Now:
1. How do you handle players who suffer "analysis paralysis" when faced with choices?
I try not to give the players too many choices to start with. I might have dozens of encounters and situations ready to go, but the players don’t need to know every option open to them all at once.
Another thing I try to do at the beginning of each session is a recap of what happened in the last session and provide/remind the players of some loose ends they might have forgotten they were chasing up.
I like to mine my character’s backgrounds for ideas I think might interest them, then use hooks that the players are more likely to follow.
2. How do you handle when the party decides to set-up a tavern when the BBEG is preparing to burn the town?
If the party want to build a tavern, that’s on them. If the town gets burnt down, it’s likely their tavern is burnt down with it. Burning of the town shouldn’t’ be a complete surprise, however, they should have had a chance to figure out that something like that might be coming. Then, they might not build a tavern, they might try and prevent the attack, or they may help defend the town if they have built a tavern. Also, the tavern can then become the focus of defending the town. Tavern owners also hear all the town rumours, which should lead to further adventure.
One scene I’ve presented to different groups of players that have decided to open a tavern is that of another adventuring party arriving to meet their employer who proceeds to pass a large bag of gold across the table having hired them for some exciting quest.
3. Should I be giving each character multiple choices per scene OR present the choices to the party as a whole?
Present them to the party as a whole, but as above, add some hooks that an individual character might be more likely to bite at. Once one characters show an interest, I find the others will quickly follow.
4. In your adventure premise do you tell the players secret events going on or do you keep it to yourself?
Rumours are how I would present secret info to my players. Some of it will be false, some will have a modicum of truth. Rarely will I just hand over information that is better found by adventuring. If the characters are hired to do something, they might learn a little secret stuff up front, such as “we want you to kill the count – he’s a vampire. Everyone else who knows is dead”
The employer turns up dead the next evening with two holes in his neck.
5. Of what value are "conflicted factions" (NPC groups at odds with each other) in your setting?
Factions have been pivotal in my last few games. Having the player characters make enemies, allies and contacts with different factions more or less ends up generating additional adventure without me even having to come up with it. I tend to use favours as a currency when dealing with factions. Agreeing to do favours and being owed favours can lead to all manner of interesting consequences.
6. Say you have a Murderhobo® and a Diplomancer™ in the party. Do you allow them to dominate combat/social scenes in order to move forward or is that bad for the group?
It depends on the style of game you are playing. In my games, there are consequences to murder hoboing. Again, I find that if one player is proactive, the others tend to follow suit. None of my players tend to hog the limelight. In both cases, if there is dominant player, the party can be split, allowing each character to do their own thing. For example at a ball, the Diplomancer might be seen to hog the limelight – just what the thief wanted as he goes off and snoops around. In a dungeon, the murderhobo might cause such a ruckus that the rest of the group can leave him to it as they do their own thing.