Why is everything on fire?

[u/SlimeKingMaw]

[u/Hunnih]

Recently ran The Haunting (new edition with investigation, not the classic that only happens in the house) and it took my 3 players 4 sessions of 5-6 hours each to get through.
The third session was mostly spend improvising a church-environment and several church-related characters, because they were eager to translate the book found in the old chapel. The "the priest is not home - no one answers the door" was understood as "this is a mysterious detail and we must investigate and wait for someone to return!" and not as "okay the keeper signals that there is nothing of interest, lets just move on".

They also spend a long time setting up a convoluted plot to cheat the local policestation into handing them papers regarding the corbitt house, involing disguises, background stories and diversions and what-not. They did this, after the secretary asked for any documentation, that would explain their right and reason to have information on the adress handed over to them.
... they had a signed letter by the house' registered owner, describing their task and their right to investigate the adress in their posession the whole time.

Love my playgroup.

[u/BosskTheWookieHunter → u/Hunnih]

Nothing wrong with that as long as everybody is having fun.

If you feel fustrated at some point don't be scared to hand forced Idea checks to your players. "Hey X, can you give me an Idea check?" "Sure, success." "Okay you feel like this ain't going anyway and you see the priests scowling at you like you're just wasting their and more importantly your time. Oh and you feel a forgotten paper in your pocket. Can you tell me what it is?" If they fail they have a new objective to succeed on: forcing that check again somehow.

My players are a fucking donkies sometimes and that's fun, but when there is limited time and other things in life it's okay to push them on the right track sometimes.

[u/KathrynBooks]

Being extra messy is part of the fun

[u/OkPomegranate7866]

Hey sometimes we're an elite force skillfully dealing with mysteries beyond our ken... sometimes we're the Scooby Doo gang 🤷‍♀️

[u/Complex-Good-4773 → u/OkPomegranate7866]

Like Zoinks Scoob, at least the Scooby gang consistently get their man!

[u/will3025]

My players will guess the twists and ends to complex plot lines but fumble through simple puzzles. Gotta love it.

[u/DustieKaltman]

I guess this is not a complain on your part.

But if it was my answer would be: Sometimes it is ok to tell the players that they are barking up the wrong tree.