So let’s say you are your group have been meeting for a year, maybe even two, and it’s become clear the game is slowly coming to a close. Before I go any further, that’s amazing! I hear of so many games going downhill that actually managing to finish one is quite the accomplishment! However, it’s not over yet. I find ending a campaign to be a daunting task, and try to keep in mind a few pointers to make sure you don’t royally ruin the ending considering everyone’s (the player’s and GM’s) hard work.
Tip #1 - Try to keep your final note within the theme and mood you’ve setup. This may seem obvious, but it is necessary to remember, lest you overlook it and botch it all by turning your social political intrigue-based game into one of cartoon-like villains and antics.
Tip #2 - Don’t force the campaign to end haphazardly unless you have the best ending ever ready to go right now. I was recently in a game where this unfortunately happened, and although I understand the GM’s reasons, the closure it gave us wasn’t good enough to merit ending it the way it did. Most players get unhappy, and may even leave if this happens, even if it’s for a perfectly understandable reason.
Tip #3 - Make sure to have a definite ending point - don’t allow the campaign to continue, especially if you don’t have much more material to give your players. It’s understandable to have players who want to continue, however as the GM you know better than most anyone when done is done. I recall doing this many years ago, and it just made the campaign go from “decent story” to “we have no idea what to do now,” and it was all my fault.
Tip #4 - Remember that sometimes a traditionally bad ending isn’t bad for your campaign. Sometimes everyone getting killed can work, if it’s done well. A GM needs to properly setup everything, make sure you and your players are on the same mindset, but if it’s readied properly, don’t be afraid to try something traditionally seen as inherently bad. The best part is - if it works, you learned you can stray from the beaten path! Good job! If it doesn’t work, then talk to your players, learn what you did poorly, or what you missed, and maybe try something similar in concept later, ideally being cautious of what happened last time.
Tip #5 - Tie up every loose-end you can think of. I recall ending one of my first full campaigns, and one of my players was annoyed that I hadn’t finished a story-arc or two that he wanted to see ended. I was caught off-guard, being somewhat new to ending campaigns, and felt pretty stupid. Since then I’ve tried to really wrap things up, and so should you. A decent way to make sure you have every loose end is to either write them down as they come up, or ask your players what they want to see in your ending. If you ask your players, you also get to see if they’ve forgotten anything, as sometimes you can bring someone back and clean up whatever remained in their story, but make sure it’s actually relevant and not completely unrelated to the ending you have planned.
Tip #6 - Don’t force your ending. It feels much more natural to everyone when they come to the decision to approach such large and meaningful matters, as opposed to having an NPC suggest, or even worse, tell them to do whatever your plan is. I understand that most GMs want to tell a good story with the help of their players, however what a lot of GMs forget is that RPGs are a collaborative story, where both sides move and sway what happens, and removing that kind of free will, in my opinion, basically ruins the entire point of it being a game as opposed to a book or movie.
Don’t get me wrong, magical items and spells can force PCs to do quite a bit, but that should be used sparingly to allow for maximum freedom on the PC’s side of things. And if a player wants to act stupid and go hug the mindflayer, then s/he’s asking for what will inevitably ensue. But in most occasions, don’t force your players into where you want them to be, or what to do, especially in the ending. Such things can really tarnish an amazing campaign’s run in many people’s minds.
Tip # 7 - Try to make it memorable. I’m not saying you should pull every little trick out of your hat and do a dance for your players, but a forgettable ending can be pretty upsetting to players and GMs alike. Right when they think they have the villain down on the ground, have him up the stakes. Suddenly they’re in a do-or-die situation, and in those types of situations the player’s ultimate weapon truly emerges, Player Ingenuity. Players aren’t always the craftiest or quickest, but sometimes they can think up some crazy ideas which can work better than anything most GMs would ever see coming. These solutions can make a character, as well as an ending, very memorable.
May you and your players bask in such Ingenuity,
Taylor Shuss
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