What to do for ending

[Icepath11]

Alright, so i am having problems on how to end my story
Note: if you are in my campaign do not read

Spoiler

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1. i can make the characters lose everything and have to regain it through a gauntlet (yes, even levels) and then face a Demi-god (level 20) then finally a god

or

2. i can end it by doing a Halo Reach ending (fight till you drop) against Zombies, then angels, then my own race "Creedzone" they teleport to a random destination at the end of their turn and become invisible (d20 roll 15-20) and characters (each) must make a Perception check (DC13) to see them (barely, adds +3 to AC)

AC=19
HP=175
Dex=20
Str=18
Con=10
Wis=10
Int=20
Cha=15
(looks like an elite)
2d20 piercing or slashing

Please no Disrespectful comments i'm a new DM and all help is appreciated ~Icepath

[AxeAlex]

Alright, so i am having problems on how to end my story
Note: if you are in my campaign do not read

Please no Disrespectful comments i'm a new DM and all help is appreciated ~Icepath

I don't think we can help you find the best way to end your story without knowing a little bit of the story.

The situations you describe are only mechanical aspect.

Scenario 1 seems more Epic, maybe better for a high fantasy heroic game.
Scenario 2 seems more Grim, maybe better for a low fantasy morally ambigous game.

But honestly, we need more info!

[Elvenoutrider]

I hope you find this more constructive than disrespectful but I wouldn't do either. The first idea of taking everything from the players is going to frustrate them even if they have the chance to get them back. The players worked long and hard to get their players those equipment and levels and are attached. They won't find it fun to have them taken away.

The second option is the perfect example of something that is fun in a videogame but not in a tabletop. Combat that lasts too long gets boring. Waves of mindless undead are boring. The problem with foght till you drop is the party won't all drop at the same rate so you will have a few players sitting there doing nothing while the others are playing. Also will they know they are doomed to fail because of yes and this is anything other than lovecraftian horror or if there is any benefit to it other than killing monsters then the players will wonder why they are bothering with this instead of a video game. If the players don't know they are doomed to fail they will just get mad at you for setting them up to fail.

As a new gm I would stick to what you know works and don't buck any trends. Play a shorter campaign of a few levels because, and I say this from the perspective of someone who has been playing for almost a decade now, a 1-20 campaign is very hard to write to the point that I have not successfully done it yet.

My advice is to write an adventure. Pick a cliche story trope or fairy tale and add a twist. Make sure the adventure ends with the party winning. For me I picked a level 5 adventure where the players had to hunt down a vampire and save a princess. The twist was that the princess ended up betraying them.

If you don't want to write a story yet, try writing a dungeoncrawl with no story at all. Just hack and slash dodge the traps and slay the monsters.

When you have more experience maybe you can find a successful way to run the above ideas.

Good luck, gming is a skill that takes years to develop and sometimes a lot of frustration. If you get discouraged, it's ok to go back to being a player for a bit while you return to the drawing board

[Maglubiyet]

What has been the theme of your campaign so far? Do either of the ideas you presented continue the plotline? If so, then that's the one I would choose.

If I ever feel the need to do a climactic finale, I usually tie it in to what the PC's have been doing. They finally defeat the recurring villain, they put a stop to the global disaster, they make it to safety... Something that's relevant to the story.