So let's say you've started a pretty neat free-form fantasy role-play, there's a fairly consistent setting, players are involved. They make their opening post, and that keeps them entertained for maybe a page or so. But then… crap! What do I do? In dismay, your role-play bogs down and slowly dies. This is never an ideal situation, but I've seen it happen all-too frequently. Now, maybe you're the uber-controlling type of game-master, and it's just the question of getting your players from point A to point B, or maybe you prefer the more casual approach. This article will hopefully be valid for both cases. Oh and of course, it doesn't pertain to fantasy strictly, but it's usually the case with fantasy, hence my example. Ahem. Onwards!
This article can be summarized in one sentence, that is Chandler's Law. There's a TVTropes article which talks about it, the link is here. Basically, the example above is a case where Chandler's Law would be quite useful indeed. The law recites: 'when in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in hand'. It's perfectly applicable to role-plays. Say it's more of a player-versus-environment scenario, you don't really have anyone driving the conflict. It's up to you, the gm, to engineer something that will move the story forward. And really, when in doubt, just add ninjas. They don't have to be actual ninjas, it can be any sort of event that will get the players up and reacting. So, as an exercise. Take a six-sided die. Scribble down six horrible events and assign each a number. Next time your role-play is stuck, roll that die. Grin evilly. Problem solved! Watch as the puny creatures… I mean players, scramble around trying to haul themselves to safety.
Maybe you do have a plot, but, player characters being silly and having that annoying thing called free will (never really understood it myself), they've gone and wandered off, messing your entire plan up! You made the entrance to that cave seemed so darn inviting, too… pf. Not all is lost though, not all is lost. An event can easily be created to bring back the characters, albeit obliquely, to the intended path. Maybe a goblin warband raids a nearby town and kidnaps one of the character's loved ones. After a bit of investigating, SURPRISE SURPRISE, they've taken said loved one just to that cave they had ignored up until now. At last, they can discover the cursed amulet and get back to the main quest! Beautiful. Something else to keep in mind though, when tossing enemies at player characters, never back them into corners. Say you're throwing an army at one of the characters, his town needs to be destroyed for the role-play to move on, but the guy needs to survive… more often than not he will stay and protect the hometown, inevitably dying. Odds that are presented as unsurmountable, without guidance or suggestions, will make players frustrated. Frustrated players ragequit, and that's not cool. Be sure they know what's going on, and if they need to escape, be sure they know exactly how to darn well escape. This is especially important when they're not actual enemies, but things more like puzzles.
Thus, to recap. In a role-play, the players will be reliant on the gm, and as such it is your job to ensure the role-play is driven forward. Probably the most effective, and certainly the simplest way, to do this, is by giving the players something to do, and the best way to do that is to give them something to fight, some sort of obstacle to overcome, at any rate. Players should never be floundering. The question 'what do I do now?' should never be asked. They should always know what they're supposed to be doing, because gosh dangit there's a dragon on their rear end.
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