D&D 5E Creating good session stopping points

[redrick]

I'm also running a classic adventure campaign (currently Temple of Elemental Evil), so I understand. We officially play from Noon to 3 (on Roll20 using Skype), but seldom do sessions end before 4 (and usually come closer to 5). I have a good understanding of the area they're in, and try to end things before they start up something complicated or when they're at a decision point (for example, they just found the Orb of Golden Death, and need to decide what to do with it). Since the end of the session is flexible, this allows me the ability to end the session at the best time.

I would suggest you adopt this and inform your group that the last hour is flex time (or the last half hour if you can go over your normal limit). If you find any spot that would be a good ending point, you jump on it. If you like cliffhangers, get them to the start of a scene. Better yet, drop some clues or hints at something just ahead (hearing the pipe organ from the Chapel area, a wandering encounter with one of the Amber family members, etc.), which will get them thinking about the future without the urgency to deal with it immediately (combat tends to do this, which is why I never end a session with the start of one).

Yeah, this has actually been our operating principle for the last 6 months or so. The session runs til 12pm with the understanding that it might actually run til 1am. (Eastern.) That sort of worked at first, but, recently, that 1am has been stretching back a lot later. When I ask the players if they want to stop for the night, they all say no, but then we end up with a real grueling slog through the last encounter of the night.

Last night, when it got to about 12:30, I finally pulled the, "a big fight is about to go down!" and then said, "and I'll see you next week." The players were a little shocked at first, because I hadn't given any indication that we were about to stop, but I think they were ultimately happier with the outcome than the previous session which ended right after a challenging troll encounter. And now I can spend this week thinking about how to make the encounter more interesting, or thinking about what will happen at the end of the encounter, or whatever. So, thanks for the tip, Astrosicebear.

 

[Nebulous]

Sorry, long preamble. Question is, do you as GM's worry about finding good ways to tie up your session so that it feels like it ends on a strong note, or do you just call "cut" when the time is up? Do you have tricks for manufacturing/improvising those stopping points when they might not fit with the natural flow of the adventure? Do you ever stop early because, "damn, that just felt like the perfect place to say, 'TO BE CONTINUED...'"? Do you feel bad when you say, "this is where we're stopping," but the players all want to keep going?

Thanks, as always, for your thoughts.

Due to our current time restraints (about 2 hours weekly game) we just have to stop where we are. Sometimes it's right before a fight, sometimes it's a logical stopping point, sometimes we wish we could keep going another 30 minutes. It's always different. The only thing I make sure to do each end game is to clearly point out to everyone "Here's what happens when we start time next time."