How do you pull off a bittersweet ending?

Talk to your players.

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>>52653534
>The day has been saved, but something of great value (emotional or otherwise) has been lost forever
or
>Something good has ended, but there is a vague glimmer of hope that it may one day be restored again
It's in the term: combine the bitter with the sweet. It's neither good nor bad, it's a "yes, but..." or "no, but..." situation.

>>52653534
Lots of people die at what cost, people sacrifice themselves, cut off, lonliness, lost but gained something, everyone dies but not in vain, that sort of thing.

>>52653534
About 60-70% cocoa and only 10% sugar.

>>52653889
This
>PC's have a NPC friend.
>NPC's village gets hit with The Plague
>The PC's go to seek a cure for their friend.
>They find it and make it back
>but their friend has already died from the sickness

The village and it's people are saved but the party lost something of value to them.

>>52653534
You got the girl but she got a dick yo

>>52653534
All thing must end, even your adventures.

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Pan's Labyrinth is a good movie to watch for such an ending.

>>52654781
The only bitter thing about that is the taste of the semen my dude.

Everything is saved, but in the process it was revealed that the people of the world are ill-equipped to deal with another trouble right over the horizon, and there is no sign of that changing.

>>52654781
That's more salty-sweet

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Like this or the Grey Havens

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>>52653534
Party saves the day

Splits up shortly afterward

Future choices and duties they assume for themselves in their lives means it's almost impossible the heroes ever see each other ever again

>>52653534
Don't pull it out of nowhere. You need sufficient buildup, and you need to maintain a consistent tone all the way up to the ending if you want bittersweet to not feel like a gutpunch.

>>52653719
Best answer right here

>>52656169
>tfw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaV8B_AhrUQ

>>52653889
>Something good has ended, but there is a vague glimmer of hope that it may one day be restored again

Anon, there's something even better than that for a Bittersweet ending, something that Ghibli has perfected.

>Something good has ended, but something new has taken it's place. Life goes on.

Princess Mononoke does a good job encapsulating this feeling.

>>52656218
After all this years I still feel empty inside

Dracula had a nicely done ending

>Dracula looks at peace when they finally stab him
>But it's a little ambiguous if it worked because it was with a bowie knife
>Mina is freed from the curse and marries Jonathan
>They name their son after Quincy who died in the battle

The entire thing was a simulation the whole time. During the game's final conclusion, describe a character who is using a computer to view the sim before he turns off the power. Once this happens, stop responding to your players and stare at a wall for the rest of the game

>>52656245
>>Something good has ended, but something new has taken it's place. Life goes on.
This.
Another example of this is the end of Gurren Lagann.

>>52653534
Watch the movie Your Name and 5 Centimeters per Second.
Actually, watch every single Makoto Shinkai movie. (The feature length films, anyway.)

Prepare to be sad.