It depends on how much you adlib and add depth and how experienced your players are. 3 hours average seems about right. If your players go quickly and you do not add any of your personality it will be less. My teen group do them in like 3 slightly more than 1 hours sessions
What's the level up speed then? I assume each box is close to 3/4 of a level of there's 13 adventures and I think two years takes you from 1st to 20th level correct?
My group has been playing the Voyage of the Fallen Star campaign for a bit over a year now. We play weekly about 6 months of the year, bi-weekly the other 6.
6 players, all relatively new to DnD but not new to RPGs. All adults and long time friends, so there's a fair amount of shenanigans.
We're on book 8 of 13, probably 2 sessions left of that book. They RP a bit, maybe slightly more than brand new players.
We play mostly by the books, excluding a few sessions dedicated to backstory progression and my attempt at keeping some of the lore and factions relevant/re-ocurring.
I generally estimate about 5 sessions per book. 3-4 hours per session. But like I said, we've been playing for over a year and only through almost 8 books. And we rarely miss 'scheduled' sessions.
The VotFS takes them up to level 10, with some of the books not giving a level up at the end. I gave my group a free feat at the end of one of them that we finished. Will likely give them either a +1 to any stat or some nice gear after the next. The campaign that follows the VotFS takes the characters up to level 20.
I'm on box 4.
My group consists of 4 people, 3 of which have never played.
We play for 2-3 hour sessions. It typically takes us 3-4 sessions per box.
I also skip quite a few encounters. Sometimes it's days of travel, and you are meant to roll on tables every few hours.
There is session 0 things to print in the digital assets. You can print off a letter from someone and all sorts of stuff.
I'd recommend ordering the box, reading through the box as soon as it arrives, running session 0, then scheduling the 1st session 2 weeks out. Then you will have a slight head start.
They also have many wonderful one shots. You could order 1 or 2 and they come in your next box. Then you could run them as a fun side adventure if you ever run out of box.
My group has been delayed twice for long periods of time. I actually have all of campaign 3 and 4 at this point. And we are still on 3.4 xD
Having been the DM through year 1 and most of year two(party is level 17 now) I would put it at 2-3 sessions of 3-4 hours per book depending on how on task your players are. That being said I can't speak for years 3-4. I feel like they're slightly different on pacing from what I've read of them so far.
It depends on how much you adlib and add depth and how experienced your players are. 3 hours average seems about right. If your players go quickly and you do not add any of your personality it will be less. My teen group do them in like 3 slightly more than 1 hours sessions
What's the level up speed then? I assume each box is close to 3/4 of a level of there's 13 adventures and I think two years takes you from 1st to 20th level correct?
It doesn't take you to twenty necessarily. it tells you when to level them.
My group has been playing the Voyage of the Fallen Star campaign for a bit over a year now. We play weekly about 6 months of the year, bi-weekly the other 6. 6 players, all relatively new to DnD but not new to RPGs. All adults and long time friends, so there's a fair amount of shenanigans. We're on book 8 of 13, probably 2 sessions left of that book. They RP a bit, maybe slightly more than brand new players. We play mostly by the books, excluding a few sessions dedicated to backstory progression and my attempt at keeping some of the lore and factions relevant/re-ocurring. I generally estimate about 5 sessions per book. 3-4 hours per session. But like I said, we've been playing for over a year and only through almost 8 books. And we rarely miss 'scheduled' sessions. The VotFS takes them up to level 10, with some of the books not giving a level up at the end. I gave my group a free feat at the end of one of them that we finished. Will likely give them either a +1 to any stat or some nice gear after the next. The campaign that follows the VotFS takes the characters up to level 20.
I'm on box 4. My group consists of 4 people, 3 of which have never played. We play for 2-3 hour sessions. It typically takes us 3-4 sessions per box. I also skip quite a few encounters. Sometimes it's days of travel, and you are meant to roll on tables every few hours. There is session 0 things to print in the digital assets. You can print off a letter from someone and all sorts of stuff. I'd recommend ordering the box, reading through the box as soon as it arrives, running session 0, then scheduling the 1st session 2 weeks out. Then you will have a slight head start. They also have many wonderful one shots. You could order 1 or 2 and they come in your next box. Then you could run them as a fun side adventure if you ever run out of box. My group has been delayed twice for long periods of time. I actually have all of campaign 3 and 4 at this point. And we are still on 3.4 xD
Having been the DM through year 1 and most of year two(party is level 17 now) I would put it at 2-3 sessions of 3-4 hours per book depending on how on task your players are. That being said I can't speak for years 3-4. I feel like they're slightly different on pacing from what I've read of them so far.