Satisfying end to a one-shot

[CascadeDiver]

I've been writing a fun (hopefully), 4th level-ish, one-shot that is pretty simply in nature; toxic waters are flowing through a town that resides on the bayou, travel upstream to find mass death and decay, fix the problem of the BBEG killing herds of animals and leaving the carcasses to rot in the water (think early America where herds of Buffalo were being skinned and the carcasses were left on the prairie).

The only issue here the party will still have the corpses upstream that are causing the waters to be toxic even though they defeated the BBEG. That doesn't seem like a satisfying ending, or am I over thinking it?

Any suggestions for "carcass cleanup"?

[Thrudd]

Just narrate that the PCs come back to town and tell everyone what happened. Then a crew from town goes out to clean up, once it's safe, while the PCs celebrate and bask in the thanks and adulation.

[Quertus]

Well, depending in edition, “4th level” is a little low for the PCs to be / have “eat anything” abilities / dragons to clean up the mess comically themselves. But afaict, nothing’s stopping the PCs from, you know, rolling up their sleeves, getting their hands dirty, and actually manually cleaning things up themselves. Honestly, had I been a player with a PC in that scenario, I think there’s good odds I’d have prioritized such cleanup over any “defeat the villain” scene.

So I guess I’m struggling to understand why you think that the mess won’t be cleaned up by the end of the adventure. And, ignoring that, why “and then the town sends disposable NPCs to go clean up the mess; those who don’t catch the plague gain herd immunity, and live happily ever after” isn’t a satisfying ending.

[CascadeDiver]

Just narrate that the PCs come back to town and tell everyone what happened. Then a crew from town goes out to clean up, once it's safe, while the PCs celebrate and bask in the thanks and adulation.

That is an excellent idea. It could village folk, as a whole, helping the cleanup cause.

Thank you :)

[CascadeDiver]

But afaict, nothing’s stopping the PCs from, you know, rolling up their sleeves, getting their hands dirty, and actually manually cleaning things up themselves.


So I guess I’m struggling to understand why you think that the mess won’t be cleaned up by the end of the adventure.

I am a flexible GM, if the party finds a way to clean up the mess then that is all the better, burn, bury, decompose. After all, defeating the cause does not clean up the mess. But if they poke at the carcasses and then look to me I would like to have a clean-up scenario in my back pocket.

[Thrudd]

Well, depending in edition, “4th level” is a little low for the PCs to be / have “eat anything” abilities / dragons to clean up the mess comically themselves. But afaict, nothing’s stopping the PCs from, you know, rolling up their sleeves, getting their hands dirty, and actually manually cleaning things up themselves. Honestly, had I been a player with a PC in that scenario, I think there’s good odds I’d have prioritized such cleanup over any “defeat the villain” scene.

So I guess I’m struggling to understand why you think that the mess won’t be cleaned up by the end of the adventure. And, ignoring that, why “and then the town sends disposable NPCs to go clean up the mess; those who don’t catch the plague gain herd immunity, and live happily ever after” isn’t a satisfying ending.

I interpreted it to mean "who cleans up the mundane BS after the adventure is over?". It's a one shot, and we don't have a lot of time, and making them describe how they slowly dispose of biohazard waste after the big fight against bad guys is sort of a boring anticlimax. The only reason regular townsfolk don't do it in the first place is presumably because there are bad guys there who would kill them. The game is about beating the bad guys. The cleanup is a trivial matter not suitable for adventurers, unless there's some sort of puzzle that needs to be solved which has a ticking clock and immediate danger.

[CascadeDiver]

I interpreted it to mean "who cleans up the mundane BS after the adventure is over?". It's a one shot, and we don't have a lot of time, and making them describe how they slowly dispose of biohazard waste after the big fight against bad guys is sort of a boring anticlimax.

My thoughts too. A narrative is the way to go.

[elros]

I am inspired by how the Fallout games handle some of the endings, so I think you have a few options:
1) if the party goes back to the village without cleaning up the dead bodies, but they inform the villagers that clean up had to be done, they get acknowledged for their help for defeating the BBEG.
2) if they don’t go back or don’t inform the villagers of the need for clean up, you can tell the party that the villagers eventually think poorly of them.
3) if the characters do the manual work of clearing out the bodies, the villagers praised them and can even have a monument made for them.

If you plan other adventures with the players, you could even carry over “karma points” for some of the players for your next adventure, that could lead to better equipment options, etc. That may be a little video gamey, but it helps the players get into the narrative.

[Simons Mith]

Perhaps also the villagers could learn from the Scots: if life gives you rotting animal carcasses in your stream, make whiskey.

[CascadeDiver]

1) if the party goes back to the village without cleaning up the dead bodies, but they inform the villagers that clean up had to be done, they get acknowledged for their help for defeating the BBEG.
2) if they don’t go back or don’t inform the villagers of the need for clean up, you can tell the party that the villagers eventually think poorly of them.
3) if the characters do the manual work of clearing out the bodies, the villagers praised them and can even have a monument made for them.

I like the different option narrative. Thanks

[Psyren]

Just narrate that the PCs come back to town and tell everyone what happened. Then a crew from town goes out to clean up, once it's safe, while the PCs celebrate and bask in the thanks and adulation.


That is an excellent idea. It could village folk, as a whole, helping the cleanup cause.

Thank you :)

You can add to this on the front-end - say the townsfolk have a plan and attempted to get close to the source themselves, but monsters etc kept them from getting close. That will telegraph very clearly to the PCs that the town is both willing and able to do the cleanup themselves, and they just need the adventurers to do the fun adventury-stabby business of clearing the way for them.

[CascadeDiver]

That will telegraph very clearly to the PCs that the town is both willing and able to do the cleanup themselves, and they just need the adventurers to do the fun adventury-stabby business of clearing the way for them.

That is an excellent, keep objectives clear and to the point.

[Duff]

Or, to give a more Ravenloft-ish ending...
If the party don't clean up the corpses, the villages head out and don't find them.

Cut scene to a necromancer with a fresh new army heading off into the sunset

[KorvinStarmast]

fix the problem of the BBEG killing herds of animals and leaving the carcasses to rot in the water If the setting is in hilly or mountainious terrain, and the slaughter is upstream, then a fitting ending can be waterfalls and every body dies

[Vahnavoi]

You are overthinking it. You can just end the scenario on a note like "though you've solved the root of the problem, the after-effects of this evil will plague the land for some time to come". People do know bitter-sweet endings are a thing, right?

[mileskoth]

hey
I totally agreed with.