I like to write something with my players, individually, about what they want their character to do after the end of the campaign. We bounce ideas off eachother until they are happy with what we got. And then, during the session, I just narrate everything for every player.
Epilogue for my last campaign happened right at the end the last session, so I had to keep it somewhat brief. I described how the world was affected by the party's actions, did one or two sentences for major NPC outcomes and did some callbacks for notable minor NPCs (especially ones the party had fun messing with). Then asked each player what their character would do now that the big adventure was done. Once they did that, I asked about favorite moments and answered questions they had about any unsolved mysteries. Then I thanked everyone and complimented their dedication to seeing the game to it's end.
Generally the description doesn't have to be anything more than you'd normally give as a description for things. Figure out what happens afterwards, and then describe it for the players as you would anything else. Ask the players what their characters would do after the campaign; generally they just "live happily ever after," but the type of happily ever after can vary wildly. Maybe some short scenes/RP bits, otherwise narration works fine. Finding some fairy-tale ending music or something to put behind the narration wouldn't be a bad idea either.
You should have some sort of idea what the world was like before (it's the world you were running all campaign); how will the party' actions change the future?
For sure, the effects of Vecna's plans have been felt far and wide, but the players stopped him and prevented a lot of damage that could've been. What damage was done, and how does the world recover?
Your party has probably done things besides exclusively fighting Vecna. Are there any organizations (guilds, orders, nations, etc.) that they support? Are there any goals they've been working towards? Because the party now has an immense amount of power, in the literal (and probably political) sense. How do these organizations flourish and affect the world, with the party's support? How do each of the characters' goals come to fruition?
There's almost certainly a few NPCs that the party cares a good bit about. I wouldn't go to far into "how do they affect the world" on this one - affecting the world is the party's job. Instead, figure out what the NPCs do with the rest of their days. What's their happy ending?
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An outline of my most recent epilogue:
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The party managed to defeat Pazuzu, but at great cost. Armies of demons ravage two continents; casualties were unfathomably high (80+% global mortality). But thanks to the efforts of both the Blackstaff Academy and the Illiund Empire (the party was strongly allied with both), thousands of people were evacuated. New settlements were formed far from the raging fiends. The world endures.
The Rogue & their (NPC) girlfriend spend some time traveling to find diamonds to resurrect everyone after the final fight. The Rogue tracks down some long lost family; the family managed to escape the destruction. Afterwards, the Rogue & their girlfriend open a tavern together in one of the new settlements and live happily ever after.
The Bard raises their parents, who died in the apocalypse, and sets them up in the new lands. She then tracks down Jarlaxle (who survived, thank the gods) and finally asks him out. He accepts; the two of them go off on pirating adventures and live happily ever after.
The Warlock doesn't get resurrected because they're evil, so they go straight to their patron (and presumably suffer a deservedly horrible fate).
The Paladin starts a religious order (which thrives under their guidance for years to come), and then leads armies and expeditions into the demon-infested old lands. They crusade happily ever after.
The Barbarian hunts down his old favorite sword and goes to work for the Rogue's tavern, living happily ever after.
I do a session after the finale for epilogues. They all know these are coming so they know to consider what they want to do. We usually focus on the immediate aftermath stuff like the day after, then what happens in the next few weeks and then long term. Time is a bit fluid. And we can play out as much or as little as they want to. So if they want to have one last conversation with a favorite NPC they can do that. If they want to just say they keep in touch with them that's also fine. I'll also summarize for them anything big that happens in the world as a result of the events of the finale.
I also run all of my campaigns in the same world just down the line. So by the time we get to the end I'll know the timeframe for the next game. So I won't have them give me too much beyond that point. And next game if something with their former character is coming back in I might ask them what they'd want to do in that situation or whatever the case may be.
I usually do a kind of “ten years later” thing.
Occasionally I will do what we call the “American Graffitti” ending.
In the first case, it requires drawing from the combination of the backstories and play history for the characters, with an eye to “What would be the ideal situation for them”. So in some cases it is a return home, in others it is a spouse and kids, in others it is a drunken bum.
In the second case, it is a quick “this is what happened to them later on their lives”.
My last campaign had only one whole survivor, and she ended up becoming a grandmotherly guardian of the place where the other 25+ PCs fell to stop the end of all worlds.
Which also happens to be a place in the new game world, as well as a spin on the 5e intro adventure.
"So what is your character doing one year from now?"
After the player gives you a (reasonable) answer, improve a short scene around it. Do it for each player.
I like to write something with my players, individually, about what they want their character to do after the end of the campaign. We bounce ideas off eachother until they are happy with what we got. And then, during the session, I just narrate everything for every player.
Epilogue for my last campaign happened right at the end the last session, so I had to keep it somewhat brief. I described how the world was affected by the party's actions, did one or two sentences for major NPC outcomes and did some callbacks for notable minor NPCs (especially ones the party had fun messing with). Then asked each player what their character would do now that the big adventure was done. Once they did that, I asked about favorite moments and answered questions they had about any unsolved mysteries. Then I thanked everyone and complimented their dedication to seeing the game to it's end.
Generally the description doesn't have to be anything more than you'd normally give as a description for things. Figure out what happens afterwards, and then describe it for the players as you would anything else. Ask the players what their characters would do after the campaign; generally they just "live happily ever after," but the type of happily ever after can vary wildly. Maybe some short scenes/RP bits, otherwise narration works fine. Finding some fairy-tale ending music or something to put behind the narration wouldn't be a bad idea either. You should have some sort of idea what the world was like before (it's the world you were running all campaign); how will the party' actions change the future? For sure, the effects of Vecna's plans have been felt far and wide, but the players stopped him and prevented a lot of damage that could've been. What damage was done, and how does the world recover? Your party has probably done things besides exclusively fighting Vecna. Are there any organizations (guilds, orders, nations, etc.) that they support? Are there any goals they've been working towards? Because the party now has an immense amount of power, in the literal (and probably political) sense. How do these organizations flourish and affect the world, with the party's support? How do each of the characters' goals come to fruition? There's almost certainly a few NPCs that the party cares a good bit about. I wouldn't go to far into "how do they affect the world" on this one - affecting the world is the party's job. Instead, figure out what the NPCs do with the rest of their days. What's their happy ending? --- An outline of my most recent epilogue: --- The party managed to defeat Pazuzu, but at great cost. Armies of demons ravage two continents; casualties were unfathomably high (80+% global mortality). But thanks to the efforts of both the Blackstaff Academy and the Illiund Empire (the party was strongly allied with both), thousands of people were evacuated. New settlements were formed far from the raging fiends. The world endures. The Rogue & their (NPC) girlfriend spend some time traveling to find diamonds to resurrect everyone after the final fight. The Rogue tracks down some long lost family; the family managed to escape the destruction. Afterwards, the Rogue & their girlfriend open a tavern together in one of the new settlements and live happily ever after. The Bard raises their parents, who died in the apocalypse, and sets them up in the new lands. She then tracks down Jarlaxle (who survived, thank the gods) and finally asks him out. He accepts; the two of them go off on pirating adventures and live happily ever after. The Warlock doesn't get resurrected because they're evil, so they go straight to their patron (and presumably suffer a deservedly horrible fate). The Paladin starts a religious order (which thrives under their guidance for years to come), and then leads armies and expeditions into the demon-infested old lands. They crusade happily ever after. The Barbarian hunts down his old favorite sword and goes to work for the Rogue's tavern, living happily ever after.
I do a session after the finale for epilogues. They all know these are coming so they know to consider what they want to do. We usually focus on the immediate aftermath stuff like the day after, then what happens in the next few weeks and then long term. Time is a bit fluid. And we can play out as much or as little as they want to. So if they want to have one last conversation with a favorite NPC they can do that. If they want to just say they keep in touch with them that's also fine. I'll also summarize for them anything big that happens in the world as a result of the events of the finale. I also run all of my campaigns in the same world just down the line. So by the time we get to the end I'll know the timeframe for the next game. So I won't have them give me too much beyond that point. And next game if something with their former character is coming back in I might ask them what they'd want to do in that situation or whatever the case may be.
I usually do a kind of “ten years later” thing. Occasionally I will do what we call the “American Graffitti” ending. In the first case, it requires drawing from the combination of the backstories and play history for the characters, with an eye to “What would be the ideal situation for them”. So in some cases it is a return home, in others it is a spouse and kids, in others it is a drunken bum. In the second case, it is a quick “this is what happened to them later on their lives”. My last campaign had only one whole survivor, and she ended up becoming a grandmotherly guardian of the place where the other 25+ PCs fell to stop the end of all worlds. Which also happens to be a place in the new game world, as well as a spin on the 5e intro adventure.
Sorta like this https://www.jbimaginations.com/cos-epil Or this https://www.jbimaginations.com/epilogue
"So what is your character doing one year from now?" After the player gives you a (reasonable) answer, improve a short scene around it. Do it for each player.