fba827

As I put together the initial details of what will be the 13th and final session for the group, I find the planning to be a lot easier (in a very morbid "it's all over" sort of way)

I get to show how lots of plots were connected (or not connected as the case may be) and there is a strong feeling of closure for me, mentally.

I do feel a little awkward because I am doing an artificial level increase for the PCs (something I don't like doing), but in doing so it will let the players get to play with lots of new goodies and it will also let the group end at the end of the heroic tier (level 10, which is arbitrary, but none the less, some people like that as an ending point) -- and why not go out with a memorable bang, right?

They'll have a tough set of fights ahead of them (that's all I can say in case the players are reading)... hopefully it won't result in a TPK!

(Not RPG related, just a ramble ...)

So, I broke down and bought myself a new gaming console with some birthday money (yes, I should have spent it on other things... but that's a debate best reserved for my head, not for the blog).


I had been planning to eventually get it (in terms of doing research and cost comparisons for sellers; I just didn't know when I would get it), so it wasn't a pure impulse buy.


A brief background:
I grew up on the original NES, then Sega, then a few years of just playing occasional games at friends' but not my own console.. Then I had an XBOX, PS3, and Wii (at separate times, but owning each for less than a full year).
I find that I get a few games, play them obsessively, and then have no interest in replay value of the games I own, and rarely does a new game come out that warrants my attention (not interested enough for using my budgeted 'play' money) so the console just sits there until I sell it/trade it in.


But now, we're at the cusp for 4 games (Batman Arkum Asylum, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, Alpha Protocol, Dragon Age: Origins) that I -really- want to play. So I got a new console system.

We'll see how long I stay interested before it just sits there...

But, hey, in the meantime, I do hope to have enough fun with those particular 4 titles (as well a "collection" title I'm getting just to play Phantasy Star 4, and Shining Force 1 and 2. )


Edit:
Another thing I noticed... when I was younger (with the NES or Sega) I would have friends from jr high/high school over all the time. Weekend long sleepovers with 3-5 friends where we'd switch off between video games, RPGs, movies, and random silliness when we didn't have school.

So I guess part of the eventual boredom with consoles is that I don't get that "play-with-friends" nostalgia. Hence, all I have to look forward to is the game itself, rather than the old "game experience" I got used to.

Add to that the fact that games today are not really geared towards me... I'm not much for "twitchy" games, and I lack the coordination to do fancy button combinations. In fact, my favorite games are turn-based RPGs followed by a misc of other things that are probably "slower paced" for someone who is in their teens.

(kind of rushed copy/paste - might not make much sense to those who weren't present)

The party and allied forces headed back to the city. En route, you met a savage humanoid mother was seeking revenge on wizards who killed her sons (as well as the rest of the males in her village); she was stalking your powerful group to determine if any of you were ones that she was seeking. The Royal Guardsmen convinced her to come along to see the King, in case he could do anything to help her, especially if people are going around destroying villages (and also because they didn't want a savage vigilante running around unchecked, but they wouldn't tell her that part).

The King wanted to see you right away. He thanked you for your efforts and then wanted to talk to you in private (without his guards). He seemed a little angry but it turns out, he wasn't angry with you but rather because his wife was kidnapped. As ransom, it was said that he stop the investigation of the Greenspire estate, and turn over the artifacts as well as Basil, Melenna, and Brennan. Though, rather than trick the trio to their deaths as the letter suggested, the King asked for their help (not as the King, but as a man who wants his wife back in one piece).

Meanwhile the grieving mother was not allowed to see the King due her resistance at removing some bone daggers, so instead she was directed to speak with Mayor Rohan. There, she told him her story and what she knew of the incident. Rohan suggested that she travel with the party if only because the party seemed to have some knowledge of clues that she had. Brennan made the savage newcomer promise not to reveal anything she was about to see, and she agreed.

The group did some leg work activities: researching new rituals and asking around town about the queen's past (to confirm whether or not she was really kidnapped or a willing participant in the random demands). They also cast speak with dead on Theurge, using some of the lich dust, resulting in Theurge being reborn! Though, he was very tired from the ordeal his body, mind, and soul has undergone. Doing Object Readings on the ransom note they learned more of the circumstances surrounding the letter's writing, delivery, and drop-off: it was apparently written by Duncan, delivered by some skinny goblin, and the queen was apparently unconscious during the letter drop-off. They also learned about the jade statue of Sureya, which seemed to be chiseled by a trio of halflings under the direction of Duncan.

The group debated between several options but ultimately chose to go to the mausoleum (where the first queen was buried) since the king was going there for his weekly visit and also because one interpretation of the ransom letter suggested this to be the ransom delivery site. They lift open the sarcophagus and find no body (or parts), and instead find an emerald green portal.

Jumping down in the portal, they find themselves in a cavernous room with no apparent exits. There is a warning written in the air that they are expecting the artifacts and any doublecrossers will be left to rot. In the alcove on the side is a keystone, whose rune matches a carving on the wall. Placing the stone to the rune carving causes another portal to open. Quickly the shuffle through the emerald opening.

The group finds themselves in another chamber, though Brennan somehow did not appear with you - somehow he vanished while crossing through. There was a fight with some fleshy creatures whose bodies were covered in jaws filled with sharp teeth, and one was even crawling on the wall by digging its teeth into the stone and spitting it's thick saliva to hold people in place.

After dispatching the aberrations, you take a moment to recover from your injuries and then go to examine the pile of keystones in the corner (each with a different rune on its face). After some searching, you find one keystone whose rune matches the carving on the wall. Placing the stone to the wall, a green portal opens and the party quickly goes through ...

Since session #13 will be the last one for the group, and by 'hard numbers' the party isn't quite 7th level yet, I offered two options to the players ...

Would the prefer to end the campaign at level 8 or level 10?

Sure, it's just an arbitrary number and simply represents how much 'stuff' they get.

Either choice has some advantages...

Option A: The campaign ends at level 10.

Advantage: From a very arbitrary definition, it seems 'complete' to say the campaign ended at the end of the 'heroic' tier.

Disadvantage: It will mean you get -several- new feats and powers in a short period of time, which could be overwhelming and may take some time to get used to your own character.


Option B: The campaign ends at level 8.

Advantage: It is a manageable amount of new powers to get in a short period of time (so you won't feel overwhelmed by radical changes in your character, while still getting several new things to try out)

Disadvantage: it's "fewer" new things to try out (when compared to Option A)


It's entirely a player-personal-preference about what they feel is manageable and yet still exciting, all in effort to end the group with a bang.

While I (the DM) have a preference, I can see the appeal of either choice. And I just want to end the group on a high note so that's why I offered them the vote/option.

If your group was currently at level 6 and offered the chance to end the campaign -in one session- would you prefer it to end at level 8 or level 10?

Edit: I've heard back from most of the players by now.. unsurprisingly, they all had different opinions for different reasons, but it was mostly what I expected to hear from the various individuals. Some strongly prefer one or the other, others are okay either way but prefer one or the other, and some are just indifferent. By taking a mathematical average of the continuum of votes, it comes out -very- close but a slight edge to one of them...

Now the trick is to come up with a 'clean' way to implement it all because I refuse to have them all just go for a lunch break and come back to 'work' 5 minutes later being multiple levels higher.

So the current group for this campaign is about to come to an end due to time and energy constraints on the part of the DM (me). I am hoping to have one to two more sessions (session 12 and 13), but then that leaves the question ...

How to wrap up plots and the group in a limited time when using a very player-driven campaign style?

I could bluntly direct them towards the secret hideout of the bad guys and have an epic fight with everyone they have been searching for ...

I could drop not so subtle hints about where to go and just hope that the party goes there

Else, I could just let the party continue to go as they please (as they have been doing up until now) and just when I need to say "enough we need to stop" have a way/excuse to have the various bad guys come to them wherever they are.


Whatever way I go, I want the players to continue a sense of control (whether they really have control or I am just making them think they have it is irrelevant)... and I also don't want to do anything that seems forced/unnatural since I have made a conscious point of making sure any/all actions on the part of the 'bad guys' fits with their schemes and motivations and knowledge -- they wouldn't do something stupid like attacking the PCs for no reason.

To add in to the mix, I have a player who isn't able to attend, as well as a guest-player to fill out the party due to the one absence. So factoring in a 'clean' way to have one PC not participate and have another PC meet the party and have a reason to stick with them are other things I'll have to work in.

I have told the players to expect one to two more sessions, though in retrospect the way I phrased it has led some people are expecting the next session to be the last one -- which wouldn't be a bad thing either considering my grad school schedule ... So a lot to play by ear to see how fluid/unobtrusive I can make it, but still end on a high note!

What have your "end of campaign AND end of group" sessions been like?