We love D&D because it can throw scenarios at us that we can’t predict. The combination of you, your fellow players, your DM, and the roll of the dice can come together in unexpected ways. Sometimes, this is a delightful surprise for everyone (“somehow, we have an owlbear now” type stuff).

But sometimes, these odd situations can stump you. You find yourself in a sticky situation. You have no idea how your character is going to get out of this.

And as you’re sitting there trying to kick your brain into action, your DM asks you, “what do you do?”

So, what do you do?

These are times when your character doesn’t have anything in their toolbox that would solve the problem. No actions, no class features, no spells, nothing that could be fashioned into a viable solution.

Usually, you have some tool you can use to move the scene forward. A spellcaster can cast charm person on an uncooperative guard. A rogue can use their thieves’ tools to pick open a locked door.

So first, make sure you really don’t have anything you can use. Check your character sheet, check your background feature and other flavor details that might have slipped your mind. You might be playing an uncharismatic fighter at a party, but hey, how about using that Rustic Hospitality from their Folk Hero background? Your wizard may not be gifted in Stealth, but hey, maybe you can use mage hand or prestidigitation to distract your pursuers.

So now that you’ve checked your character sheet, maybe reread some of your features, have you found anything you can use?

If not, then you’re in one of two camps. It’s pretty easy to tell which you’re in: you’ve either Run Out of Juice or you Aren’t the Right Flavor of Juice.

When you’ve run out of juice:

Simply put, this is when you had the ability to solve the problem previously, but you’ve used up all your resources and need a short/long rest to get them back. You’re out of spell slots or Wild Shape uses or something. And you had the perfect spell to solve the problem, but hey, you only have so many so-and-so level slots.

Running out of juice is a bad place to be in when you’re dealing with time-sensitive problems—for some reason, you can’t just take a rest and deal with it later.

So:

Do your fellow players have anything that would work?

In all likelihood, you’re operating within a party of adventurers. Instead of working out of just one toolbox, you have access to the powers of 3-5 toolboxes, so maybe you can put your heads together and figure something out.

Work with your group and see if there’s any sort of combination of abilities that will solve the problem! Your character shouldn’t go alone if they don’t have to. Bounce ideas off of each other. You’re a team, after all.

Are you making the problem more complicated than it needs to be?

Is this a problem that needs a class ability or some sort of magic to solve? Or is this something a skill check can help with? Remember that, by taking the Help action, you can give someone advantage on a skill check.

When the good squad was split up in SBotLL, Finnith couldn’t ask his party members for help. He was trying to get into a locked wooden chest. I spent approx. 20 minutes going in between bard class features and his spell list before I realized—you don’t need a specific ability to let you just try stuff.

What I mean is that you don’t need any in-game ability to let you try to pry apart a padlock with your bare hands. Did it work? Absolutely not! But it could have, perhaps with a stronger character. What did work was talking to the DM and figuring out that a Disguise Kit would probably have some hair pins in it, so I was able to (after some time) fashion a janky lock pick.

Are you keeping yourself from exploring viable options?

A bad idea is better than no idea! Brainstorm solutions and don’t immediately shoot down ones that seem silly or impossible. The weirdest ideas might work the best, because it’s better than not doing anything at all.

Sometimes all you need to do is just try something.

When you don’t have the right flavor of juice:

You’re in a social situation with no Charisma, a stealth mission with plate armor, that sort of thing. Another class or a different build might shine in this area, but not the one you’re playing.

So:

Does your buddy have it?

You might be taking on a problem that another member of your party is better suited towards. It might be someone else’s turn to shine! Take a step back and consider what your party as a whole has going for it. Maybe, with your powers combined, you can figure a way out of whatever the mess is!

You’ve got more than one toolbox, so maybe a hammer hot-glued onto a stapler is the perfect tool for the job. And if it’s not the perfect tool, well, it’ll certainly do something! It’ll move the story and the game forward.

Make sure you’ve looked at every part of your character, because you might just find what you need.

Confer with your party to see if there’s something that they can do that you didn’t take into account.

Ask your DM any questions that come up—it’s important to understand the situation your character is in.

Bounce ideas off of each other, maybe you need to combine your characters’ abilities?

You’re in a sticky situation, but D&D is all about thinking creatively, so try something and see what happens!