Never let the game stall

by Alan De Smet

If the players don't see any options for their characters, something has gone wrong. This usually manifests as the players sitting around doing nothing, or arguing in circles about a plan of action. Don't leave them banging their heads against the plot for too long, it's frustrating and pointless. The most obvious case is solving a puzzle or working around a trap, but it can manifest anywhere. (Steven Marsh has an entertaining story on the potential problems with puzzles in Pyramid.) Players might be stuck planning how to attack a powerful enemy, or how to engage in courtly intrigue. If the players didn't figure out the solution in the first hour of staring at a given situation, they're not going find a solution in the second, fourth, or twentieth hours. Once the players start feeling stuck their thoughts start going in circles, they become frustrated and less likely to see a solution.

If your players are stuck, you need to step in and move the game forward. The problem isn't that the player's need to do something, the problem is that you need to change something. Be sure they are stuck before you intervene; if a plan is slowly coming together, or the players are seeking more information to help their decision, go with it. Give players a bit of time to think, but balance it. Ten minutes is fine, four hours usually isn't. The exact length of time will vary from group to group, and from situation to situation. If the discussion between the players goes in circle with the same plans being rehashed and shot down they're probably stuck. When you hear the same arguments repeated for the sixth time you've let it go on far too long. Any discussion in the form, "That plan has no chance of succeeding," "But it's the best plan we have," usually marks a stuck group. "We wait until something happens," is a desperate plea for help.

Give players options

The first part of the solution is to avoid it in the first place. Avoid highly linear plots. If a particular plot point needs to be visited, or a particular enemy needs to be defeated, you create a risk that the players will get stuck. If your plot is more open ended, the players can try other option if one path appears to be a dead end.

If your game has a relatively focused plot it is important to ensure that the characters always have at least one semi-obvious way to move onward. This path needs to be practical. If the characters will not follow a particular path for any given reason (moral reasons, financial reasons), that path isn't really practical.

But not too many options

Be wary of the other side of the coin. If you are running a highly open ended game with no clear goal or purpose your players may be blocking on too many options. When writing, some people find a blank sheet of liberating, but many find it intimidating. Having an nearly infinite number of potential actions can be similarly intimidating. If you're running an open ended game and your players regularly block you may need to create a bit more focus and a slightly more linear plot.

Games where players are encouraged to create whatever sort of character they want, and to do whatever they want can easily fall into this problem. Some players will love the challenge and be creating their own mischief in no time. But players wanting a more directed story typically flounder around unsatisfied, waiting for "the story" to arrive.

Check your assumptions

Keep in mind that players may be unaware of something that seems obvious to you. You create and control the world, within the game you are omniscient. Your players are not, they only know what you tell them. Players may have gaps in their knowledge. If players are blocking and you find yourself thinking, "Well, obviously they need to do such-and-such," examine your assumptions. Why is that obvious? Check that the players share those assumptions. You may have assumptions about the game world that they don't share. The players may have glossed over an important clue; it seems irrelevant to them so they forgot about it. As you consider assumptions ask your players to find out what assumptions they are carrying.

For more on this, see "Players must understand your universe."

Avoid forcing players to meta-game

Another potential problem is that the player's may be blocking for role-playing reasons. If your players are really trying to role-play, they may be ignoring or willfully overlooking information that they have ("My character was so horrified by the scene that they are repressing the memory." "My character is a pacifist, and won't accept the violent solution to our problem."). Statements to the effect, "My character would never do that" for the best plans often indicate this problem. Left uncorrected a player will usually eventually sigh and do something that he feels is wrong for his character, essentially forcing him to metagame. If you run into this you've failed to write for your players and their characters. Obviously the best plan is to avoid writing your players into such situations. Providing multiple options is one possible solution. If you're already stuck in the situation and there are no other options to suggest, you may need to ask a player to step out of character and take an action to move the game forward. While the player won't like such a meta-game answer, the group as a whole will be glad that they didn't spend four hours arguing without reaching a solution.

Offer hints

You can help the players move onward in a number of ways. For games with knowledge ability scores or skills, you can let characters make a check for have a flash of insight. "Make a Gather Information check. You got a 15? Great, you remember hearing that the prince was looking for help with a personal problem." or "Make an Wisdom check. Good enough, you notice that the old man is speaking in a particular pattern, something about how he starts his sentences." This is an excellent way to remind players of facts they may have forgotten or ignored or to tell them information they should reasonably have access to.

External forces

In many games, another option is for external forces to change the situation. A guard behind a puzzle lock may not realize the characters are there and may open the door for restroom break, giving the characters a chance to rush in. The character's unknown enemy may send thugs to attack them; when the characters defeat the thugs, they could find a clue to the enemy's location.

When all else fails, meta-game

Finally, if all else fails, punt. Just tell the players how to move forward. Obviously this isn't satisfying, but it lets the players move on to hopefully more entertaining parts of the game. It's certainly better than an entire game session in which nothing happens. Asking players to meta-game is unfortunate but better than having them frustrated and seething. "You should go help the prince with his problem," or "the combination is 3, 14, 15, the first few digits of pi," may be the best way forward.