a lot of campaigns have characters going on these great and life changing adventures that even change the world as a whole, making friends, meeting great people, and maybe even dealing with past or inner demons. But eventually these adventures come to an end and your character has to settle down now that the adventure is over, so my quest is, how have you wrapped up different characters story lines once there adventure was done.
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Marvarax andSora (Dragonborn) The retired fighter and WIP scholar - Glory
Brythel(Dwarf), The dwarf with a gun - survival at sea
Jaylin(Human), Paladin of Lathander's Ancient ways - The Seven Saints (Azura Claw)
Urselles(Goblin), Cleric of Eldath- The Wizard's challenge
Viclas Tyrin(Half Elf), Student of the Elven arts- Indrafatmoko's Defiance in Phlan
I've only had a few campaigns come to a definitive end that didn't involve a TPK or death of said character. Many times a campaign ends and either we move on to other characters or the group has sadly dissolved, so there's been no "official" post campaign character wrap up. That being said I always WANT to have that kind of closure, we just haven't done it because we hope to return to those characters again and then it never happens.
I had a cleric in 4e who eventually retired. I was bringing in a new character into the campaign and so once the current story was finished she decided her adventuring days were done. She returned to her home town and tried to settle into a simpler life, but ended up becoming a de facto ambassador between her home and the surrounding goblin tribes that she had met while on adventures. Ended her story with years of work culminating in a lasting piece between everyone.
The Demonplague game I livestreamed included a post campaign "tell the story of the rest of your life" in the last episode. That was remarkably bitter sweet, as I was playing an Aarakocra rogue and they only live for about 30 years. So after we all recounted what we did for the next dozen or so years after the adventure I was faced with describing my character passing away from old age. The DM and I had talked about it ahead of time, so it wasn't a surprise that I was going to go down that road, but still left me with tears. However it also felt good to finish that story completely.
As for games I've DMed, only one ever ended with the intent of truly being over. My Storm Kings Thunder game ended softly, with the group splitting into two parties and returning home to start businesses or raise a family. I didn't press for too many details, nor did we explore all the way into old age, but it was nice to retire everyone!
I've finished most campaigns I was apart of, excluding ones that just got left and weren't continued, and 1 character that died.
Most of my characters were evil, and 2 were DMPC's for campaigns I did.
One was a very evil warlock, who was a DMPC. He eventually married his demon lord patron, committed genocide, and was killed by a hero, the demon lord to. He went to Limbo after he died, the plane of eternal insanity.
Another was his descendant, also a DMPC. He planned to commit his own genocide, but it was a modern campaign, the law caught him, and he got the electric chair. He went to Carserai after dying, the plane which is a perfect prison.
One that was actually a chaotic good character had a happy ending. He was a sorcerer, saved a kingdom, got happily married, and became a good leader, using his wish spell to make his people prosper. The DM never actually said what afterlife's the characters went to.
Looking back, a good amount of my characters died in just, but bad ways.
Upon reflection, I'm fortunate to have had a few long term campaigns as a player and two as a DM. In the conclusion of a three year campaign using the 2E system, the party was fighting to restore our leader to the throne that was stolen from him as a baby. My ranger barely survived and led his desert dwelling people to build a new home in the lush and forested north. I ran a 3.5 game where the PCs succeeded in defeating the big bad but it killed 1/2 the party. We ran a short lived game after that with the grandchildren of the heroes as PCs.
My first 3.0 D&D campaign ended up with the main characters (Tyrus the Half-orc, the elven Arcane Archer Talia, and Sargen of Ket, Errant War Wizard of Cormyr becoming Lords of a new settlement south of the Wood of Sharp Teeth. It became apparent to the Players that the PCs stories, while not over, had dramatically changed. They had worked themselves into semi-retirement at the least. So, new PCs were rolled that took on the adventures that the trio could no longer undertake because of increased responsibilities.
My DM has a tradition of writing out two "post-game" options for each character in the party, one more positive and one more negative or complicated (though both reasonable or logical conclusions based on the events of the game and our backstories), and we have a little ritual in which we pick which fate befalls our characters and reveal them to the rest of the party. Sometimes we get to see only one of the options ahead of time, and decide to either go with it or blindly select the second option. Sometimes he'll give each player the endgame options for someone else's character, and we get to pick for our friends.
My druid became the leader of the Druids of the Horned Wood, a powerful circle that the party did business a couple times throughout the course of the campaign. The Horned Wood circle was originally all-female, but with the induction of my druid, who was non-binary, progressive reforms were made and it became a gender-neutral circle. :)
My fighter managed to regain the favor of his noble family and return from exile. He finally accepted the responsibilities of his position and married a noble woman for political reasons. It wasn't a happy marriage, but returning to his home country allowed my fighter to finally be able to see his illegitimate daughter (the cause of his exile) again, which is what he wanted most in the world; marrying someone he didn't even know very well was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
My wizard utilized a cursed item for herself and her lover to cheat death, and in the process she became a creature that preys upon the magical energies of spellcasters; she now haunts the region near the setting's largest magical academy. I fully expect her to pop up again as a villain in a future game.
I have never actually made it to the end of an adventure yet...
My current character has some goals for going being an adventurer, including saving enough money to open a restaurant. So once all his goals are met, he will retire that way.
The one campaign I actually finished was one where I was DM, and it ended with them fighting Vecna. They defeated him, and a few things happened to the different characters. The cleric of Apollo ascended to godhood, and he managed to strike a deal where he got to visit his lover, who had died earlier in the campaign. The rogue, who was a revenant, returned to life by the Raven Queen, managed to stay alive due to her daughter casting Wish at the last second. The other rogue was very vague in her ending. Even after almost half a year I’m still not quite sure. The barbarian opened a fighting pit, where he remains the undisputed champion. And the sorcerer married Melora and had a kid.
In the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign I’m playing, my character is a tiefling rogue. His mission is to find his fiancé, and figure out what happened in the two years of his life that he can’t remember. If he dies, my backup character is his fiancé, and she would be intent on getting vengance. If he lives and finds her, he’s going to settle down. And maybe have a few kids.
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Dominick Finch
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a lot of campaigns have characters going on these great and life changing adventures that even change the world as a whole, making friends, meeting great people, and maybe even dealing with past or inner demons. But eventually these adventures come to an end and your character has to settle down now that the adventure is over, so my quest is, how have you wrapped up different characters story lines once there adventure was done.
Marvarax and Sora (Dragonborn) The retired fighter and WIP scholar - Glory
Brythel(Dwarf), The dwarf with a gun - survival at sea
Jaylin(Human), Paladin of Lathander's Ancient ways - The Seven Saints (Azura Claw)
Urselles(Goblin), Cleric of Eldath- The Wizard's challenge
Viclas Tyrin(Half Elf), Student of the Elven arts- Indrafatmoko's Defiance in Phlan
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InsiderI've only had a few campaigns come to a definitive end that didn't involve a TPK or death of said character. Many times a campaign ends and either we move on to other characters or the group has sadly dissolved, so there's been no "official" post campaign character wrap up. That being said I always WANT to have that kind of closure, we just haven't done it because we hope to return to those characters again and then it never happens.
I had a cleric in 4e who eventually retired. I was bringing in a new character into the campaign and so once the current story was finished she decided her adventuring days were done. She returned to her home town and tried to settle into a simpler life, but ended up becoming a de facto ambassador between her home and the surrounding goblin tribes that she had met while on adventures. Ended her story with years of work culminating in a lasting piece between everyone.
The Demonplague game I livestreamed included a post campaign "tell the story of the rest of your life" in the last episode. That was remarkably bitter sweet, as I was playing an Aarakocra rogue and they only live for about 30 years. So after we all recounted what we did for the next dozen or so years after the adventure I was faced with describing my character passing away from old age. The DM and I had talked about it ahead of time, so it wasn't a surprise that I was going to go down that road, but still left me with tears. However it also felt good to finish that story completely.
As for games I've DMed, only one ever ended with the intent of truly being over. My Storm Kings Thunder game ended softly, with the group splitting into two parties and returning home to start businesses or raise a family. I didn't press for too many details, nor did we explore all the way into old age, but it was nice to retire everyone!
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren
I've finished most campaigns I was apart of, excluding ones that just got left and weren't continued, and 1 character that died.
Most of my characters were evil, and 2 were DMPC's for campaigns I did.
One was a very evil warlock, who was a DMPC. He eventually married his demon lord patron, committed genocide, and was killed by a hero, the demon lord to. He went to Limbo after he died, the plane of eternal insanity.
Another was his descendant, also a DMPC. He planned to commit his own genocide, but it was a modern campaign, the law caught him, and he got the electric chair. He went to Carserai after dying, the plane which is a perfect prison.
One that was actually a chaotic good character had a happy ending. He was a sorcerer, saved a kingdom, got happily married, and became a good leader, using his wish spell to make his people prosper. The DM never actually said what afterlife's the characters went to.
Looking back, a good amount of my characters died in just, but bad ways.
Also known as CrafterB and DankMemer.
Here, have some homebrew classes! Subclasses to? Why not races. Feats, feats as well. I have a lot of magic items. Lastly I got monsters, fun, fun times.
Upon reflection, I'm fortunate to have had a few long term campaigns as a player and two as a DM. In the conclusion of a three year campaign using the 2E system, the party was fighting to restore our leader to the throne that was stolen from him as a baby. My ranger barely survived and led his desert dwelling people to build a new home in the lush and forested north. I ran a 3.5 game where the PCs succeeded in defeating the big bad but it killed 1/2 the party. We ran a short lived game after that with the grandchildren of the heroes as PCs.
Yes.
My first 3.0 D&D campaign ended up with the main characters (Tyrus the Half-orc, the elven Arcane Archer Talia, and Sargen of Ket, Errant War Wizard of Cormyr becoming Lords of a new settlement south of the Wood of Sharp Teeth. It became apparent to the Players that the PCs stories, while not over, had dramatically changed. They had worked themselves into semi-retirement at the least. So, new PCs were rolled that took on the adventures that the trio could no longer undertake because of increased responsibilities.
My DM has a tradition of writing out two "post-game" options for each character in the party, one more positive and one more negative or complicated (though both reasonable or logical conclusions based on the events of the game and our backstories), and we have a little ritual in which we pick which fate befalls our characters and reveal them to the rest of the party. Sometimes we get to see only one of the options ahead of time, and decide to either go with it or blindly select the second option. Sometimes he'll give each player the endgame options for someone else's character, and we get to pick for our friends.
My druid became the leader of the Druids of the Horned Wood, a powerful circle that the party did business a couple times throughout the course of the campaign. The Horned Wood circle was originally all-female, but with the induction of my druid, who was non-binary, progressive reforms were made and it became a gender-neutral circle. :)
My fighter managed to regain the favor of his noble family and return from exile. He finally accepted the responsibilities of his position and married a noble woman for political reasons. It wasn't a happy marriage, but returning to his home country allowed my fighter to finally be able to see his illegitimate daughter (the cause of his exile) again, which is what he wanted most in the world; marrying someone he didn't even know very well was a sacrifice he was willing to make.
My wizard utilized a cursed item for herself and her lover to cheat death, and in the process she became a creature that preys upon the magical energies of spellcasters; she now haunts the region near the setting's largest magical academy. I fully expect her to pop up again as a villain in a future game.
"We're the perfect combination of expendable and unkillable!"
I have never actually made it to the end of an adventure yet...
My current character has some goals for going being an adventurer, including saving enough money to open a restaurant. So once all his goals are met, he will retire that way.
The one campaign I actually finished was one where I was DM, and it ended with them fighting Vecna. They defeated him, and a few things happened to the different characters. The cleric of Apollo ascended to godhood, and he managed to strike a deal where he got to visit his lover, who had died earlier in the campaign. The rogue, who was a revenant, returned to life by the Raven Queen, managed to stay alive due to her daughter casting Wish at the last second. The other rogue was very vague in her ending. Even after almost half a year I’m still not quite sure. The barbarian opened a fighting pit, where he remains the undisputed champion. And the sorcerer married Melora and had a kid.
In the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign I’m playing, my character is a tiefling rogue. His mission is to find his fiancé, and figure out what happened in the two years of his life that he can’t remember. If he dies, my backup character is his fiancé, and she would be intent on getting vengance. If he lives and finds her, he’s going to settle down. And maybe have a few kids.
Dominick Finch