Finishing Off a Campaign - Right Ways & Wrong Ways

[Insight]

Our tabletop group may be ending a long-standing campaign soon, mostly I think due to the desire to try something else. I'd be interested to see what others' experiences have been with ending a long-running campaign, both good experiences and bad experiences. They all build character after all, right?

 

[Mark CMG]

Our tabletop group may be ending a long-standing campaign soon, mostly I think due to the desire to try something else. I'd be interested to see what others' experiences have been with ending a long-running campaign, both good experiences and bad experiences. They all build character after all, right?

I'd avoid anything that involves an accelerant.


In my experience, most campaigns end with a whimper, rather than a scream. They tend to trickle out if some of the groups winds up moving away (or moving on) and they aren't replaced, then the group dwindles a bit further, then a game gets called off here and there until you wind up with two or three missed in a row and suddenly you come to the realization that you don't really have a regular game.


Sometimes you have a group that has players and a DM with the foresight to know when a group is likely to split, and you can plan for a big finale. But that's rare, IME.

 

[Speaks With Stone]

If you are planning on moving on to something else, then the GM should plan a good end to the current story - and make it quick and fun. It is better to cram a lot of stuff into a few action packed nights that wind things up than to slowly march along knowing the end is coming. We tend to play short campaigns. Perhaps we have short attention spans or too many GMs but there's always a new idea or new game ready to roll and we rarely get higher than 8th level or the equivalent.

Whenever we've decided to move on to a new campaign, we always want closure with the old, but we don't want it to drag out forever. If the characters are going to retire permanently or even for a long period of time, then it's nice if the GM provides exposition of what happens next. Sort of like the scene at the end of Animal House. This lets the players feel that their characters got to realize some dreams and moved on in life.

 

[Piratecat]

I'm in the last big plotline of my 13-14 year old campaign, although it'll take me a year or so to finish up. I think there are a couple of good ground rules to use:

- don't feel you have to tie up every dangling plot thread.
- allow heroic sacrifice.
- end on an "afterword" game, not right after a huge battle.
- let the players see that their actions have created true change in the game world.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I ended two recent campaigns well - One left a 100' deep crater and a wish spell was used to imprison the last surviving BBEG in chains underneath the earth. Very Black Company/ Robert Jordan like. This was all done as wrap up in sort of narration mode. It could have lasted another session, but we felt done with the game and it ran about 2hrs over our normal time.

I planned to continue the other game after the PCs had had 3 yrs down time, so we set up the basics of what they were doing for the next few years. Its been 2.5 yrs real time, and we have not restarted it.

 

[painandgreed]

Best ending of a campaign was a huge combat that wrapped up most loose ends right there as the players were getting killed by Iuz and summoned the main good god to kick his ass. From there, we got XP, rewards, told what happened in the world afterwards and followed up with the DM individually on what happned with our PCs in the future. The magic user founded a magic school. The horse nomad united his people and became their king. Etc.

The worst campaign ending (same DM actually) consisted of "you guys are getting too high in level*, too quickly** and I like low level campaigns. Everybody role up new characters." The second time that happened***, I just didn't go back.

* 8th

** almost a year of weekly all day long game sessions.

*** Only 4th level that time

 

[KenM]

How to end a campaign: TPK.

 

[xnosipjpqmhd]

Throughout an entire 18-month campaign, my players encountered many NPCs and groups. Some were enemies, some were allies, some were undecided.

In the final session of the campaign, a large battle was fought, and many of these NPCs and groups ended up in the battle on one side or the other. The side of the battle each NPC or group was on was determined in part by how the PCs had treated them during the campaign.

Incidentally, the PCs and their allies won the battle, though it was hard-fought.

ironregime

 

[Greylock]

Sometimes you have a group that has players and a DM with the foresight to know when a group is likely to split, and you can plan for a big finale. But that's rare, IME.

Guess I should count myself lucky.

The last session of the last long-running game I was in ended in a big imbroglio with some denoument in a small town. One of our players was moving and we need to find a way to stop things. Been running in the game for a year, but things were at a logical place for a next "Big Step". Next time we were together we planned on picking up loose ends in the session, and moving on to bigger and better things, finishing the story.

Turns out that we had to make do with that. The DM suddenly and unexpectedly moved.


Damned bastard knew we had his number :growl:.

 

[barsoomcore]

Barsoom is wrapping up Real Soon Now. Thought I'd get it all done yesterday, actually, but a migraine interfered and we're scheduled to go Wednesday for the finale.

I love campaign endings. Building up to a big climactic moment and letting the players hunger for that success, seeing them pull every trick out of their years-deep bag... It's the Big Rush for me as a DM.

Plus I get gifts. My players got me a set of Tact-Tiles, a new carry bag, the Order of the Stick: Dungeon Crawlin' Fools and a card with pictures of all the PCs (and a few key NPCs) that the campaign has inspired and consumed.

Geez, I should have wrapped this thing up ages ago.