I have always found that the #1 challenge for a Dungeon Master is to ensure that the final BBEG battle and challenge lives up to all the hype. In almost all previous campaigns, the final climatic battle was less than I hoped. The players ended up enjoying the campaign but it did leave everyone feeling a little let down.

Finally, with my Middle Earth campaign, I feel I finally delivered a satisfying conclusion.

You can find the full recap here : The Fellowship of the Palantirs – Blog of Holding

So what made the conclusion so satisfying?

1. Duration – This campaign ran for 21 months. This allowed the players and myself to really ground ourselves in the world and our characters.
2. Flexibility – Although I had the framework of the campaign, it evolved and morphed as we played. There were probably 20 or 30 sub-plots that were not followed up by the players and 10-20 new sub-plots added as the campaign progressed. We really were creating the story together and it wasn’t a story I was foisting onto the players. I think this added to the satisfaction as we created the campaign together.
3. Leveling Up – I significantly levelled up the final BBEG to ensure it provided an adequate challenge. I have frequently found that characters acquire such skills and power through a long campaign and magic items that they are able to overwhelm a BBEG. Frequently, magic items are provided that result in over-powered characters. Being able to modify the BBEG to match the power of the players really help to make a final battle memorable.
4. Surprise – I really like inserting a final surprise prior to the battle. Usually this is finding out that the BBEG is not everything you were led to believe. I also love putting some moral dilemmas into the mix as well.

In our recent finale, it all came together where there was a big BBEG surprise reveal, the use of story elements from over a year ago, and a player who also used a surprising spell that also appeared to have him sacrifice his life for victory.

These all together combined to deliver the most memorable campaign I have ever been part of. The satisfying aspect was that we created it together.