What Makes a good ending to a campaign?

[guedo79]

Any of my players turn back now.

So I'm working on wrapping up my first campaign and want to go out with a bang. The only problem is I've never been in a campaign that has actually finished. Most go on forever or just fade away with frendships.

So here's the question: What campaign endings have to been a part of that was memorable? What made it special? Was it combat or just roleplaying?

Was it done softly with lots of description and follow up or did it just end?

 

[Katerek]

I once had to end a campaign suddenly when four of the seven players got rescheduled and could no longer get together on the same nights.

I did a few interviews and then sat down and typed up a 4 or 5 page History Book like narrative of what came to pass. We all got together one last time and I read it aloud. It was fun but a bit bittersweet.

All other campaigns that I have been in that ended either did so because the PC's were dead or everyone got all grumpy and had a falling out.

 

[guedo79]

All other campaigns that I have been in that ended either did so because the PC's were dead or everyone got all grumpy and had a falling out.

Thats what I'm trying to avoid. I figure if I put a nice end on this campaign it would stand out better then the ones that ended after a fall out.

 

[7thlvlDM]

Suicide mission to save the world.

(If you happen to be running a Greyhawk campaign during the Greyhawk Wars, I have an idea...)

 

[guedo79]

Suicide mission to save the world.

(If you happen to be running a Greyhawk campaign during the Greyhawk Wars, I have an idea...)

Nope. Running Planescape. Tho I would be interested in any ideas.

 

[sunbeam60]

Well, in the two campaigns I have ever helped end (one 6 year campaign as a player wizard and one 5 year campaign as DM), the endings went something like this:

First one, we kinda screwed the whole thing up - the story shall be remained untold lest I start whining - and there really was nothing left to do. We had utterly doomed the entire world. Yep, anti-climax, but at least there were consequences to being so utterly stupid as we were.

Second one didn't end per se, but once the players had gotten to that point where everything was guaranteed to work out well, we just ended it then and there. I know it seems anticlimatic, but we were travelling all over the country to have these massive weekend sessions and it honestly seemed a bit of a waste to do the whole thing solely for the purpose of spending 48 hours telling the players "and everyone loves you and everything is good and you, the knight that never got laid, you see a beautyful lady sending you the eyes" ....

To keep this post even mildly on topic, I will make some recommendations gathered from the way I planned to play out the ending had we lived closer together.

I definately planned a movie-style ending, where once everybody was gathered to honor the peace that had now settled, the final traitor would reveal himself for the old-school Arnold showdown with a climatic battle inside the throne room of the castle they were to have occupied.

I always found (your mileage may vary) that roleplaying these lovy-dovey moments where everything is dandy gets just kinda ... silly ... "You are so good!" ... "no, no, no Sire ... YOU are so good" etc. Never did work for our group back then.

Regards
Toft

[edit: Yeah, I can't spell]

 

[Mulkhoran]

T
P
K


The only way to fly.

 

[Taren Nighteyes]

And they lived happily ever after.....The End.

Taren Nighteyes

 

[guedo79]

T
P
K


The only way to fly.

Why does everyone bring tpk up when I talk about ending a campaign?

 

[Mulkhoran]

Why does everyone bring tpk up when I talk about ending a campaign?

Because it's positively *NUMMY*!

Kill kill kill!