Hey, DM, what should we do now?

The PCs are at an "open" point in the game where they need to decide what to do next, or where to go next in the campaign. They have no current adventure, and no real in-game guidance.

"Well, do we want to go to New Haven City and see if anything is happening there?"

"Or to the Dark Forest to investigate those rumors of a cult rising?"

"Or see if we can catch up with the caravan heading for the southern lands?"

"Or just hang out here for a while and make sure no new monsters take up residence at that dungeon we cleared out?"

"Hey, DM, you have any suggestions or preferences for what we should do now?"


DMs: Have you ever had the Players ask you straight up, "where do you want us to go?" And did/would you answer that question?

Players: Have you ever asked the DM where to go next in the campaign? Did he give you a direction?


I've asked that question of a DM a few times, and I'm surprised that it seems most DMs don't want to answer it. I've actually been in a campaign where the DM had to make three contigency adventures for the next game session because the Players couldn't make up their minds the previous session (and over the 2 weeks worth of e-mail discussions), and the DM wouldn't answer my direct request for a suggestion.

From my experience as a Player, it seems that DMs completely back off giving such suggestions. And I'm not talking about the Players asking for some divine guidance while on a quest -- I mean when the direction they take is really just going to be a random choice for where to go find another adventure.

As a DM, I've only been asked this once, many, many years ago. I suggested the Players go west, because I had recently mapped out that part of a homebrew continent and needed some inspiration for fleshing it out.

I can understand the feeling that the DM may be prepared for any direction, and so may not really care where the PCs go. But shouldn't/couldn't the DM at least discuss the possibilities with the Players?

"Well, going to New Haven City would probably get you into city adventuring and political intrigue."

"Going to the Dark Forest might put you up against some undead."

"Heading into the southern lands would make for a lot of wilderness encounters."

"Staying here might prove boring for a while, since you did thoroughly clear out the monsters of the area."

"What kind of adventuring would you like to get involved with?"

Quasqueton

Personally, I balk at answering this question as DM, because I don't want the players to feel like I'm leading them by the nose. I want them to make their own choices, and I'll pick up the slack if that pathway isn't fully fleshed out already.

I've had them ask this question before, and I balked. I had one adventure prepared, I threw out two hooks, and they asked what I wanted them to do. I refused to answer the question -- and they took the hook for the unprepared adventure... which turned into one wild ride, which has shaped a couple of subsequent adventures and stories.


As a player -- I wouldn't ask this question, probably because I've DMed before, and I would ascribe to my feelings as a DM in this situation. I would figure out where I, as a character, wanted to go with the options before me, inform my fellows of my decision, and see what they wanted to do. Usually, I have a solid enough understanding of my character to know (within the boundaries of the world we're in) where I would go if I had freedom of movement.

I've never asked this question, maybe because I don't get to play that often, and haven't had too many situations where I've felt like I don't know where to go.

Well, my players look to me to tell a story, so it's usually pretty obvious where they 'should' go next. But the choice is still theirs...if they want to take it in a different direction, they can. In my years of DMing, I've never had a party that wanted to take it in a different direction.

Tough situation, and one that I can honestly say I haven't encountered as a DM. On the player side of the equation, I was only left floundering this badly once before. The campaign just ground to a halt for a few hours because none of the players knew their PC's well enough to determine what they'd feel motivated to do next, and the DM didn't offer any helpful insights, hooks, or plot devices.

If asked this question, I'd probably turn it around on the players by telling them to look within their character's hearts, minds and histories. I'm fortunate that at least half of the players in my group do a really solid job of fleshing out their PC's motivations and long term goals. See if a few probing questions posed to your group can't uncover some worthwhile objective that the party latches onto. In the event that this approach doesn't bear fruit, I'd re-examine my own goals for the campaign as DM and world creator. Then I'd give my players a helpful push in the form of an unexpected, shocking, encounter to gets things moving again.

Good luck Quasqueton...and let us know what happens!!

in my tuesday night game i see it as my responsibility to have a world prepared, and for them to explore it. therefore i am much more inclined to be reacting to them, rather than guiding them.

in the sunday game i was involved in we spoke as a group about what modules ot run next, and after that, and after that, and who would dm them, so it was much more "led".

i find myself able to enjoy both thoroughly, as long as i am aware of which ne i am involved in

Good luck Quasqueton...and let us know what happens!!

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I'm not DMing a group right now. I'm a player in a campaign where we were at this "crossroads" a game session before last.

We had just learned that the location we were originally headed towards was not what we thought, and there really was no reason to head that way any longer. So we players started debating what to do. It was only our third game session, and we didn't know the DM's homebrew world well enough to make any kind of educated guess or decision.

I paused all the debate for a moment to direct the question at the DM. "Do you have a preference for what we do now?"

The DM hedged and said he could get us back on the campaign plot where ever we went. I hadn't realized there was a specific campaign plot we were supposed to be pursuing. I knew there was stuff "going on", but I didn't know we were supposed to be involved with it directly.

Anyway, we ended up just continuing on towards the now defunct goal figuring to find something on the journey.

I don't have a problem with the campaign we're playing, but the situation did prompt my question at the top of this thread.

Quasqueton

Quasqueton said:

I'm not DMing a group right now. I'm a player in a campaign where we were at this "crossroads" a game session before last.

I don't have a problem with the campaign we're playing, but the situation did prompt my question at the top of this thread.

Quasqueton

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Got it. You pose an interesting question, and I'm guessing that most DM's would prefer to leave control of such decisions in their player's hands so as not to seem overly controlling.

As the DM in your situation, I'd probably act as noted above. First, I'd try to guide the players into making a choice based on their PC goals and motivations. If that didn't help much, I'd try to gently steer things along a chosen course by providing encounters/events to influence PC reactions.

From a DM's perspective, I ask the players what they want to do before I prepare the next adventure - or to tell me in advance if they want to leave the current region. I also check if they would like to travel to a region before detailing it.

Here is how I would handle that.

I'd allow the PCs to roll gather information checks and give them teasers for each scenario based on their rolls, the higher the roll the more teasers.

This will still let them decide but give them more information to work from.

When faced with this as a DM, I fleshed out some obvious choices and gave the PCs more info on what each might entail. They made the decision themselves.

-- Nifft