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GameMastery Guide / Getting Started / Preparing to Run a Game / Essentials of Good Campaigns

Story

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 19
Many campaigns run on indefinitely until the group breaks up due to changing lives and priorities. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as running the campaign—and playing in it— don’t become chores. Still, it’s pleasant when a campaign comes to a natural end that allows you and your players to leave with a sense of completion.

You might plan a campaign with an ending in mind—a fairly easy task if you’ve laid out a story. Or you might decide to end the campaign when player interest (or your own) starts to flag. In either case, consider what elements in the campaign have struck a chord with the group. Perhaps they’ve grown fond of a particular town or character. Perhaps they really despise some villain or have a burning desire to obtain a certain item. Craft your ending so things end on a high note, with main conflicts resolved and the loose ends tied up. It’s often fun to create an epilogue that lays out each character’s later career and retirement and looks ahead to the general state of your game world during the surviving characters’ sunset years.

Archives of Nethys

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Story