How have you handled the campaign denouement?

[Theo R Cwithin]

Hello. Remember how, after the Death Star was destroyed, there was that award ceremony at the end of Episode IV? Yes, it's a little hokey, but it still gives me goosebumps for some reason.

I'm curious to hear how people have ended their campaigns, from either a DM or player perspective. After the World is saved, Home is found, or the Evil is vanquished, in what kind of interesting ways have you handled the closing scene after the final, dramatic encounter: the teary goodbye, the clean-up operation, the "happily ever after", or...?

{ Yes, I'm fishing around for DM ideas to close out a short, low-power campaign arc on a satisfying note, to help out the players - if they need it! }

 

[The_Warlock]

After 13 years, and achieving the edge of Epic, they vanquished the Nightmare god that was bent on consuming their world.

They had a near the end reveal that everything they knew was actually a nightmare...the whole world had fallen asleep and into a terrible and tragic version of reality when a cosmic seal had been broken by another's attempt to alter reality...and they were the reborn souls and minds of the heroes who had vanquised this entity before.

Having utterly devastated the Nightmare God and dropped the killing blow in the depths of the plane of dream, the world began to wake up...

And I revealed to each of them the strange or abjectly normal individual that they were, caught in the middle of various acts they had spoken of frequently over the years as goals or perhaps variations on how they thought their dream selves had come to the adventuring life.

And as each realized what they were, an ally of there in the Nightmare revealed himself as dwelling in the plane of dream, and offered them their dreamselves in a conflict of thought.

Thus they got a glimpse of average folk based on things each of my players had said about their characters over the years, and then stepped out from the world they saved to continue fighting in an Epic war outside of "normalcy".

Some ending were sad, some triumphant, others tempting...but they all took the choice to be larger than life...and that was the end...for now...

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I HAVEN'T handled the denouement because with one exception I've never run or even played in a game where there's been opportunity. The exception is the first 3E game I ran. I stated right at the start that by the time the characters got to being 20th (or close to that) I WOULD bring the campaign to an end. I'd never, ever done that before - planned for a campaign to actually CONCLUDE. Every game of D&D I'd ever been in to that point had been campaigns whose intent had always been to remain open to UNCEASING adventures and development.

I had a story arc/plotline that was rather loosely based on some of the original Adventure Path modules and a few random, useful in-game occurrences. About the time the characters were 17th-18th I saw the opportunity to bring it all to a conclusion. It hadn't quite been the conclusion I'd anticipated but it was at least an end to those adventures. When it was concluded I pretty much just said, "Well, abadee abadee abadee... that's all folks!" I felt satisfied for simply having managed to get the game to that point.

Looking back now, in light your post, I really did miss a trick not to have had a few sessions of denouement as it would have really tied it all up with a ribbon, but I have no regrets.

Oh, and I still have intended that every campaign since to again be one that never NEEDS to end. Campaigns I've been in have always otherwise ended only when players stopped attending because they moved or had other things they needed/wanted to do with their time. It's sad to think back that they all ended with a whimper, save for that one.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Warlock: Nifty wrap up Seems especially fitting for a long-term, hard fought campaign. Nicely done!

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

I HAVEN'T handled the denouement because with one exception I've never run or even played in a game where there's been opportunity.....

Oh yes, I understand that completely. In my (sadly limited) experience, campaigns are either the DM's vast, intricate, epic, ongoing setting of 20 year's development; or else an open sandbox. With the former, I've always eventually had to bow out for life reason; with the latter, they just ended - with a whimper, as you said.

With that in mind, I'm planning on an intentionally short (~20 sessions) campaign, one likely to actually finish. I imagine it's ultimately completely dependent on the players and PCs, but it's still nice to hear others' experiences (and maybe *yoink* a bunny to pull out of my DM's hat, if need be!)

 

[Phazzar]

With that in mind, I'm planning on an intentionally short (~20 sessions) campaign, one likely to actually finish. I imagine it's ultimately completely dependent on the players and PCs, but it's still nice to hear others' experiences (and maybe *yoink* a bunny to pull out of my DM's hat, if need be!)

I'm doing the same thing in a way. I'm splitting my campaign up into 3 arcs like trilogy movies, so we can have some proper denouements.

To be honest, my group has never had a proper ending to a campaign. It's either been sandbox, or a TPK. (From Pathfinder 5 and Savage Tide)

 

[Verdande]

Since I tend to run sandbox-style games, it usually continues on until we get bored of the thing. I've never run a sort of campaign where I decide for them what the story is going to be and then wait for them to do it, so I can't really help you out there.

But, I can certainly tell you what I'd like. Once our goals are acheived, we win, whatever, just a quick 'this is what happened since you won', where maybe the GM tells us what we do after victory, like the little scene at the end of Animal House where one guys ends up a doctor, one is never seen from again, etc. After that, it's a "So, who wants to play Descent/Guitar Hero/Magic/Gauntlet/whatever?"

 

[Fenes]

I usually have mini-arcs (which can span a year or more though) followed by the party returning home from the trip (if it was abroad), or from the last battle, and getting the awards and rewards, settling in, and dealing with the aftermath, before the next arc starts.

 

[Lanefan]

First off: Warlock, that's brilliant! Were I still designing my new game instead of 5 months into running it, I'd have found a way to work that in. But it's something that probably needs to be in place from the get-go, meaning I'm probably too late now. Filed away for future reference, however.

As for the major campaigns I've ended: one was a true end point, where the party's last act was to (after being told all the whys and wherefores) commit an act that caused magic to cease functioning entirely - thus making the world unplayable in D+D terms. As for ending the other, I just said "after this adventure I'm shuttin' 'er down" as it had reached a point where the rules system was really starting to creak under the load...and I'd pretty much run out of story ideas, never a good thing. The advantage there, however, is I can light that world up again if the mood ever strikes.

Lanefan

 

[Edgewood]

The group I DM'd for over 10 years had spent their adventuring lives fighting against evil wizards, a race of elves looking to raise demon and and endless number of enemies who in one or another were either defeated, banished and/or killed. There were enemies that came and went and came back again. Those who were destroyed and there was also a PC who had eventually turned to evil and became one those bent on destroying the world.

The PCs overcame mental diversity, terrors to freeze the soul and unimaginable evils. They lived through one of the greatest wars of their time, watched the nations of the world unite under a single banner after centuries of fighting each other over petty land squabbles and saw some of their comrades die heroically as well as horribly.

But at the end of those 10+ years, they defeated the evil, helped restore order and became living legends in the realm.

When it came time to end our story, I decided that I wanted this to become the ending that the player wanted. So on our last game the dice were put away, the books were closed and the battlemat was rolled up. The players remained in character and we had a dinner at my house. We had the dinner in character and celebrated the victory they had earned. I played a major NPC. Once the dinner was finished each character said goodbye in his own way and then described how the character lived their lives to the end of their days...

Now that was an emotional night for everyone. I recalled that some tears were shed by the players. I guess that's what happens when you get attached to your character. But for me, as the DM, it was a great closure to a great game in my life. I hope I can recapture that magic.