3 Ways to Stall

How can you stall the game for a while to give yourself a chance to recover from a player surprise?

Here are three ways.

Stall Tactic #1. It Was the Plan All Along

This was posted recently on the Roleplaying Tips Discord:

Never underestimate the power of saying “yeah, weird huh?”
when you slip a massive contradiction into the game by mistake.

Deflection like this works regardless of contradiction source.

It’s also a fantastic opportunity to drop a hook.

Little Phingers: Hey wait, the Viscount was busy torturing the mean skald that night. How could he also have been at the teleport circle in the ruins?

Johnn: (With poker face firmly on.) Yeah, weird huh? Even more interesting: that means one alibi is lying too: is it the Chief Torturer or the Wizard?

By dropping a hook into your stall tactic you have a strong chance of sending the party in a direction you want.

Which brings me to the second tip….

Stall Tactic #2. Back Pocket Encounters

Prep generic encounters you can drag and drop into play, when needed, to buy time.

You might be stalling to get time to think. Or you want to set up a cliffhanger. Or maybe you’re waiting for a late player to show.

I recommend three core encounters you keep handy so you’re ready for almost any situation:

  • Travel: Should the party go in an unprepped direction, intervene with an encounter during the trip.
  • Clue Drop: Should the players get stuck and aren’t sure what to do next, create an encounter whose purpose is to drop a clue, introduce an NPC or avenue to get unstuck, or to just change the pace and get players in a different mindframe.
  • Resource Depletion: Should you be suffering from a one encounter day or need to soften the party up a bit before a big encounter, prep a fun scene that’ll drain health, ammunition, spells, or other character resources.

Stall Tactic #3. What’s Going On Here?

Stalling does not solve the root problem. It just buys you time to quest for solutions.

However, you can stall and solve at the same time by asking players what’s going on here.

This is why I like to have an NPC with the party most times. In my Basilica campaign, the party has a warrior and a monkey who join their ranks depending on what’s happening. There’s also a lowly mage wanting to join, a boy learning swordwork from Bartram, and an acolyte follower that Spencer has acquired, so several NPCs await a spot as pit finder, too.

Through an in-game mechanism of your choosing, such as an NPC, you ask the players to speculate.

Johnn: Vale has a thoughtful look on his face. How could he be in two places at once?

Most players can’t resist a puzzle or an open curiosity loop like this. The NPC frames the riddle exactly how you want, and everyone stays in-character, roleplaying.

Then, whether players are planning or speculating out loud, I look like I’m catching up on session notes in Campaign Logger or flipping through the Monster Book while I’m really listening and waiting for good ideas.

The nice thing is you can try to get players giving you solutions at any time, even after stalling. Repeatedly.

Johnn: Your return back to the Moathouse is uneventful. Vale turns to you, Ignitus, and says, “That was a good idea about the Viscount having a secret teleport circle of his own. I wonder where he’d hide it?”

Yeah, Weird Huh?

I dread Logic Bombs and getting painted into corners. Trying to make new details fit in a way that doesn’t break canon or sense of disbelief.

My response when caught off-guard is:

  • Pause, breathe, think
  • Choose my stalling tactic and get it ready
  • Execute

Whether it’s a Back Pocket Encounter, trick to get players telling you the answer, or hook to get the game back on track, don’t panic and buy some time behind the screen.

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!

P.S. When you are ready, here are +4 vorpal ways I can help you with your campaign:

+1 Get My Campaign Logger App Free to Make Prep & GMing Easier

For GMs of any system looking to run deep, detailed, and immersive games, Campaign Logger lets you take session notes at the speed of thought in your unique GMing style while improving your preparation experience so you can focus on the parts of the game you enjoy the most.
Get your free Campaign Logger account here.

+2 Level-Up Your GMing With My Books

+3 Get the Demonplague (with 62 5-Star Ratings so far)
A complete level 1-20 campaign D&D 5E adventure path that offers intense roleplay, sandbox and hexcrawl play, cunning combats, and fiendish monsters.
Click here to see more details and to order.

+4 Get More GM Loot
Visit the Roleplaying Tips DriveThruRPG store, or browse books and courses to level up your GMing at the RoleplayingTips.com store.

Join a private community with Johnn