D&D General DMs...How do you end a campaign in a satisfying way?

[THEMNGMNT]

I like an open ended ending with the option for returning to these characters. So not every single thing is tied up, but we can imagine these characters maybe going their own way to follow up their own agendas with a promise to reunite someday (or perhaps more dramatically, never see each other again! - with the meta-knowledge that someday the world may call on them again despite their enmity! )

I ended my Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign right after they completed the Final Enemy (3 years in real time), but we plan/hope to return to these character after a year's time has passed (in-game) and in the meantime started a new campaign somewhere else in the setting which may take several years.

I ended my Out of the Frying Pan campaign after five years with characters going their separate ways after the central concern had been resolved, following after the hooks that were never pursued in the midst of the campaign. For that game we actually had a pair of reunion sessions involving hunting a dragon about a year later.

My just completed Dragon Heist/Deck of Many things campaign has an open ended quality to it, as the characters are in Tier 3. I have another campaign in progress that's likely to end in Tier 3. I've been considering bringing them together in Tier 4 to tie up some loose ends in both.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I find the key to a satisfying ending is thinking about the end before you even begin. In particular, how much real time (hours, sessions, weeks, months, etc.) you need to get through it. Then line that up with reality of the group's schedules and preferences to see if it is feasible. Err on the side of keeping it shorter. Whatever it landed upon, assess the prep needed and allot time for that. Then get to work. Everything else will fall into place. And when you start getting close to the predetermined real time limit, start looking for opportunities that get you to a satsifying conclusion based on the emergent play so far.

It's the campaigns that fizzle out that are the least satisfying in my view and that's almost always due to the DM not considering real time in my experience. I'd rather leave them wanting more than have it sort of just go away because it goes too long.

Agreed. I call this "campaign pacing". I don't think it gets talked about enough.

I learned about campaign pacing the hard way in my first 1-20 level campaign when we reached 20th level and still had another 20 sessions of story to get through. Now I try to be ruthless in cutting out superfluous sessions and scenes, even in very long campaigns.

I've also come to discover that I don't have much interest in campaigns under 20 sessions. To me, anything shorter than that isn't a campaign. It's an adventure. Or maybe an arc. On the flip side, I get fidgety if the campaign lasts more than 3 years. So I now think about what I can realistically get done in 1-3 years and design the campaign to fit within that space.

 

[el-remmen]

20th level and still had another 20 sessions of story to get through.

Admittedly, 20 sessions is a lot, but presumably if the players (and you) are having fun, then continuing to play out the story even without traditional advancement (they can still advance the story, develop character, advance their influence, attain magical items, etc) then this isn't really a problem. Is it?

 

[cbwjm]

I'd love it as a player to hit level 20 and get a chance to use all of my class abilities over 20 sessions, especially of the end of the campaign is in sight. Too often you hit a new level and the campaign ends so you don't get to use your new abilities.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

The more campaigns I end, the more I find it's important to give codas, to give the players a chance to say goodbye to their characters. As big and epic as the final battle should be, it's also about making sure that the players are ready to move on.

 

[Quickleaf]

Thank you! I take the same approach as you in crafting a campaign. But specifically with endings -- the last 1 to 3 sessions that should be the climax of the story -- I am a nervous wreck. So hard to get right. For me, anyway.

Yeah if you’re talking about the satisfactory weaving together / concluding disparate story threads? That does take a lot of practice, and for me a lot of getting wrong before I started getting it right. What can be helpful is to earnestly assess “how many plates can I realistically keep spinning here?” If that number is 5 - the really focus on just those 5 essential things and let other stuff go.

 

[Stalker0]

Start with your characters rather than the story. If the characters have a satisfying wrap up to their personal arcs, than the players are normally happy even if the main story doesn't fully "go their way".

the other thing I'll say, just as in movies and tv shows....9 out of 10 its fine to go for the expected ending. Twists are REALLY hit or miss, yes that can be insanely cool but man they can fizzle if not done right. A lot of times its fine to just let the characters beat the bad guy and win the day (or die heroically in the attempt). Throwing a curveball at the 11th hour can feel like the dm just dictating how its all going to go.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

What can be helpful is to earnestly assess “how many plates can I realistically keep spinning here?” If that number is 5 - the really focus on just those 5 essential things and let other stuff go.

Great point. I agree completely.

 

[Sulicius]

I have had the pleasure of finishing 4 campaigns as a DM, and I have gotten a lot better at giving them a proper ending.

The key is calling back to earlier moments in the campaign, and giving the players the final agency.

For instance, my finale of the Theros campaign had the champions of the gods visit the Underworld again, and see many of the beasts and villains they defeated. Then when they beat the Titans I asked them what they would imagine their characters to do after this. Being demigods, I just gave them full control of whatever this epilogue would be.

Sly Flourish has a great article on this.

 

[Zardnaar]

I have had the pleasure of finishing 4 campaigns as a DM, and I have gotten a lot better at giving them a proper ending.

The key is calling back to earlier moments in the campaign, and giving the players the final agency.

For instance, my finale of the Theros campaign had the champions of the gods visit the Underworld again, and see many of the beasts and villains they defeated. Then when they beat the Titans I asked them what they would imagine their characters to do after this. Being demigods, I just gave them full control of whatever this epilogue would be.

Sly Flourish has a great article on this.

I'm running ancient Greece and yeah planning on some underworld rematches or redemption.