History Main / RolePlayingEndgame

Note that the term "[[UsefulNotes/RolePlayingGameTerms endgame]]" is used differently in [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMORPGs]], where it refers to all the content that is restricted to players who have reached the LevelCap.

* Most UsefulNotes/PoweredByTheApocalypse games include Character Endgame mechanics:

*** The core game suggests [[TheArchmage Archmastery]] as an endgame, whereupon the Mage surpasses the normal limits of magic and goes into seclusion as an AllPowerfulBystander -- in part because beings with an even higher JustForFun/SuperWeight are out there in a multiverse-spanning cold war.
*** With ''Imperial Mysteries'' making archmages playable, they too can do this by [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascending]] to the Supernal Realms permanently. The book includes a diceless sytem for one possible Ascension strategy, where the archmage transcends the physical world by [[RealityWarper rewriting reality]] to suit their will in a series of great quests.

*** The core game suggests [[TheArchmage Archmastery]] as an endgame, whereupon the Mage surpasses the normal limits of magic and goes into seclusion as an AllPowerfulBystander -- in part because beings with an even higher SuperWeight are out there in a multiverse-spanning cold war.

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'' has a version specific to the Chaos Champion [[PrestigeClass career line]]: once they earn enough rewards from the Dark Gods for their distinguished service, they have a chance to be [[DaemonOfHumanOrigin transformed into a Daemon Prince]] to serve eternally. The fledgling Daemon is usually called away to the Realms of Chaos, leaving the player to roll up a new character with a hefty starting bonus.

* In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':
** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'':
*** The core game suggests [[TheArchmage Archmastery]] as an endgame, whereupon the Mage surpasses the normal limits of magic and goes into seclusion as an AllPowerfulBystander -- in part because beings with an even higher SuperWeight are out there in a multiverse-spanning cold war.
*** With ''Imperial Mysteries'' making archmages playable, they too can do this by [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Ascending]] to the Supernal Realms permanently. The book includes a diceless sytem for one possible Ascension strategy, where the archmage transcends the physical world by [[RealityWarper rewriting reality]] to suit their will in a series of great quests.
** In ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheLost'', this is the BadEnding: Changelings who reach the highest level of Wyrd are in danger of losing their minds, forsaking their humanity, and returning to [[LandOfFaerie Arcadia]] to [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie transform into soulless True Fae]].
** ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' describes the mythical state of Golconda, where vampires become {{Ascended Demon}}s and free themselves from their physical and spiritual weaknesses. Since it's set in a vicious CrapsackWorld, it also suggests subverting the trope by asking AndThenWhat and letting players struggle to maintain this state.
** ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'' has rules for the {{Golem}}-like Prometheans to complete their Pilgrimage, gain souls, and [[BecomeARealBoy achieve true humanity]]. It also points out that this leaves the ex-Promethean in the World of Darkness with selective amnesia and none of their powers, and observes just how sadistically this trope could be subverted. This has given the game an undeserved bad rep as "the game where you win by losing all your cool powers" among those who haven't read it.
** In ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'', Beasts who want to leave their vestigial humanity behind forever in favour of their [[PowersViaPossession symbiotic Horror]] can work towards an Inheritance:
*** If they raise their Satiety stat to the {{Cap}} and then die, their Horror becomes an "Unfettered" spirit, free to roam the [[SpiritWorld Primordial Dream]]. At most, it inherits remnants of the Beast's memories and personality.
*** If they [[FusionDance physically merge]] with the Horror, they become "Rampant", a mindless creature of pure hunger that's unleashed upon the physical world.
*** If they become powerful enough and succeed in a quest to prove their dominance, they become a "Beast Incarnate", a [[MergerOfSouls perfect symbiosis of mortal and Horror]]. Although they're still technically playable, the game suggests that they're better as plot devices than as {{Player Character}}s or straightforward antagonists, as their new powers are beyond the scope of the game.

* ''TabletopGame/HELLASWorldsOfSunAndStone'': Max out your Glory and it's only a matter of time before you leave the material universe behind to join your patron god. Max out your Fate and it's only a matter of time before your foretold doom catches up with you. Either way, it's time to pass the torch to your child or protege.

** ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'' has rules for the {{Golem}}-like Prometheans to complete their Pilgrimage, gain souls, and [[BecomeARealBoy achieve true humanity]]. It also points out that this leaves the ex-Promethean in the World of Darkness with selective amnesia and none of their powers, and observes just how sadistically this trope could be subverted.

** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/BasicDungeonsAndDragons Basic Dungeons and Dragons]], in particular the BECMI version, allowed characters to reach 36th level, and allowed for characters to have a shot at becoming Immortals, the god-like beings that watch over the world of {{TabletopGame/Mystara}} and possibly other worlds too.