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Last night was the last session of an 11-month old Vampire: The Masquerade campaign that marks the completion of our GM's first campaign (which I have a hard time believing still, given how well everything tied together) and the very first time I've retired a character because their story was completed. Archie wasn't my first character ever, or even in this system, but he stands as the first to both survive and complete a campaign, which... honestly, feels great!
Anyway, how about you all? What was it like the first time you closed the book on a long-running story of your group's design? How did it feel to let your character go and enjoy their happily-ever-after (assuming they weren't stuck with a whole mess of new problems ) ?

Done it a few times but sadly most campaigns have just faded away....

My two favs are:

Star Trek Campaign: We started in an alt universe where the Dominion beat the Federation and our three characters had to build a new one and defeat the Dominion and their allies - took years in real time but it was awesome - many ups and downs. Finally concluded with out characters retiring - mine went on a extended honeymoon/tour of the galaxy with his first love on his own custom yacht. certainly better than Picards retirement

Warhammer Campaign: After adventures in the Old World and Lustria my character had become a vampire and embraced her new darker side whilst stillclinging to some ambitions to be "good"...think Caroline from the Vampire Diares - her unlife continued in some stories I wrote

These days I'm mainly playing Call Of Cthulhu. Characters tend not to get a 'happily ever after'...

Ah, understandable

I turn my old characters into NPCs of later adventures. The barkeep is an old Retired Monk who gave up kicking evil butt, and now runs an inn. He's got plenty of stories for those willing to listen, and I know his voice, back story, and mannerisms like the back of my hand, so it's very easy to RP.

I HATE having to create fresh random NPCs. "Who is the owner of the local stables?" I dunno, Stables guy. Stables McGuyish?

FezzikDaBullgryn wrote:

I HATE having to create fresh random NPCs. "Who is the owner of the local stables?" I dunno, Stables guy. Stables McGuyish?

When players ask me about things like this, I turn it around an ask.... "I dunno, who is the owner of the local stables? You tell me." Then I take a lot of notes.

This allows the players to create the world around them, add their own plot/game hooks, and unloads a lot of GM bandwidth. Plus, after a while the Players start to lean into it themselves. If they go a bit too far, you just intervene and reel it back in a bit.

That seems an effective method for really engaging the players, but I don't know if I'd be able to do it without feeling like I was copping out of my job as a DM to make the world in the first place- or at least be good enough at improv to think it up on the fly.

I played in an Iron Kingdoms RPG campaign soon after it came out. Teh campaign was mostly set in the Five Fingers, and involved a lot of treachery and eventually a massive Cryx invasion. Pretty much everybody got their happy ending: the Khador wizard got a pardon and was allowed to return, the Cygnar deserter learned to become a warcaster, and my Ordic gentleman learned the finer points of gunslinging and leadership, and eventually retired to become the governor of the Five Fingers.

A few only war characters of mine have retired into service as nutritional supplements for their fellow guardsmen .

Yeah, I for one never give over the scepter of "God" voluntarily to my players, unless the cleric casts one of her damned talk to god spells.

I don't want to have to bend a perfectly well balanced session to the whims of one single participant (One of them is always way louder and more talky than the rest) and I try to involve them in other ways.

"Here are the town's job boards, or wanted adds. What type of jobs are you looking for?"

Like Mr Morden, most of my characters have simply faded away as the campaigns do.

However a long time ago I had a Dwarf paladin from D&D who survived multiple games and eventually retired to buy a pub with his adventuring earnings.

I used his family name and the pub in my current homebrew campaign as a nod to his mighty legacy.

My first character had a really dumb back story when I first made him up (I was a teenager. It was my first character. I did all the dumb things all those things mean).

But the character has evolved and I can drop him in as an NPC or pick him up and play him again at any point.

He was a farm boy that was kind of lazy and restless and never really fit the farm life. His parents knew it too and as a teen (becoming a man for those times) he was sent to what amounts to a job fair to become and apprentice and pick up a trade.

Bakers didn't want him, millers, carpenters. Too skinny. Too tall. Too uncoordinated. When they were almost ready to pack up and leave a old soldier decided to take him on, and paid the parents pretty good for it too.

The solider was actually a dragon slayer. Getting old, alcoholic (you need to be to do what he does), but knowing a lot of tricks to do the job. Soaking your cloak in this mixture to make it fire retardant. Huffing a bottle of this mixture to remove your sense of smell (the old dragon stench stories) and as a result his sense of smell is ruined. Wearing armor that protects your vitals but keeps you fast and mobile because it doesn't matter how thick your armor is if the dragon gets you're dead.

Anyway. He spent about 8 months training him up. They took down a pretty small dragon and split the hoard. The character sent the majority home to his parents who now own several farms and pay a bunch of farmhands to work the fields.The soldier parted ways having passed on the skills. He still lazes about. Travels around until he blows through all his money and then picks up mercenary/adventurer work or kills another dragon so he doesn't have to work again for a long time.

Like I said. I can drop him in as an NPC or pick him up and play him at any point because his life style could literally have him step off any boat or roll into any town and be "Just about out of money". I don't use him often but he's always there in my back pocket when I need a character of his type.