Let’s be honest about something. How many D&D campaigns have you started that never finished?

I’m talking about those epic adventures that were supposed to take your characters from level 1 to 20. The ones that petered out somewhere around level 6. The campaign notes gathering dust on your hard drive.

There’s a reason for this. And it’s not that your group lacks commitment.

The Year-Long D&D Commitment Problem

Here’s what nobody tells you when you crack open that shiny new D&D adventure book. Curse of Strahd will eat 22-26 sessions of your life. Tomb of Annihilation demands 26-35 sessions. Even the humble Lost Mines of Phandelver - the “beginner” adventure - clocks in at 30-50 hours of gameplay.

That’s 6 months to 2 years of regular weekly sessions. For one campaign.

Think about your last group text trying to schedule a session. Now imagine doing that every week for two years straight. While keeping the same characters alive. And remembering what happened in session 12 when you’re now on session 31.

No wonder most D&D campaigns die a slow death around the third month.

CoC: Complete Stories in Bite-Sized Chunks

Call of Cthulhu takes a completely different approach. Most scenarios are designed to wrap up in 3-4 hours total.

Not 3-4 hours per session for months on end. Three to four hours. Period. Done. Complete story with beginning, middle, and satisfying conclusion.

“The Haunting” - the classic starter scenario - takes about 4-6 hours. You can literally run this on a Saturday afternoon and have investigators discover cosmic horror, face an impossible choice, and either save the day or go insane trying. All before dinner.

Compare that to starting Curse of Strahd knowing you’re signing up for half a year of consistent scheduling. Which one sounds more doable for your actual life?

Why D&D Became a Commitment Sport

Don’t get me wrong. D&D’s design isn’t accidental. The level 1-20 progression system demands long story arcs. You need time to grow from “I swing my sword” to “I cast Meteor Swarm and reshape the battlefield.”

Published D&D adventures are built around this. They’re designed as months-long investments. Epic journeys that require sustained character development and party dynamics.

But here’s the thing. Somewhere along the way, the hobby developed this expectation that “real” D&D means year-long campaigns. That shorter adventures are just warm-ups for the main event.

This turned D&D into a commitment sport. Like training for a marathon when you just wanted to go for a jog.

The Beautiful Efficiency of Horror

Call of Cthulhu works differently because horror works differently.

Investigation has a natural story structure. Investigators find clues. Clues lead to revelations. Revelations lead to confrontation with cosmic horror. Confrontation leads to resolution (or madness).

This arc fits perfectly into 3-4 hours. The tension builds, reaches a climax, and resolves. No need for seventeen sessions of character development. The story is the star, not the character sheet.

Plus, let’s talk about character mortality. In CoC, investigators die. Or go insane. Or both. This isn’t a bug - it’s a feature. It creates natural endpoints to stories.

Unlike D&D, where characters grow stronger and more attached over dozens of sessions, CoC investigators are fragile. This makes shorter commitments not just possible, but inevitable.

Real Talk: What This Means for Your Gaming Group

You know what’s great about running “The Haunting” on a Saturday night? Everyone leaves satisfied. Complete story. Full experience. No cliffhangers requiring next week’s session to resolve.

Compare that to starting Descent into Avernus and knowing you’re committing to 30-40 sessions. That’s almost a year of weekly gaming. Miss a few sessions and you’re lost. Have one player move away and the whole campaign crumbles.

CoC scenarios are perfect for:

  • Groups with busy schedules
  • Players who want variety in their gaming
  • Anyone who’s tired of unfinished campaigns
  • New players who don’t want to commit to months of sessions

You can run “The Dead Boarder” in 2 hours. “The Necropolis” takes 1-2 hours max. These aren’t abbreviated experiences - they’re complete horror stories with full narrative arcs.

Ready to Try Some Cosmic Horror?

If you’re tired of D&D campaigns that never reach their conclusions, give Call of Cthulhu a shot.

Start with “The Haunting” from the starter set. Four hours. Complete experience. Your players will face cosmic horror, make impossible choices, and either triumph or face the consequences of meddling with forces beyond human comprehension.

All in one evening.

The best part? When it’s over, it’s actually over. Your group will have experienced a complete story from beginning to end. No scheduling next week’s session to find out what happens. No wondering if this campaign will join the graveyard of unfinished adventures.

Just the satisfaction of a story well told. And maybe, just maybe, investigators who lived to tell the tale.

Though honestly, where’s the fun in that?

Have you experienced the curse of unfinished D&D campaigns? Or found success with shorter RPG formats? Share your horror stories (gaming or otherwise) in the comments below.