No-one enjoys an ending without getting to confront the bad guys they've been chasing the whole time, it's just disappointing to have something else swoop in and end the campaign. So, how can you make sure that make your ending is satisfying?
First of all, if you've done your job, and your players are invested in the outcome, that's great! You've done your job right, and it gives you somewhere to go after this. If you get to this point, and they don't care, then maybe it's easiest to just finish up and be done. Getting them to the right place and the right time takes a lot of effort on your behalf, and you need to remember how much you've accomplished already. Second, use some minion-type enemies to let your players use some of their cool abilities cutting through swathes of their foes. This lets them have their "big damn heroes" moments, where they feel unstoppable and badass. You can scatter through some sub-bosses to really challenge them, but this is an opportunity to weather them down on spells, abilities, and hit points. Then, let them get their big chance. Reach the end bad guys, even if you have to give people some protection to get them there. Let them get in some villainous monologuing and heroic defiance at each other, and then let them duke it out! It doesn't have to be a fight, but letting your bad guys do something other than cowering in their palace while they're slaughtered means that your players will feel like they've accomplished their goal. Lastly, win or lose, you need the storyline to have an impact. Be able to give your players an outcome of what happens to them, to the towns and people they care about, to the other villains that got away. If the bad guy wins, advance the storyline so you're ready for your next campaign as freedom-fighters in an oppressive hellscape, or however you go with it. If your players defeat the bad guys, give them the chance to struggle back to whatever passes for normalcy. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 2 June 2019. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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