D&D 5E You've just TPK'd in the final fight. What do?

[CleverNickName]

The last time it happened, we raised a glass to the fallen dead, then rolled up new characters. What else were we gonna do? Pretend it never happened?

 

[Sacrosanct]

This happened a few months ago. We TPK'd at the end of Rime of the Frostmaiden in the final battle. What did we do? Not much we could do lol. Our characters are dead icicles on her island now. I suppose at some point another group of PCs may find them, but it's not in the immediate plans.

 

[Ancalagon]

I would let it stand.

TPKs are rare in my games. But if there is going to be a TPK, the best place to have it is in the final showdown, isn't it?

 

[Celebrim]

The last time I was running D&D I told the players that if they TPK'd, the campaign was over and we'd start a new campaign in the aftermath of the bad guys 'victory'.

 

[Blue]

Suppose your party TPK’d in the final fight. Would you reset and try again? Would you accept defeat? Or would you expect your GM to fudge the dice just enough to keep the BAD ENDING from ruining a good campaign? What's your philosophy of failure when it comes to the campaign finale?

(Comic for illustrative purposes.)

This post hit several triggers for me.

First, it committed the sin of conflating character goals and player goals. There is no way that a heroic attempt can be a great story or anything, it must be a BAD ENDING.

Second, it assumes that a big ending is satisfying if there is no way to lose at it. That "the players don't matter, the DM will ensure they win" -- for many that could be a BAD ENDING.

Sorry, if this question came from a DM who's game I was considering playing, I'd treat it as a red flag.

 

[jasper]

You can dance if you want to. Do the TPK DANCE DO THE TPK DANCE
Names go on skully. And the Adventure League body recovery team is called for pick up.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Four possible answers:

1. Just accept it. This is the "worst" of the good answers, in that...well, it sucks, but it's better than most other options. Doesn't feel good. A downer ending can really ruin player enthusiasm, but if they feel there's nothing they could've done to lose, that'll ruin it worse. So better to accept your drubbings and move on to new games.
2. Let the players take advantage of some kind of benefit...with some kind of nasty cost attached. The game is ending, so many costs of that kind are not generally going to work (you aren't returning to this story!) But there are almost certainly still things where you can treat it as a temptation or as a...shall we say, alternate bad ending. E.g. the Paladin secretly falls, getting Asmodeus' power to make it work, tainting the resulting victory, giving the Lord of the Nine Hells a foothold in the world. IOW, tempting the players (perhaps each of them!) with a "better" ending...that creates hooks for something else.
3. Extend the campaign with either (a) a one-shot, or (b) a mini-campaign, which gives a new opportunity for closure. Perhaps the PCs are saved, perhaps they die but are brought back by desperate rebels against the BBEG, somehow they get a second chance--but this time they're the underdogs and need to rally support before they can win.
4. Decide the campaign isn't actually over, and treat everything from before the defeat as "campaign 1." New campaign to follow that builds off of the initial failure. Perhaps a "next gen" sequel, perhaps a "you've been brought back," whatever it is, a new game builds off of the previous failure. You tell a new story as a result, as opposed to offering a new opportunity to win.

I can't really see any other answer that doesn't end up being deeply unsatisfying.

 

[Bluebell]

For me, it would fully depend upon the campaign itself, the themes and character motivations of the story we're playing, and the context of the TPK. Some stories are most poetic when they end with the heroes going down in a blaze of glory. Some stories feel wrong and unsatisfying if they end there.

I would never want a reset or for a DM to fudge die. But some other means of moving forward from there, such as bargaining with some god or something, might feel like the most appropriate option. Or not. Honestly it's all about what feels right for that particular table playing that particular game.

 

[Emirikol]

Sometimes the players lose.

Now lets start the next campaign.

 

[James Gasik]

Assuming said loss doesn't make your group want to take a break and play board games for awhile.