A few weeks ago, I sensed that my group was nearing the end of our Blades in the Dark campaign. Wanting to finish the campaign on a high note, I spoke with my group about how to do so. We then picked a date, leaving us with 6 more sessions, reserving the last for an epilogue (where we mostly narrate as we tie up loose ends) and a celebration. That left me with five sessions to prep: 3 for scores, the last being a “big score,” and 2 for Free Play (focusing on character subplots).
Last week, I ran the first of those five sessions, and as we finished the session, the crew, after making a large score, was able to move up in tier to Tier 3. At that moment, as the table was celebrating, having reached this important milestone, I wondered, “Did we just finish the campaign?”
I thought about the remaining 4 sessions. What could we do in those four sessions, two of which were scores, that would have the same climactic feeling as the crew moving up to Tier 3? They had, months earlier, won a gang war, before that helped their ally win their gang war, and recently released an imprisoned demon who became their own faction in the city. In addition, their array of scores was many and impressive, from stealing a body out from under the Spirit Wardens to a bold mid-auction heist. They had done quite a bit.
Suddenly, for the first time that I can recall, I had a unique problem. I had more sessions than I had story. The players finished the campaign early.
Finishing Campaigns Strong
I think that a good campaign needs to check a few boxes to end well. First, it needs to complete at least one campaign arc (a series of stories that complete a larger story). The completion of an arc is a nice ending point for a campaign, as the series of stories completes the larger story. Second, it should resolve at least one storyline per player, more if you can. Third, is that the characters should rise in power such that the game at its default becomes easy, and you have to start ramping up encounters to keep up with their power level.
Normally, I sense the third item first. I start to notice that the characters have become powerful enough that normal encounters are becoming too easy, and I start to get creative and ramp up encounters, and then watch them start to overcome them. Once that begins to happen, I take inventory of where the current campaign arc is and where the character sub-plots are. That gives me an idea of what needs to be resolved to bring the campaign to a satisfying close.
Some Seventh-Grade English
One way to end a campaign is by following Freytag’s Pyramid [LINK]: a climax, falling action, and denouement. It’s not the only way, but it’s reliable. The climax is the peak of the big conflict. It is whatever needs to be done to be able to bring the campaign arc to resolution. The Falling Action is the aftermath that happens after the climax, and it’s where you tie off the main story’s loose ends. Then the Denouement is how to close the story. This is where you can finish tying off any character subplots that were not tied off earlier.
I rather like this structure, but don’t feel beholden to it. Like anything, you can use it as a guide but make your own variations, subvert it, etc.
Premature Endings
The least satisfying way to end a campaign is prematurely. That is often before the conclusion of a campaign arc. This often happens because something has disrupted the game group, such as someone leaving, or the overall interest in the game dies. The idea is that it’s just better to stop playing than to bring the game to a planned conclusion. Not every game gets an ending, but if you are the kind of person who likes to tie things off neatly, this can be frustrating. It happens, and don’t feel bad about it.
Planned Endings
My favorite is the planned ending. This is where you plot out how to bring the campaign arc to its climax and then take it through the falling action and denouement. This requires a sense of where you are in your campaign arc and for you to decide if you want to end on this arc or start another arc. For me, when I sense the game getting too easy for the players or I am starting to have trouble making encounters believable or I am starting to “chase the curve” (where every encounter is being designed to top the last one), that is my sign to take inventory and start planning out the ending. From there I can come up with a plan, discuss it with the group, and once we agree, bring the game to conclusion.
Spontaneous Endings
This one is tricky. On one hand, it’s better than the premature ending, because there is a satisfying ending that you just uncovered through play. On the other hand, you have not planned out a falling action or denouement. So you need to switch gears and get the game ready to conclude.
My Blades Game
For my Blades game, the group talked and figured out how to wrap up the campaign with the sessions we have left. While their last score led to the climax of rising in Tier, there is one more score that will be good for a falling action, allowing the crew to wrap up some loose ends. After that, I plan on using any remaining sessions for Free Play, and let the characters wrap up any unresolved personal storylines. Then we will end with an epilogue where we can narrate the resolution of some of the other faction’s arcs and such.
Did I Do That?
As a person who loves to plan, I am pretty good at planning out the endings of my campaigns, but the beauty of this hobby is that there is always something new to learn. Sometimes the best plans are thwarted right at the table. In those cases, it’s time to pivot and do what the campaign needs to bring about a satisfying ending.
Have you ever finished a session and realized that it was the right place to bring the campaign to a close? What did you do?