How To End The RPG

       No story can last forever.  No matter how long the creator wishes to stay in the universe, eventually it must end. As such in this post we will discuss how to properly end a RPG, from setting up events to work toward a final goal, proper communication with others, and most importantly writing an abrupt ending if the other players bail out of the RPG.

       As I discussed months ago when going over creating a story bible, preplanning is crucial in having a continuing narrative that remains consistent all the way through. The ending should be seen as the culmination of all the work you have done in setting the story. Having hints or references that are planned in the story bible, and sprinkled throughout the RPG can all lead up to one momentous event. But to do this, it is best not to surprise all the other players, no matter how tempting it can be. Just as we spoke in the blog post on the story bible about how players can rebel if they feel things are too structured, the same can happen here where they have one view how the RPG will end, only to have things flipped on them. As such proper communication is key, including sharing the story bible, and taking in other's ideas as to how the story should end. By the end, the RPG is not one single person's story but a story created by many contributions.  Having the ending events crafted only by one player does a disservice to the story, and all those who have contributed to it

      However not every RPG will end in a complete and satisfying fashion.  Many will end simply due to loss of players, who are forced to bail out for any number of reasons ranging from a simple loss of interest to personal reasons. As such it is the sad duty of the creator to recognize that the story has come to a end, despite being nowhere close to being complete. Here it becomes important to write a final post that wraps up all loose ends that are currently in the story, while also providing a satisfying conclusion. One possible way to do this is by jumping the story forward, leaving only hints of how the current loose ends were tied up, while focusing on wrapping the larger story up. Another would be to have some massive event that takes place immediately in the story, that can serve to wrap up the current loose ends, while attempting to wrap up some of the larger plot elements. Either way this task is not a easy one for the RPG creator, but is one that is necessary to do justice to all the work that has been put into the story.

       At the end of the day, no creator wishes to abruptly end their story or produce a ending that leaves the other players unsatisfied. Yet being prepared and having proper communication with the other players can side step many problems, and finish the story in a way that leaves everyone satisfied.