The end of a truly epic campaign

Hi everyone,
Sorry to open with a truly purposeless post but I just had to voice this somewhere.
I started a d20 campaign for some new friends after I moved to Cornwall UK in 2001. In the 21 years since then we became extraordinary close friends and we kept playing our Star Wars campaign (Dark Inquisition) despite all of us moving to different corners of the country. Our characters matured with us (my NPCs, their PC’s) and the game included weddings, funerals, the development of huge businesses and their losses, superweapons, the growth / struggles of a Jedi, sibling deaths, a load of mourning, the loss of at least one hand, a terrifying robot pursuit, a truly villainous and maddeningly tenacious villain, some inspired and occasionally heartfelt role played dialogue and ultimately some grand, poignant sacrifice aboard a crash-landing anti-Force bomb in the skies above Coruscant … and so, so much fun, laughter and tears of mirth along the way.

And last weekend … it all ended.

In one final whole weekend, in the very last chapter we wrapped up everything. Every plot hole, every loose end, ever story arc and our fine, galaxy spanning story epic concluded. Not everyone survived and the last in-game 30 minutes were spent remembering some of the stories of the last twenty years in character.

It was, without a question, the most rewarding, moving and proud games-master experience I have ever known. I did really well, honestly better than I had hoped or expected to do and … in the final 15 minutes we all cried quite genuine tears. We weren’t feeling silly and wimpy … we were just genuinely and unintentionally touched and moved by our characters final chapter.

It was wonderful. And now I can’t stop thinking about it. And now I feel so, so sad that after all this time it is finally over and there is no going back.

This is an extraordinary hobby. To create a tapestry of characters, so many stories and arcs and such scale and adventure. What a privilege to share this with a few close friends and create such an incredible story … that no one else will ever be aware even happened!

Has anyone else ever experienced the extreme feelings of ending a gigantic campaign on such an emotionally charged and extraordinary high … and then being left a little empty in the aftermath?

Thank you for reading this splurge.

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So glad for you and your players, man. It really is a satisfying feeling to see things to the end, a great sense of closure. Our game really is a special thing co-created by all participants.

One nice thought: our games may not be “real,” but we remember the most exciting moments as if we lived them.

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