Endings

Some of you may recall that, back in August, I opined about the coming end of my House of Worms Empire of the Petal Throne campaign. Three months later, the reality of that ending is becoming more apparent. I won't say that it's imminent, but it's very much on the horizon. If I had to guess, I suspect things will likely wrap up sometime early in 2025. Sadly, I don't think it'll continue far enough into the new year in order to reach the campaign's tenth anniversary (on March 6. 2025), but them's the breaks. While we human beings seem to like nice, round numbers, real life doesn't always cooperate.

The campaign began with six player characters, depicted in this illustration drawn by Zhu Bajie.

Within the first year or so of play, two of the original six departed (for scheduling reasons), but were quickly replaced by two others, one of whom still plays and has become one of the campaign's stalwarts. In the years since, many other players have come and gone. By my count, there have been fourteen players involved in the House of Worms campaign, not counting "special guests" who sat in for a session or two here and there. Of those, seven still play, including three of the original six.

The campaign never had an overarching "story." Instead, it was always pretty open-ended, with the characters wandering across Tékumel according to their own wishes and those of the patrons they've served. Initially, the characters were all minor members of the House of Worms clan, doing the bidding of their elders while they tried to make names for themselves and to acquire, in the words of Aíthfo hiZnáyu, "cash and prizes." This set-up made it very easy to referee, since the players drove most of the action, it also afforded them the opportunity to travel the length and breadth of Tékumel (and beyond) in pursuit of their goals.

That open-endedness does, however, make it harder to tie things up in a pretty bow and say, "Done!" That's a thought that's occupied my thoughts for a while now: how does one "properly" end a campaign? Most RPG campaigns, I suspect, just stop rather than conclude in any satisfying way. That's honestly fine. For House of Worms, though, I felt some obligation to do something more, something that felt like it did justice to the nearly a decade's worth of roleplaying my players and I have engaged in. But how to do that?

Though the campaign doesn't have a "story" in the literary sense, there is a thread that's been running through it since fairly early on: the characters' quest for status and influence within the Empire of Tsolyánu. To that end, the characters have frequently worked for, opposed, or stumbled into the intrigues of the various heirs to the Petal Throne. In addition, one of their number, Kirktá, has also been revealed to be an heir. This revelation has, until recently, played a fairly minor – but recurring – role in the campaign. Now that it looks like things are starting to wind down, I decided it might be a good time to make full use of Kirktá's status as an imperial scion.

In our most recent session, the characters learned that Hirkáne Tlakotáni, 61st Seal Emperor of Tsolyánu, "the Stone Upon Which the Universe Rests," has fallen gravely ill and is not expected to survive. The various factions within the Imperium, plotting quietly in the shadows in preparation for the inevitable Kólumejàlim, are at last ready to make their moves, each falling behind one of the potential candidates for the Petal Throne. Since Kirktá is one of those potential candidates, the characters will soon find themselves involved in this world-historical event, whether they like it or not.

Thus, the final sessions of the House of Worms campaign will focus on the choosing of a new emperor (or empress). In the wake of Hirkáne's death, all candidates for the throne must present themselves to the Omnipotent Azure Legion in Avanthár and announce whether they wish to partake in the Kólumejàlim or if they will "renounce the Gold" and retire to a safe imperial sinecure. Before that happens, though, there will be much plotting and intrigue, as each candidate rallies his supporters, seeks allies, and tries to dissuade other contenders to renounce their claims. It's into this maelstrom that the characters will fling themselves, the conclusion of which will result in both a new emperor and an end to our campaign.

Not a bad way to end things, don't you think?