Late Campaign Tip: Loose End Checklist
It feels good to be back in the saddle making content and running games four our clients after taking a brief hiatus last week. When prepping for my session this week I realized that both of my campaigns are nearing their climax and ultimately beginning to wind down. In previous blog posts I have talked about session zero and the importance of doing a mid-campaign check in with your players. Today I want to talk about how to prepare to wrap up a campaign, tie up those loose ends, and give your players the satisfying ending that will excite them and give your campaign the ending it deserves.
A friend and fellow storyteller once said to me that every good story is made up of three parts: a beginning, middle, and end. A story cannot go on forever; there must be a resolution. All good things must come to an end and the same is true with a campaign, especially when these campaigns can take years to complete. How do you make sure that you are setting yourself up for success? Much like the mid-campaign check-in, I advise meeting with your players individually and asking them a series of questions. This way you can form a list of promises to make to your players and then work them into your session prep to make sure you deliver them. Here are some suggested questions for a loose end checklist:
Are there any quests or plotlines you would like to resolve before the end of the campaign?
Is there anything you would like to see your character do before the end of the campaign?
Does your character have any loose ends you would like to resolve?
What is the ideal outcome for your character at the end of the campaign?
Where would your character go once the main plot of the campaign is resolved?
What would your character do once the main plot of the campaign is resolved?
Are there any magical items that your character would like to obtain before the end of the campaign?
Much like the mid-campaign check in, the goal here is to gather feedback from your players to create a checklist you can use in your games to ensure you are delivering on the promises you are making to your players. Be transparent with your players if you do not think that you will have an opportunity to resolve a plotline before the end to the campaign; perhaps that plotline leads into a campaign itself! Also encourage your players to give you as much feedback as they feel comfortable doing, as the more they give you the more raw clay you have to work with to build the end of the campaign and a satisfying conclusion to a great story.
One of the things that I think is important is to ensure that each player is able to receive some closure before drawing the curtain at the end of the campaign. While it is important to end your campaign on a high note, it isn't enough to draw the curtain as soon as the main villain is defeated or have the heroes ride off into the sunset. A tool that I have employed in the past and have seen other Game Masters make use of is to have a campaign epilogue. In the campaign epilogue, the Game Master finds a good stopping point once all of the characters have had their final say or found their final rest. The GM then announces that one year has passed and asks each player what their character is doing now. That player then has the floor and narrates how their character has spent their time since resolving the main plot of the campaign. This allows the player an opportunity to achieve some closure for a character that has been a large part of their life (possibly for years) and to chart an ending they feel is fitting for their character.
As our first campaigns draw to a close, this means that we will have some new campaigns on the horizon! Keep your eyes on our social media for announcements!
‘Til then,
Take Heart!
Karington Hess
Game Master and Founder of Open Heart Games
