Ending campaigns can be a real pain. Weeks, months, years of investment in characters is difficult to bring to a close. Yet, at times it is absolutely necessary. Sometimes the group needs to break up. Sometimes the campaign has gone on just a little too long. Sometimes it happens at the whim of the GM. Whatever the reason, the GM owes it to his players to cap everything off and allow everyone to feel a real sense of conclusion.
Easier said than done.
I can't count the number of campaigns I have GMed that have just trailed off into nothingness. I hate that. It's like reading a great series but never making it to the end. Yes, the middle is often where the real meat of the story is at. Yes, it's the journey not the destination that is important--blah, blah. There should be no question that the best campaigns are the ones with a distinct start and end, one where the players can talk to their buddies years afterwards and tell a complete story. Those are the campaigns I love to be involved in.
Inevitably, it's the ending that GMs have trouble with and it's the part that too many of us willingly skip or put forth as little effort as possible. I liken this to a Michael Crichton novel. The man has great ideas. His executions of those ideas are spot on and his stories are completely engrossing. Then you get to the end and, more often than not, the climax is some deus ex machina that totally blows. If I am reading Crichton (the person) correctly, I have a feeling he allows his story to get the better of him and he loses control as a writer. His characters go where they may, his antagonists do what they should do, and the end result is that his ability to manage the plot loosens as the story goes on. In the end, he has to firebomb the island or wish away the uber-device. That's lazy writing and boring to boot. Those endings stink, and all too often, GMs find themselves in the same position for exactly the same reasons. I firmly believe that every story has a fitting ending--the key is to not be lazy and make the effort to work with your players to create that ending.
I end up having "runaway plot train" problem a lot. I move all the time. My job necessitates that I am not in any one country for more than three years. Often, three years is just long enough for me to build a group from scratch, get them going on a great campaign, start to really dig roleplaying, and then I have to leave. In some cases, these groups have continued on with one of the players stepping up as GM. (This makes me very proud.) More often than not my groups simply dissolve. It's disheartening to know that not only did the group go their separate ways, but the campaign we all worked so hard on never saw a proper conclusion. I don't think it is a coincidence that those groups I have worked with and developed a proper conclusion for the campaign are usually the ones that stay together after I move and stop GMing. For this reason alone, I feel like a fitting conclusion to a campaign is essential.
I think there is a fairly reasonable solution to bringing these types of runaway campaigns to a close. In fact, I think all campaigns should be brought to a close if at all possible.
How do you do it? The answer is easier than you think. Simply talk with the players and discuss an appropriate ending. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Surprisingly, lots of GMs don’t take the time. I know I certainly didn't for many years of my GMing career. It's the lazy GM that doesn't interact in this manner with their players and the game suffers for it--and it has taken me years to put my finger on this problem.
At the end of a campaign use the time following the last adventure to sit around with your players and discuss what happens to the characters after the last adventure's events. Ask them where they see their characters going in the short and long term. How do they expect the events of the campaign to shake out in the world around the characters. Encourage them to collaboratively discuss how the world is a better or worse place because of the events of the campaign. Think big! Campaigns are major events that involve a goodly amount of time investment... allow the players to extrapolate some big events from the campaign.
Killed a dragon? Now what do the players think they will do with their newfound gold and riches? Do the PCs go on to bigger and better things? What happens with the power vacuum created by the death of the dragon? What major events to the players envision their PCs embarking on now that they are no longer under the threat of the Dragon? What loose ends never got addressed? Will those loose ends come back to haunt the characters? Think critically, but allow the character’s the fruits of their effort.
The end of a campaign means that the rewards normally used in subsequent adventures are useless. Got a +10 Sword of Slaying? What good does that do when you are never going to play the character again? Instead, as the GM, encourage the player to talk about how their character will use that sword in the time after the campaign. In this way, you allow the players to still play with the toys they get--certainly a satisfying feeling.
This is also a great time for the GM to tell the players, in game, about secrets or loose ends that never got revealed. As the players detail the story of the PC's lives the GM should introduce campaign elements they never got to use. The lizard king that was devoted to the dragon? One of the PCs should take care of that loose end... remind the players of the issue and see who decides to tell a quick story about how it gets resolved and feel free to add some details that never came out in the game. Not only do the PCs get to write a fitting conclusion to their characters, but the GM also has the opportunity to show the players the true depth of the campaign (without having to resort to out-of-game discussion... which is never quite as satisfying).
It is the GM's responsibility to end a campaign. This is something no player is going to initiate on their own so it falls to the GM to use a strong hand in the final moments of the campaign. One of the best ways to start the discussion to cap a campaign is with the simple phrase "Okay guys? What now? Where do the characters go?" Let the players know that the campaign has come to a (successful) conclusion. Share a celebratory beer or something and then immediately launch into the discussion about the conclusion. Don't let your players stand up or start thinking about something else... use the last bits of momentum from the campaign to drive the conclusion discussion. Make it a relaxed discussion. Smile and laugh about the events of the campaign, reminisce on accomplishments and failures, brainstorm about loose ends, and use all that emotion to tell the final chapter.
Oh, and just in case it needs to be said, I suggest leaving the dice behind with the campaign. When actually in the discussion about the conclusion and in the nitty-gritty of deciding what the characters do in the following years... don't roll dice. Trust your players and collectively discuss what would be fun and cool for how their characters end up. No dice needed.
In Summary:
- Take the time to end a campaign... tell the story after the story.
- Allow the PCs to think big!
- A suitable ending is good for every campaign. Runaway, controlled, or one-shot.
- The GM must be the leader in this discussion.
- Don't be lazy when it comes to the end.
