Hey I'm currently DMing my second campaign with two new players. I've been having problems with my players getting stuck whenever I give them time to explore and do whatever they want, I describe the surroundings, I give them points of interests and npcs to interact with and then they freeze, they just sit there, not even talking to eachother.

It literally took them 1/3 of the campaign to buy food (they've been living off whiskey this whole time) (kind of a mood ngl, I'm not too upset)

I usually do alot of encounters but I don't wanna tie my players hands too much and make sure they can do whatever they want.

Any tips on how to help them?

What happened when you said to them, "Hey guys, you seem to freeze up when you're given choices and options - is everything OK? Do you know what's expected of you here, and is there anything I can do to help?"

Maybe if you pre-write descriptions for investigations, you can provide the text. You might be asking for a bit for them to remember the clues and points of interest. When I present puzzle rooms or places that require investigations, some sort of written or visual guide that I can verbally provide more information about helps. They can remember that shit.

You are their eyes, smell, sight, and hearing to your inner world, so it can be hard to figure out what to do next.

They'll get better at it, but try a few written ones or visuals and see what happens

Make clear that it is the PLAYERS job to drive the story forward with decisions and actions, NOT the GM's. And, as an educational matter, try to only react to player actions, and be strong. If they do nothing, nothing happens. That can be tough to endure, but if you only narrate to a passive or shy bunch and cover up their deficiencies, nothing will change. Let them "suffer" from their own sloth, and discuss with them the point when they start to bicker.

If you have trouble getting your players to get the right clues, this this video by mystic arts really helped me.

It goes into how to make the right things stand out, similar to how a movie or a video game would. Really cool Perspective and a nice impetus to put yourself more into your players shoes.

Talk to them. 🤷

I did a winter game of ten candles-- players have as much agency as the dm and it is a lovely horror game. Maybe trying one shots to experiment with role play and agency??

But a conversation is probably the first step, make sure the game you all are playing is the same game.

Obviously talking with your players as a group would probably help. Is it just the two new players or are there others in the group as well? When they freeze up, what do you say to them? Do you just move on, or try to encourage them to do something? Do you ever ask for feedback from your players? That can be a good way to gauge what they want and what you might do differently.

Add a quest giver. Someone that tells them a specific thing to do. Then give them the option of doing the quest, or stopping along the way for other things if they want to

For new players, decision paralasys is real! If you give them too muhchoice when they are still learning what thy can do, what RP can look like, what their actions can do in the world, they will be overloaded and often...do nothig.

Give them 2 intereting hooks with immediate action: a dwarf running up to them and calli out for help, a nosey merchant literally pulling them into his stand with delicious baked goods etc. Make all prompt immediately actionable!

The more they learn what can be done, they can slowly try to do it themself

This could have the opposite effect in some groups. If they really are just shy, they'll be even more withdrawn after being put on the spot and basically being punished for not having the confidence to speek up (yet). Or if they're new, they might not even know for sure what is expected of them. (It's easiest for most to learn by observing first, rather than explanation or trial-and-error)

If the whole group freezes up, you could try offer them options (kinda like a video game), like "this is the scene, do you want to talk to that guy, look at the ominously glowing crystal, check the door out, wander into the woods, etc.?" and just add "or anything else you wanna do" to kinda prompt them into action. If it's just a few players, it is easier, as you just have to roll with the roleplay with the active players, to make the shy ones more comfortable expressing themselves, occasionally asking them directly for their input.

Either way, as they get more comfortable, and confident, they'll loosen up and join in naturally, some more than others, but we're all different.

What an intriguing ttrpg. Thanks for the mention.

That's a really good point actually, thank you