The Time Warp – Mastering the Strange Way Time Flows in Your D&D Campaign

3 Wise DMs

Play through an adventure and you’ll realize how strangely time can move in your D&D campaign. Longtime friend of the show, Dr. DM (Jason) returns with a question about his ocean-based campaign that we discussed in Episode 148. His question revolves around how quickly leveling can affect the passage of time in the adventure.

In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss the strange way time can move in your campaign and how to best handle that. Is your game a non-stop march towards the inevitability of the BBEG or is it more a classic-type of campaign with a bunch of adventures linked together? As DM Tony wisely states, “The passage of time is not nearly as important as the passage of good sessions.”

1:25 Dr. DM returns with the ongoing ocean-based campaign that started from our Shipping Up To Boston episode!

4:08 How does time work in your campaign? One crazy summer or lasting over decades of the characters lives? How fast, or slow, are you leveling?

6:45 Using a campaign calendar and how it shows how quickly time can move in D&D.

9:45 Many adventures don’t allow for a lot of “downtime” or times when you’re not actively adventuring.

11:40 Structuring your campaign to allow for time to pass. DM Chris explains the Fellowship phase in the Lord of the Rings 5e campaign he’s preparing.

18:25 Does training and time really matter in your campaign? The Luke Skywalker example.

23:05 Hiring crew, guides, and hirelings for your keep. How much do your players want control in this? DM Chris reviews the hiring of guides in Tomb of Annihilation.

32:12 Using your NPC hirelings and townspeople to hook the characters deeper into the story… the Invasion of Vogler in Dragonlance.

37:09 A slight aside to an addendum of Dr. DMs question: paying dues in game… yes or no?

42:35 Final Thoughts.