I run a solo campaign for my gf. (Bad idea) she insists. The most common complaint I get is “I don’t know what you want me to do next” plot wise not so much combat. Which makes me think I’m writing vaguely, I don’t think I am. For example she creates a Forrest gnome Druid who’s backstory is that her village is destroyed by a flash flood leaving her as the only survivor. I begin the campaign by bringing her before the local tree spirit and give her a vision of the past. She sees a middle aged man with a walrus mustache building a dam and then collapsing it. And I give her a vision of the future in which a city she has never seen is under attack by demons. The tree spirit then tells her to go out into the world and learn what’s beyond the spirits borders.. she has a map to the local village. And her first response to me ooc was I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m I being neurotic or is she being obtuse and how do I fix either.
Why do you say it's a bad idea for you to play with your girlfriend? It definitely shouldn't be - all those horror stories about someone's significant other getting in on the game and ruining everything revolve around two factors that are to blame (either the person is not actually interested in participating, or favoritism) that are actually separate from being someone's significant other.
Games with couples, married, teenage, or otherwise, absolutely can and do work - so long as everyone involved is genuinely interested in the hobby and no one is playing (or being expected to play) favorites.
As for advice how to deal with your player not knowing what is expected to be done next, that's just an issue of communication not working as currently attempted - you think you have conveyed what options are relevant, and yet the only other person involved in the conversation doesn't think you have. It can be fixed as simply as changing what words you use and how you phrase options provided or suggested by the NPCs you portray, or by leaving the in-character stuff as-is but providing an out-of-character clear-as-day list of options that would be relevant for the character to do.
Example: You as Spirit NPC: "[other stuff cut for length] ...Go out into the world an dlearn what's beyond the spirits borders." You as DM: Do you want to follow the map you have to the nearby village, try to find where you saw the man in the vision build a dam, or do you have another idea what to do?
The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to have a conversation with her about this. You clearly want things to work out, so that's the hard part done - just ask her how you can be more clear for her, or even if she'd rather have a group of people playing alongside her so that she doesn't have to be the one to figure out every choice for every step along the way.
Tl;dr Once she is used to adventuring, introduce story elements that force the player to flesh out their character!
I wouldn't blame your DM'ing. She is new to this and it's a lot of info at once for a newcomer. It can be a little intimidating at first. Just be patient and use some NPC's to help ease her along her path. Lots of great adventure's start with an unfocused hero. So many classic stories feature a quirky, guide-type character helping a hero. An NPC of this archetype can help give new players some purpose and find their true calling. Bilbo wouldn't have stepped past his own front door if Gandalf hadn't come along and stirred up trouble! Once she gets into some of the side quests from her "guide NPC", find a good opportunity to introduce some characters from her past. This could be a survivor from the flood that she wasn't aware of. It could be a long lost warlock uncle that is up to no good. Either way, this will force her to make up some new details about her character's backstory and personality. After a while she will have a vested interest in her character completing her goals! Just keep doing your thing and give her time, and I bet she will be taking the reigns soon enough!
It might also be that she's unsure what to do because she feels there is a right answer to be picked (i.e., if she finds the nearby stream and follows it to its source, then the demons freely attack the city and she loses; or she follows the map to the city and misses out discovering what happened to her village).
I've accidentally given my players the incorrect impression of a 'right' and 'wrong' choice before, and to clear that up, it mostly comes down to me telling them out of character that they can choose either path and the story will unfold the way it's supposed to, because this is a story about their characters and they drive the plot, not the other way around. Some paths may become unavailable due to choosing others, but that's not 'losing'.
Thanks fellows ... how do you go about getting your players to ask questions about the journey with out giving the whole plot away.
I try not to settle on an outcome or plot-line too heavily. I usually design each 2-6 session arc around the previous goings-on in the campaign. That way you have twists and turn in the plot right when they add the most tension or excitement. This should keep your players interested and give them the feeling that they are steering the story. Most of all, you won't be disappointed when the campaign ends up somewhere totally different than what you were banking on!
I like Aaron's earlier suggestion of putting the options on the table out of character. It should become clear from a party's discussion that they are confused about what their options might be. With a solo player, that determination is definitely harder to make. If you think that may be the case (and err on the side of caution), perhaps just be up front: "Out of character, would you like me to lay out your options as I see them?" I would prefer to be sure the player(s) wanted such DM guidance before actually giving it.
...how do you go about getting your players to ask questions about the journey with out giving the whole plot away.
If the players aren't asking me questions but are still confused, I would instead ask them leading questions. In this case, "Do you think your character would be more interested in investigating the stream, or travelling to the city?" No new information is being supplied, but it succinctly restates what they've already heard, perhaps in a way that is more easily understood. I suspect as player and DM grow together and begin to understand each other's style of play, the need for this sort of interaction would probably become less necessary.
I run a solo campaign for my gf. (Bad idea) she insists. The most common complaint I get is “I don’t know what you want me to do next” plot wise not so much combat. Which makes me think I’m writing vaguely, I don’t think I am. For example she creates a Forrest gnome Druid who’s backstory is that her village is destroyed by a flash flood leaving her as the only survivor. I begin the campaign by bringing her before the local tree spirit and give her a vision of the past. She sees a middle aged man with a walrus mustache building a dam and then collapsing it. And I give her a vision of the future in which a city she has never seen is under attack by demons. The tree spirit then tells her to go out into the world and learn what’s beyond the spirits borders.. she has a map to the local village. And her first response to me ooc was I don’t know what you want me to do. I’m I being neurotic or is she being obtuse and how do I fix either.
Why do you say it's a bad idea for you to play with your girlfriend? It definitely shouldn't be - all those horror stories about someone's significant other getting in on the game and ruining everything revolve around two factors that are to blame (either the person is not actually interested in participating, or favoritism) that are actually separate from being someone's significant other.
Games with couples, married, teenage, or otherwise, absolutely can and do work - so long as everyone involved is genuinely interested in the hobby and no one is playing (or being expected to play) favorites.
As for advice how to deal with your player not knowing what is expected to be done next, that's just an issue of communication not working as currently attempted - you think you have conveyed what options are relevant, and yet the only other person involved in the conversation doesn't think you have. It can be fixed as simply as changing what words you use and how you phrase options provided or suggested by the NPCs you portray, or by leaving the in-character stuff as-is but providing an out-of-character clear-as-day list of options that would be relevant for the character to do.
Example:
You as Spirit NPC: "[other stuff cut for length] ...Go out into the world an dlearn what's beyond the spirits borders."
You as DM: Do you want to follow the map you have to the nearby village, try to find where you saw the man in the vision build a dam, or do you have another idea what to do?
The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to have a conversation with her about this. You clearly want things to work out, so that's the hard part done - just ask her how you can be more clear for her, or even if she'd rather have a group of people playing alongside her so that she doesn't have to be the one to figure out every choice for every step along the way.
Tl;dr Once she is used to adventuring, introduce story elements that force the player to flesh out their character!
I wouldn't blame your DM'ing. She is new to this and it's a lot of info at once for a newcomer. It can be a little intimidating at first. Just be patient and use some NPC's to help ease her along her path. Lots of great adventure's start with an unfocused hero. So many classic stories feature a quirky, guide-type character helping a hero. An NPC of this archetype can help give new players some purpose and find their true calling. Bilbo wouldn't have stepped past his own front door if Gandalf hadn't come along and stirred up trouble! Once she gets into some of the side quests from her "guide NPC", find a good opportunity to introduce some characters from her past. This could be a survivor from the flood that she wasn't aware of. It could be a long lost warlock uncle that is up to no good. Either way, this will force her to make up some new details about her character's backstory and personality. After a while she will have a vested interest in her character completing her goals! Just keep doing your thing and give her time, and I bet she will be taking the reigns soon enough!
-Charlie Chopshop
Dungeon Master - Princes of the Apocalypse PbP
Dungeon Master - Chopshop PbP - ToA
Dungeon Master - Dungeon Squad Live (HotDQ Live Stream)
Magnus Munch - Level 4 Gnome Necromancer - Shadowguard D&D Stream
It might also be that she's unsure what to do because she feels there is a right answer to be picked (i.e., if she finds the nearby stream and follows it to its source, then the demons freely attack the city and she loses; or she follows the map to the city and misses out discovering what happened to her village).
I've accidentally given my players the incorrect impression of a 'right' and 'wrong' choice before, and to clear that up, it mostly comes down to me telling them out of character that they can choose either path and the story will unfold the way it's supposed to, because this is a story about their characters and they drive the plot, not the other way around. Some paths may become unavailable due to choosing others, but that's not 'losing'.
Thanks fellows ... how do you go about getting your players to ask questions about the journey with out giving the whole plot away.
Dungeon Master - Princes of the Apocalypse PbP
Dungeon Master - Chopshop PbP - ToA
Dungeon Master - Dungeon Squad Live (HotDQ Live Stream)
Magnus Munch - Level 4 Gnome Necromancer - Shadowguard D&D Stream
I like Aaron's earlier suggestion of putting the options on the table out of character. It should become clear from a party's discussion that they are confused about what their options might be. With a solo player, that determination is definitely harder to make. If you think that may be the case (and err on the side of caution), perhaps just be up front: "Out of character, would you like me to lay out your options as I see them?" I would prefer to be sure the player(s) wanted such DM guidance before actually giving it.
Continuing that line:
That makes sense. And it’s obvious, so obvious that I’m a little mad I didn’t think of it. Thank you mad monk