When I first started playing DnD, I didn’t know how long it would take to play a session of DnD. I thought it was more or less like a regular tabletop, but it turns out that’s not the case. So, how long does a DnD session last?
A DnD session usually lasts for about 3-7 hours. The length depends on how long you want to play, if you’re a beginner, how often your group plays, and narrative points. The length of a session is not set in stone. You can play as long as you want to, and it is possible to play shorter, hour-long sessions as well. It all depends on your group and preferences.
This article aims to explore the different factors that explain the length of DnD sessions and many more related topics. Follow along if you want to learn more!
How Long Is a Dungeons and Dragons Session?
Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this article. How long is a DnD session? Well, the length of a DnD session depends on a couple of aspects.
If your session is a “one-shot” you can clear the entire adventure in about 3-4 hours usually, hence the name “one-shot”. Here’s an example of a good book for clearing short and sweet adventures.
A session of campaign play is usually anywhere from 3-7 hours for most players. There are some things to keep in mind when playing these longer sessions, however.
You want to find a sweet spot for your group. If you find that you play far too lengthy sessions, you will notice your group members burning out and losing interest, while if you stop it too short, your players will be wanting to play more.
You don’t want to end the session in the middle of an epic battle or in the climax of a narrative point, which means that sometimes, you’ll just let the story dictate the session length. It’s like reading a book, I usually stop reading for the day after a certain chapter.
Another aspect to take into account is; how often does your group play? If you play every other day, then chances are that you keep sessions somewhat shorter. If you meet up once a month, then you will probably want to make the most of the occasion.
For the day-long super sessions, keep in mind that food breaks and stuff like that add on time as well. If you’re playing a long online session, then lag and microphone issues might hinder your progress and thus drag the session on. There are a bunch of aspects regarding the length of a session.
Ultimately, the length of a DnD session comes down to how long you want and are comfortable playing for. It’s certainly not set in stone, but if you’re a beginner, then the sessions are obviously going to last longer. Reading your spells, looking up rules, and so forth can be time-consuming.
How Long Does It Take To Plan A DnD Session?
Planning a DnD session can mean a few things. Usually, planning a DnD session includes creating the details of monsters, creating maps, ironing out storylines, going through dialogue options, and so forth.
If you’re new to the game, then preparation is inevitably going to take longer. Let’s get that out of the way. This isn’t particularly strange, you need time to go through the motions.
One thing to take into consideration is the session length. Are you planning a one-shot? Well, the prep time will be considerably shorter than if you’re planning a day dedicated to a long adventure.
It’s good to find a sweet spot here as well – too much time into planning might burn you out. Remember, it’s not obligatory to plan everything down to the last detail, some improvisation and unexpected events are usually welcomed.
The flip side of the same coin is that if you’re not spending any time planning, then the adventure might be less immersive and as a result less fun for players.
Some very experienced players can get good detail down in a matter of 1 hour. Other DMs like to take an entire day to plan their adventure, it depends on the style and experience of the DM who’s planning.
How Many Sessions Do You Play In a DnD Campaign?
How many sessions do you dedicate to one campaign/story? This largely depends on the story, of course. How complex is the main plot? If the plot is fairly simple, then you won’t have to spend as much time getting to the climax of the story.
For some players, you play as long as it takes to finish the story. Finishing it quicker because of time can influence the quality of your experience.
You can also interconnect stories. Meaning after you have finished a story, you can jump to the next with the same characters if you want to. The best thing about DnD in my opinion is the freedom of choice and imagination.
How Can I Speed Up My DnD Session?
If you think that your sessions are taking too long, I have some tips for you that might help. The first thing is limiting players’ choices. This might seem somewhat cynical, but it isn’t. Just don’t let them run amok or get very sidetracked.
Don’t simply interrupt them or tell them to stop, but limit the players’ options by forcing narration. If they are taking too long discussing a problem involving which way to take in a dungeon, force the issue. Maybe an enemy shows up on a patrol route. Be creative!
Another way of making adventures more speedy is using premade adventures. You can buy them as books, or digitally at DnD Beyond.
Use digital resources to keep track of stats, spells, character information, and so forth. It will make things go a lot smoother. Simply a quality of life improvement overall.
A thing that greatly increases the speed of combat is using something called side initiative. Side initiative is where you roll for example a D20 dice for each side (enemies and allies). It is simpler, but some players find it too simple.
Enforcing narrative is something I touched on earlier but I will stress it again – DMs can use it to discipline slow or indecisive actions. Players aren’t discussing in a vacuum outside of the game, so it’s completely reasonable if opportunities slip them by if they’re slow.
Finally; play the game, it will naturally develop at a quicker pace eventually as players learn. Everything is slower in the beginning.
You might also like: What’s the Easiest RPG System To Learn?
How Long Is A Round In DnD?
A round is around six seconds of in-game time. Turns take place within a round. This is relevant because it sets limits and regulations for what is reasonable to do. It’s also relevant from a narrative perspective.
Turns and rounds in DnD are abstractions, meaning they aren’t literal. They are there to create order. It does not mean that everyone is standing around waiting for people to do their thing. Everyone involved makes their move at approximately the same time.
Can You Play DnD In An Hour?
Typically, a session of DnD takes longer than an hour. You could easily do a shorter dungeon of some sort in an hour, however. If you want to shorten things down to an hour, just keep working on your pace as a DM and it’s certainly possible.
Another smart thing to do for a one-hour-long DnD session is to use pre-generated characters. Yes, the characters will be more cookie-cutter, but you’ll save a lot of time.
What’s The Longest DnD Game Ever?
As I have touched on, games can go on for a very long time if you choose to have it that way. So, what’s the longest game? Well, it’s not clear. One guy has apparently played the same game of DnD for 40 years.
That’s quite frankly overkill, but I would say that a really long game of DnD is about a year or more. It’s fairly common that games go on for a couple of years.