DM’s!  Have you ever been in a position where you needed a quick break but your players were too ancy to break as well?  All you want to do is heat up your pizza, get some fresh air, or maybe even bang your head on the wall?  Give your players a silly and fairly useless problem that the team can discuss or deal with themselves or a situation that forces the roleplay to pause.

I present to you Ways a DM Can Stall an Adventure:

Fantasy

1. Party member’s familiar or companion ate the party’s map.
2. The party’s horses all go into heat.
3. A felled bridge forces the party to find an alternate route.
4. A hole in the raft or boat forces repair or a new boat to be bought or built.
5. A party member is mistakenly thrown in jail.
6. Someone put way too much spice in last night’s meal so no one is traveling today.
7. Someone in the party didn’t realize that s/he just used poison ivy to… clean up.
8. The party’s campfire starts to spread into a wildfire.
9. An unforeseen eclipse occurs.
10. The players wake up and all discover they are all missing one of their shoes.
11. A special merchant or trader greets the party on the road (Provide a pre-created listing of equipment and cost).
12. A fog bank rolls in.
13. A barwench starts hitting on one of the party members.
14. An ominous bird (raven or whatever fits for the society) begins to stalk the players.
15. City guards start following you.
16. A strange mist engulfs the group silencing everyone.  No checks.
17. A bizarre rainshower drenches the party causing everyone to suddenly be caught in slow motion.  No checks.  It’ll take 15 real minutes before they can thoroughly dry off.
18. A parade fills the streets: floats, jugglers, fire-eaters, candy-tossers, the works.
19. One of the mounts gets stung on the nose by a bee.
20. An array of fireworks suddenly shoot through the sky.  Look at the pretty colors and shapes!  Ooooh… ahhhhh…

Sci-Fi/Technological

1. Automatic doors have jammed.
2. Plumbing in Captain’s Quarters has backed up.
3. Main bridge depressurizes.
4. Main computer has decided to play chess instead of going into auto-pilot
5. Food generator serves only beer.
6. Garbage disposal clogs up.
7. Air conditioning goes out and heater wont shut off.
8. Hyperdrive system obtains a philosophical AI and challenges all commands.
9. Cockpit’s lighting system has been wired with the music center’s equalizer.
10. A pressure crack develops in the cargo bay.
11. "Check Engine" light turns on.
12. Batteries die on gravity boots while washing windows outside.
13. Movie theater robot attendant becomes obsessed with Uwe Bowle films
14. Submarine’s telescope is stuck.
15. Oxygen tank gauges are broken.

User Submitted Ideas (9)