Ideas on Running Multiple 5E D&D Campaigns in One World – At the Same Time

Ashes of Ardor is the fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I’ve been running on Nerdarchy Live every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. Meanwhile Quill & Sword is a 5E D&D campaign I run every other Thursday night during the same time slot on my Twitch channel. Both campaigns take place in my dark fantasy world of Aulmn. Two campaigns, one world setting — infinite possibilities. As Ashes of Ardor comes to a close I want to share some of what I learned running two campaigns in the same world simultaneously. Whether you’re running a premade setting like Eberron, Wildemount or the iconic Forgotten Realms these tips should help with keeping things smooth and copacetic. Fair warning: there be spoilers ahead for both Ashes of Ardor and Quill & Sword.

Stagger the campaigns

Timelines

One of the biggest things to remember when running multiple campaigns in the same world is any big events have consequences beyond the immediate. In Ashes of Ardor, ring portals appear all over the globe fairly early into the events and this is immediately followed by a time skip.

Meanwhile, Quill & Sword had no such event yet take place. Thus, Quill & Sword must either precede Ashes of Ardor or it must take place in some alternate timeline. I opted for Quill & Sword taking place earlier in the timeline, as hinted when I told the players in Ashes of Ardor how the capitol of Voirais had been obliterated by the rings.

This cemented Quill & Sword solidly more than a year before the events of Ashes of Ardor. In our most recent Q&S episode (at time of writing), the ring portal event has only just happened. This means the events of Ashes of Ardor take place a year after what’s currently happening there.

Staggering timelines can be a bit tricky if you’re not careful. When I told the AoA group the Voiresian capitol was destroyed this cemented how the event had to happen in Q&S. It can be easy to accidentally write yourself into a corner with plot points if you’re not careful. Make sure you keep notes of anything you say that would affect the others at some time.

Locations

When running adventures in the same setting I advise staggering the locations where you allow the parties to be, usually keeping them at least a few days’ journey apart. This ensures the player groups never meet without it being planned.

While having two parties meet could make for an epic encounter or a special session, making sure both parties are separated unless planned is important. Likewise you’ll want to make sure you have reasons for the parties to separate once they’ve met unless you intend for them to merge, because fast friends, power in numbers and all that.

Easter eggs are fun

One of the best aspects of running multiple campaigns at once is you can seed Easter eggs and references for the other party to find. If one party had an impact on a location the other party visits, what evidence is left? Has the location bee changed in a big way as a result of the first party’s actions?

Likewise, if one party loses an item or encounters an object they did not remove from a location, the second party might find it or even acquire said object. This is a great way to give parties a second chance at items that might be lost, stolen or otherwise taken from the first group.

Another form of an Easter egg is an allusion (not to be confused with the School of Illusion) to other characters. In Ashes of Ardor, Nerditor Doug’s Aslari Shaggy Soul sorcerer was searching for Robin’s character Senta, but in the process of the vision to reveal her, he encountered an image of Robin’s other character Masquerade. This was a welcome reference for the players and it solidified once again how both campaigns were happening in the same world but at different times.

Go big or go home

As a kid growing up in the ’90s I lived for crossover episodes during Saturday morning cartoons. Heck, things like Justice League and Avengers are basically long-running crossovers. The Super Smash Bros. series is really just one giant Nintendo crossover. Whether brawling it out or fighting beside one another, crossover melees are the stuff of every kid’s fantasy.

Just thinking about who would win in a fight between Godzilla and Superman can make for a longform fandom discussion.

Similarly, being able to see the aftermath of actions taken by a party is a rare treat in D&D. Often, once a town or person is rescued, defeated or otherwise, the players move on to bigger and better things. But new complications can arise from a party’s actions. Being able to see how one group changed things makes a session matter, and that makes it that much more fun.

D&D is supposed to be fun. We play this game because it’s a great way to spend time with friends and have a good time. Whatever you do when it comes to running multiple campaigns in the same world, take advantage of the potential that exists and make it fun.

What do you think?

Honestly, I could wax lengthy about running multiple campaigns in the same world and I’ve barely scratched the surface here. If you’ve got your own ideas for running multiple campaigns in the same world or if you have questions about running multiple campaigns in the same world, feel free to tweet @Nerdarchy, or connect with us on Facebook!

*Featured image — Whether you’re the Game Master or a player, play more games! [Art by Olie Boldador]

New videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel here