Post-Campaign Ending Thoughts

This Saturday I wrapped up one of my most recent campaigns, and I am happy to report that my players succeeded in destroying Asmodeus, and protecting the world.

But more important, to me at least, is the fact that the campaign ended while planting the seeds of new campaigns. Three of the characters ended up with children, and another ended up with the call to train a new order of assassins in service to the death God. There is a great deal of satisfaction in this sort of ending, as it makes the world seem alive and that the stories of the characters and their descendants will continue to build and shape the world in the future. The day after a campaign like this ends is a fun day for me, as it is usually filled with thoughts of how the character's actions will have affected the world, and what kind of stories that can give birth to.

For a GM this is also a rewarding day. For the most part, GMing can be a thankless job, as many players aren't even aware of the amount of work that GMs put into their games. I personally, have gone sessions without a word of thanks or any feedback from the players, but to see a campaign end well and seeing everyone on the edge of their seats during the final battles is a rush for me. To see the emotional reactions to the end of the story makes all the work and effort worthwhile.

So in the words of one of my players, "Here's to the end of a great campaign!"