Degrees of Cliffhangers

Making the cliché work: degrees of cliffhangers

A few weeks ago, we talked about Strong Endings to our D&D sessions. One idea that came up over and over again is that of cliffhangers. Cliffhangers are a cliché of episodic TV shows. Consequently, if we overuse them, they can feel like a tired cliché in our D&D game as well. If every session ends on a cliffhanger, players might get annoyed or bored. How do we fix that? We can start by thinking about different degrees of cliffhangers and how we can use them to bring strong and variable endings to our games.

Different kinds of cliffhangers

We think of cliffhangers as an unresolved ending at a point of high tension. A cliffhanger keeps viewers, or in the case of D&D, players engaged with the story. The literal example is a character hanging from the edge of a cliff, their hand slipping right before we end the scene, the episode, or the session. What will happen to that character? This kind of dramatic question is what is common to all cliffhangers. We end on a question which keeps the players eager to come back next week.

But we can think of different kinds of cliffhangers with different degrees of intensity. Thinking about these degrees of cliffhangers as DMs can help us develop an eye for suitable end points for our sessions. Considering the different intensities of cliffhangers can help us create engaging endings to our sessions without defaulting to the cliché of hanging from a cliff (whether literal or metaphorical).

So what are the different degrees of cliffhangers we can use to finish our sessions strong? Let’s think about them as different levels or tiers. We begin with level one cliffhangers. These are the ones with the lowest amount of tension. Then, we gradually work our way up to the high-intensity level three cliffhangers.

Level 1 cliffhangers: descriptive hooks

Cliffhangers with the lowest level of intensity are openings of non-combat scenes which we describe at the end of the session. They set up the beginning of the next session, and pique the players’ interest without an immediate looming threat.

Players might take make their way to a new location which will be the backdrop for the next session. We can describe how they are entering the tavern, the city or the fey forest they are planning to explore. Then we drop in a few details about the rainbow-colored dew, the faint peppermint smell and the lush warm air and end the session. It is still a cliffhanger in the broadest sense but it won’t feel like the cliché of a dangling threat.

We can use these low-level cliffhangers when the characters have just gone through a lot of tension and conflict. After high-intensity sessions we can give the players a moment to breathe. That way, they won’t have to think about the perils their characters are in in between sessions.

Level 2 cliffhangers: bad omens

If we crank the tension dial a little higher, we reach a different degree of cliffhangers. In these middling levels of intensity we describe signs and omens of a threat which has not yet assaulted the characters. These kinds of cliffhangers often lead to combat at the beginning of the next session but they don’t have to immediately.

Level 2 cliffhangers often come up when the characters are entering the lair of a monster, confront a NPC antagonist, or try to traverse a dangerous path. We might describe the rattling breath of the sleeping dragon as the characters enter its cave. The evil casino owner might make snide remarks as the characters confront her in her back office. Or subtle shadows might shift over the narrow bridge the characters are preparing to cross.

Here, we end the session with hints of potential danger without already pulling the trigger on the action. These cliffhangers of medium degree of intensity can work well as conclusions to build-up sessions. In these kinds of sessions the party often worked their way up through a complex situation. In the next session, this situation will come to a climax. Tension is high, players expect trouble in the next session but we haven’t thrown their characters into the action just yet.

Level 3 cliffhangers: mortal danger

At the far end of the scale of degrees of cliffhangers is a moment of serious, palpable, often physical danger. We describe the lead-up to the moment of resolution in which the fate of these characters hangs in the balance. Then, however, we hold back on the release of tension until the next session.

These cliffhangers are truest to their name and most often present themselves during a challenging combat or otherwise highly dangerous scenes. The orc warlord raises his greataxe over the prone character with death written on his grinning face. The first character in the marching order gets swallowed by the swamp ground. The characters hear the doors of the tavern locked from the outside as all of the patrons stand up and draw their weapons at the command of the sinister swashbuckler at the bar.

These cliffhanger endings set up a clear and present danger for the characters. The pending resolution of this threat in the next session keeps players engaged with the story and the game. But it is also the kind of cliché we should not be overusing. If every session ends with a cliffhanger of the mortal-danger degree, then soon players will yawn and shrug as their characters are thrown overboard by the pirate cultists.

Variable degrees of cliffhangers

When we’re thinking about endings to our D&D sessions, the tricky bit is that we can’t plan them like we can with strong starts. During the session the story evolves in unpredictable ways and we must remain adaptable with our ending points. Thinking about different degrees of cliffhangers prepares us to find flexible, satisfying and variable endings to our game sessions. Ideally, we use cliffhangers to keep the players engaged in between sessions but we vary the degree of intensity enough to avoid repetitive clichés.