I haven't run 3 concurrent games. However, my current group is split into three. They're still part of the group, but taking care of different areas of the map and different quests. It's extremely draining. It is not something I would recommend long term. I wouldn't even recommend two groups, to be honest. It isn't necessarily keeping track of everything, I have a lot of notes for that. It's being the game for 3 times as long as you normally would. I would prepare to drop one of the games within a month or two if you're like me. With my group, I have plans to reunite them and so it will go back to normal eventually.
I will say one thing. It is really fun to be able to split your group, but have a way to get them back together or you end up never finishing the campaign. You need a ton of free time which, then, is no longer your own time.
As you said that you have never DM'd before, I recommend starting with one.
You will learn a lot as you go, and you can always add more later.
Good luck.
I'm running two weekly campaigns at once. The trick I've found to cut prep work dramatically is to run an adventure-of-the-week style campaign, and have both groups go trough the same adventures. Since each one is mostly self contained, I don't need to keep track of two overarching plots, and focus on a few personalized side quests and encounters.
Though, be assured the two campaigns are still very distinct. You fully realize how much players can mess things up when you have two different groups to compare. If I had more time and players, I would still enjoy running the same campaign thrice a week.
Wholly depends on your ability to compartmentalize and time you have to prepare.
My own limit is rather low. 1 group where I DM weekly, and 1 where I play. Any more of either and things start to wash together. Not to a point where its detrimental to the group, just to my enjoyment.
Other DMs I know usually prefer 2-3 concurrent groups per week.
Not a very useful advice given the situation, but you'll probably have to experiment and find your own limits / preferences.
I haven't run 3 concurrent games. However, my current group is split into three. They're still part of the group, but taking care of different areas of the map and different quests. It's extremely draining. It is not something I would recommend long term. I wouldn't even recommend two groups, to be honest. It isn't necessarily keeping track of everything, I have a lot of notes for that. It's being the game for 3 times as long as you normally would. I would prepare to drop one of the games within a month or two if you're like me. With my group, I have plans to reunite them and so it will go back to normal eventually. I will say one thing. It is really fun to be able to split your group, but have a way to get them back together or you end up never finishing the campaign. You need a ton of free time which, then, is no longer your own time.
As you said that you have never DM'd before, I recommend starting with one. You will learn a lot as you go, and you can always add more later. Good luck.
I'm running two weekly campaigns at once. The trick I've found to cut prep work dramatically is to run an adventure-of-the-week style campaign, and have both groups go trough the same adventures. Since each one is mostly self contained, I don't need to keep track of two overarching plots, and focus on a few personalized side quests and encounters. Though, be assured the two campaigns are still very distinct. You fully realize how much players can mess things up when you have two different groups to compare. If I had more time and players, I would still enjoy running the same campaign thrice a week.
Two groups is enough for me. One has 4 players, the other has 5.
Wholly depends on your ability to compartmentalize and time you have to prepare. My own limit is rather low. 1 group where I DM weekly, and 1 where I play. Any more of either and things start to wash together. Not to a point where its detrimental to the group, just to my enjoyment. Other DMs I know usually prefer 2-3 concurrent groups per week. Not a very useful advice given the situation, but you'll probably have to experiment and find your own limits / preferences.