Ending Adventures
Ending Adventures
Adventures can last a single night or can span several game sessions. At the end of a scenario (or the end of the game session), you may wish to distribute rewards.
Rewards
Make sure that what the characters receive for their actions matches what they went through during the adventure.
Characters may be awarded money, equipment, and weapons for their activities. They may also make contact with an important gamemaster character—someone who can save their skins in a future adventure.
Characters receive Force Points for particularly heroic actions at appropriate times (see "The Rules" chapter).
Characters also receive Character Points at the end of adventures, which can be used to increase skills or can be saved for later adventures.
As a general rule, a character should receive between three and 15 Character Points for each adventure. The award depends upon several factors: • How well the characters (and players) did. This is a reward for how the group did as a whole. If the players solved puzzles, came up with great solutions, and made sure that everyone had fun, give them six to eight Character Points; if the players did very poorly, they should only receive three or four Character Points. • How well each individual player did. If certain players were exceptional—very clever and went out of their way to make the game fun—give the player an extra two or three Character Points. • Whether they cooperated. If the players worked well as a team, they should get two to four extra Character Points. If they did nothing but argue (as players, not as characters; characters traditionally hassle each other during the game), they shouldn't receive points for working together. • Did they play in character? If a player roleplayed his character well, give him three or four Character Points. If the player didn't play the character correctly—such as having his Jedi commit evil at every chance—don't give him any points for roleplaying. • Did all of you have fun? If all of you (yes, this includes the gamemaster) had a good time, give the players as many as three or four Character Points as a way of saying, "Good game." If players were difficult and never tried to get into the spirit of things, don't give them these bonus points.
Adventures can have greatly varying length. These award guidelines are for an average adventure spanning two nights of gaming, or four or five fairly long episodes. If an adventure runs over several sessions, the gamemaster may want to give partial awards during the adventure so the players don't go too long without getting anything to show for their efforts. Final Character Point awards should be correspondingly increased to reflect the length of the adventure. On the other hand, if playing one- or two-episode quick adventures, you should decrease the Character Point awards.
No adventure should award any character more than 15 Character Points at one time. If you think this is going to happen, then award some of the points during the adventure. You might even give them a way to spend them on skills or attributes during the scenario.
In The Empire Strikes Back, part of the adventure has Luke learning Jedi skills from Yoda, and Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO working on the Falcon. They all have a chance to use the points they earned during the Hoth battle and the escape from the Empire.
Other rewards, such as cash, equipment, or other material objects, are given at your discretion. Again, try not to be too lavish in giving out "stuff"—your characters need something to work for later. In the movies, rewards of friendship, honor, and camaraderie were more important than money or equipment. Of course, a cash advance now and then doesn't hurt…
Cliffhangers
If an adventure will continue over a few game sessions, you may want to end each night on a cliffhanger so that the players will look forward to the next part of the scenario. At first they may resist such a tactic, but after a few cliffhangers they'll come to enjoy and expect it. Think of it as throwing up a "to be continued" line at the end of the night's episode.
For example, the player characters race across the galaxy to stop a rogue Rebel officer from betraying the Alliance. Just as they rush into the room where the traitor is supposed to make the exchange, a dozen stormtroopers appear from hidden alcoves and point heavy blasters at the characters. The misguided Rebel turns and says, "What took you so long?"—and the session ends.
Don't even let the players ask any questions about the scene. Just tell them they'll have to wait until next time.
Setting Up the Next Adventure
The end of one adventure could be the best time to infuse elements of the next episode in the characters' lives. Throwing in a character who fits prominently in a subsequent scenario can make the galaxy seem more tied together, and therefore, more real.
In literature and screen-writing, this technique is called foreshadowing. You incorporate images, characters, events, or settings of a future adventure into the current scenario to give the sense of concurrent and overlapping story lines.
You can even "end" an adventure by playing out the first scene of the next scenario. The players leave that night's game session with a hint of what's to come, and over the time between games their excitement about the next adventure gradually grows. You've given them something to think about, and they'll envision different ways to deal with the situation you've presented and left unfinished.
At the conclusion of any game session just remember to follow the age-old rule: always leave 'em wanting more!
Getting Feedback
Sometimes an adventure doesn't thrill the players like you expected it to when you were first reading or creating it. As you run a scenario you should pay attention to the players' reactions to the various scenes. Did they stand up and all try to talk at once during the chase? Did they go comatose when they reached the puzzle-solving encounter? The players' words and actions can convey a great deal of information about which parts of the adventure they enjoyed and which parts put them to sleep.
You also have to gauge their reactions to your judgment calls and improvisation. Don't take any negative responses as criticism. It takes a lot of work to plan and run a game, and you can't always please everyone no matter what you do. Instead, view player reactions and comments as hints as to what you can do in the next adventure that will keep them on the edge of their seats.
The best way to confront such a problem is to ask the players what they did and didn't like. You could even have them write you an anonymous note with a list of their favorite and least favorite scenes. Just don't forget to listen to what your players have to say. They may want to take the game in a different direction than you do. Compromise. Make sure you and your players have fun. If not, either you or your players will eventually give up and find something else to do during those precious spare moments.
Source: REUP:194