My beloved (or so my players keep saying) AoR game has been on a break, for several reasons–one of our players has taken a couple sabbaticals, I needed a break from GMing, and other people had new or continuing campaigns they wanted to run and we wanted to play. The last is typical for our Skype group–someone GMs an arc or 2 of their campaign, and then someone else runs their game for a while. I am ready to take the GM’s seat again and have slowly started planning. But as I started thinking about where to go next, I came to realize two things. Yes, I do really want to GM more Star Wars, even though I don’t love GMing as much as a lot of gamers. But it’s still way more fun than I thought it would be, and I am looking forward to it. The second realization makes me a little sad, though. Okay, a lot sad. It is time to end my current AoR campaign, with one final arc. So, in hopes that it may help some other GMs, I have opted to write about my experiences with the finale of this game. I anticipate at least 1 or 2 more articles.
I will start with the “Why?” First, it just feels like it is time. I don’t have any plans beyond using the last 2 or 3 hooks from backstories and I haven’t had any for a while. Not even little hints. This campaign also started out episodic and I gradually wanted to tell more of a story, which has happened to some degree. But now that I’ve been learning how to create arcs and stories, I think it would be easier and better to start afresh. My son has also joined our games and is reluctant to bring a new PC into an established game, even with additional XP. Another big factor is that the PCs have several hundred XP apiece and my players are right that it is difficult for me as a less experienced (but not total newbie anymore!) GM to handle such high level games, when a very experienced GM would have no problem.
After I realized it was endgame time, I decided to have A Real Ending. This was a priority for me, because I have been really bummed out, and felt left hanging, with unfinished business, when campaigns “just ended.” So, it was important to me that this not happen, if I could help it. I started by telling my players, and asking them to request any happy–or not–endings they wanted for their PCs. I also wanted their input on how to end this well, because I have learned to value and trust their advice as I learned to GM.
I am not embarrassed to admit that this was a painful discussion for me. Now I did have longtime friend Jon Stevens’ example that it really could be as simple as, “I am going to be winding this campaign down. I’m estimating X more arcs , so about Y months.” But it was still painful. You see telling them made me realize how much I did enjoy running this campaign and made me start to mourn a little. But the group was supportive. And I was ready to ask questions. At the top of my list was, “What do you want to happen for your PCs in the end?” I got answers to that. But they also pointed out some other things I needed to know.
First, they felt I needed to answer WHEN, not, “When will our last sessions be?” as, “When, in terms of the OT, does our PCs’ part end?” We’d discussed in the past my advancing time when I resumed the game. When I started what became the Roke Squad campaign, I gave a vague timeframe of “a little after Star Wars [Ep. 4].” So now we were going to agree more specifically where we are when the Squad gets back in action and finishes, in relation to Episodes 5 and 6. Tentatively, we’ll resume a little before Empire Strikes Back and end about Return of the Jedi. I haven’t thought what, if anything, from those movies might get incorporated into the campaign. Ogehn also cautioned me to not think too much about the next game, so as not to distract myself from this one. He said that might be hard and he is right!
This is just the beginning for me in setting up a Roke Squad endgame–the decision and a few questions with bits of answers, with most of the future very much in motion, even in my head. And I could use some help. How have you all ended games or seen them ended? What did you wish had been done differently–by you or by others? Any questions you think I need to ask myself?
Linda Whitson
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