So your Dungeons & Dragons campaign went on hiatus … how do you restart it? In this episode of Campaigns & Coffee, Ken, Chris, and Josh talk about how to re-engage with a not-quite-dead-yet role-playing game campaign.



They dive into how a game can lose momentum, with real-life interruptions causing campaigns to stall or be put on hold. They share personal anecdotes of campaigns like Cyberpunk Red and Secrets of the Saltmarsh that have gone through pauses, offering practical strategies for relaunching them.



Techniques include recaps, time skips, flashbacks, and collaborative world-building (in other words ... getting the players to help figure out how to reboot after the hiatus). The discussion covers the importance of keeping both the game master (GM) and players motivated, with special attention given to tools like Obsidian for campaign notes and ways to revive interest through changes in story direction or character development.



Chapter List



00:00 What the heck's a hiatus?03:43 Recap and Relaunch07:07 Taking Notes and Recapping08:26 Base Building and Subgames16:42 Using Flashbacks to Provide Context and Hooks19:33 Starting in the Middle of the Action: Grabbing Players' Attention23:41 Choosing the Right Structure for Hiatuses27:02 Preparing for the Next Level: Getting Players Excited



YouTube Video




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI2qiFdd5_8




Show Notes




Discussion on the nature of RPG hiatuses: intentional vs. unintentional



Examples of stalled campaigns

Cyberpunk Red



Secrets of the Saltmarsh





Strategies for restarting a campaign:

Recapping the last session



Using a time skip to advance the story



Flashbacks to fill in gaps



Emphasizing downtime or base-building to rekindle player interest





Tips for GMs to stay motivated:

campaign notes



wiki tools like Obsidian and Scabbard





The importance of player engagement:

encouraging note-taking



future character development



in-game world-building





Use of seasonal or episodic structure for long-running campaigns




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