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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mordane76" data-source="post: 3051635" data-attributes="member: 7172">I have a problem, and I'm not sure how to fix it.It appears I have potentially overloaded my players with options, hooks, and paranoia.  Almost any decision that needs to be made takes upwards of an hour of discussion to make, because no one can decide any of the following -Which hook/option to follow;What are the possible consequences of following or not following a hook/option;Can we possibly hit more than one hook/option at once, and;Why should we even try certain options when we could possibly run and hide?A general overview of my plot, hopefully without spoiling it if my players happen in here:The BBEG is seeking to retrieve artifacts that will allow him to call back his master from beyond the void, who is obviously an even bigger BBEG.  Together, these BBEGs will reforge a empire that fell thousands of years ago.  The characters are half working-for, half working-against the BBEG.  The characters have several available side-plots that all connect back to the BBEG in various ways -One of the character's father has been imprisoned for treason because he has been implicated (falsely) in one of the BBEG's schemes.  This character also happens to be the mage apprentice of one of the direct associates of the BBEG.The characters have one of the artifacts that the BBEG needs, and have hidden it where they don't think he can find it.  They are also interested in trying to find the other artifacts he needs and hide them as well.Several members of another character's family have gone missing in an evil kingdom, where some of the BBEG's allies are active.One of the characters is partially sympathetic to the BBEG's plans and is trying to subtlely steer the party in the BBEG's direction.One of the characters has an old flame that now indirectly works for a direct associate of the BBEG.My dilemma is several-fold.  First, play is grinding to a halt because everyone has different opinions about what is the most important - even inside the different sub-plots, they can't decide which points of order to follow, because they either disagree about what is the most important or what the potential consequence of their actions could be.  This wouldn't be a problem if everyone was enjoying the constant deabate, but I can see it is starting to wear on several of the players because much of the session results in no actual forwarding of the plot, just discussion about what actually should be done.Second, I don't think the characters truly realize just how powerful the BBEG is, but I don't want to kill one of them outright to show them.  However, I think they need to realize just how far ahead of them he is, and just how much of what is going on he has planned or already thought of.  The problem is I don't know exactly how to lay this out without feeling like I'm railroading the characters... but I think they might need a little railroading to get back on track.Third, I still have more plot elements I want to get out on the table, but I think the characters are already inundated with options and information that it might actually cause their brains to lock up like Windows 3.0.  These plot elements are however important to the story I have planned...HELP?!</blockquote>

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