions even when only one player is missing helps establish the game as a weekly staple. Conversely, frequent cancellations due to Game Master (GM) lack of preparation can lead to a campaign’s failure.
External Life Factors and Group Dynamics:
Personal life events, such as a major relationship crisis within the group (e.g., divorce/cheating), can instantly collapse a long-running campaign. Removing a “problem player” immediately improved one campaign’s rating from 2/5 to 4/5 or 5/5. Success was also attributed to inviting compatible people who meshed well and kept the group from getting too large.
GM Burnout and Expectations:
GM burnout was a factor in several campaigns, sometimes leading to acceleration of the finale, or requiring the GM to take a break while the group played something else. One GM felt pressured by large expectations to get the setting “exactly right.” Using pre-written adventures helped one GM avoid burnout.
Campaign Conclusion and Continuation:
Many groups intentionally end a campaign after a set time (e.g., 1 year or 50 sessions) or when reaching a natural narrative end, and then immediately start a new one with the same group and/or GM. One campaign ended in a Total Party Kill (TPK) that left players unsatisfied, leading them to start something new.
System/Setting Challenges:
One campaign struggled due to using a difficult setting that was converted to a more challenging rule set (Drakkenheim converted to 5.5e). Additionally, the 2023 OGL scandal caused one player to lose interest in 5E, prompting them to accelerate the finale and switch to Pathfinder 2E.
These results are based on self-reported responses and should be treated as directional community benchmarks, not a census of all D&D campaigns. Filters update the dashboard view, but small filtered samples should be interpreted cautiously.