D&D: Five Ways to End a Character
There’s loads of advice out there about character creation. But precious little about finding a good ending. Let’s change that.
Character creation is, in many ways, the heart of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s the one part of the game that every single campaign hits no matter what.
And 5th Edition’s mechanics reinforce this at every turn. 5E isn’t a grindy game of tactical combat where you try and eke out a victory against impossible odds. It isn’t a precision tuned system designed to reward clever use of limited resources and powers.
What it is, at its core, is an engine that shows off your precious little baby angel. All the streamlined rules “get out of the way” as WotC likes to say, so that you can show off your character being a total badass.
Not to say that D&D can’t be those other things. Just that the core mechanics of the game don’t inherently lean toward them. Because even if you can’t play in a campaign, you can make a character. This is why you’ll find everyone, including us, telling you all the ways to build a character. From finding a unique concept or character voice to putting together the most mechanically broken nonsense out there.
But every story has an end. And how do you find an ending for a character? Where do you even start? Here are some places to start finding an end to your character’s story.
How Far We’ve Come
You’ll often hear the term “character arc” get thrown around in RPGs. And they loosely describe how a character grows and changes over the course of their many adventures. And that’s one place you can find an ending–by taking a look back at the beginning.
Where did your character start? Where are they now? How are they different? Looking back at that path, you can see all the things that have changed. Is your character braver? Now that they’ve had that taste of adventure they’ve always wanted, how do they actually like it? These questions can all take you to “where the character wants to go next.” Are they off to study more arcane mysteries? To become a Jedi Knight? Telling the army that you’ve got this outbreak of monsters handled?
On to the Next Adventure
Conversely, you might never have changed. Not all characters have arcs. Some are just big handsome himbos who kick down progressively bigger doors, befriend aggressively bigger monsters, and keep on rockin’. When you have a character as bold as that, sometimes the biggest and best way to send them off is by knowing that they’re still somewhere out there in the world, kicking in doors without really thinking about what might be on the other side first. When a character just can’t help being themselves bigger and louder, this is a great way to find an ending.
Putting Down Roots
Of course, characters don’t always have to be headed somewhere. One of the things we love to see is a character coming back, or settling down. It gives a sense of continuity, much like the “where do they go next” question. But instead, we finally get to see them get those simple, quiet things they wanted. Great things to think about include: where do they settle down? What do they want, and truly treasure? How often do they see their adventuring friends, and have they really given up the sword?
Get a Medal!
Hey, it worked for Star Wars. And it will absolutely work for your character. What is the equivalent of the medal from the princess? Is it literally that? Some kind of fancy title? Some big thing that suggests, if not an ending, at least a new chapter?
R.I.P.
Sometimes characters sacrifice themselves nobly for the party. Sometimes you just can’t help but roll 1’s and there’s no one around to revivify your character. Either way, when a character is dead at the end of a campaign, it’s a great chance to revisit them one more time. Maybe the epilogue is a look into the afterlife, or a gathering of friends around a gravestone, celebrating the ones they’ve lost.
How have you said goodbye to some of your favorite characters?
