8 Players! [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

8 Players! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Veldan Rath
04-07-05, 01:00 AM Long ago, when I was in my 20's, I enjoyed DMing a large group.

Now, in my 30's, I'm having some toruble (well, a lot) taking care of my players.

Part of it is the scope of the campaign (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, 3.5 revision by the Community), but it is the number of players.

I'm just not sure what to do, sure there are a couple of players not a "productive" as the rest, but I' just dont see how I can work that angle.

A player (and roomie) and I had thought about spliting the group, he would start a new campaign himself, either taking 1/2 the group with thier current characters, or starting a whole new party, where I'll continue the rest of my campaign with the rest...

any opinions?
3nigma
04-07-05, 01:38 AM LOTS of roleplaying, LITTLE combat
Nom
04-07-05, 02:59 AM In general, 4 is much better than 8, and I'd tend to recommend two groups of 4. You could even run both groups at the same time (same building, different rooms) if you want a more social feel.

Another option is for each of you to play in the other's game, which would allow you to both play and DM. Obviously, you either need to play different adventures, though you could play the same adventure and take a more NPC role. If you do crossover with playing, it's probably a good idea to take a more back-seat role anyway, and use your experience to encourage the less productive players in his group by pushing them to the forefront.
Eliza_Stormwhisper
04-07-05, 03:10 AM The most I like to do is 6. I prefer smaller groups with multiple characters for each player. My current campaign started with three players and five characters (including a DMPC), and now has two players with seven characters (including two DMPC's). It's a lot of fun.

I DMed for 13 players once. That got out of hand after two sessions, and we all quit.
dama
04-07-05, 03:49 AM In combat, have them roll all the dice at once just before it is their turn; the dice to hit, the dice for damage & the dice for a saving throw all in one toss & just before it is their turn. When it is their trun they tell you "I hit AC # for # damage & made a # on my saving throw." If they are not ready then they miss their turn that round.

When you have more people then what each player & character does matters less. People that are indecisive or are squeezing the crowd for attention have more time to get organized for the next round. :)

After you get used to playing like this it is such a rush!

We had as many as 12 players & the DM had photographic memory, or eidetic memory. The next DM I had was in the opposite situation - I was the whole party, all 3 of me. :)

Right now I am DMing for 6 low level players of various familiarity with D&D. I can hardly wait to justify elite teams fighting them. :) Imagine a rogue scout (good spot, listen, etc. skills) as bait that screams the alarm & goes running back to the ambush. Everybody refocuses & then activates single shot items like invisibility. Mages casts sleep & grease, etc, the rogue scout cowers in a poorly made cover (with invisibility item & a trap door) ready, a bunch of archers above, rogues behind... I am talking 1 or 2 hit point CR 1 monsters like sprites! Ahhh... I can hardly wait to teach them about strategy & tactics. :)

Presently, the players use all the planning that any barbarian would - rush into battle! :)
Ut-Napishtim
04-07-05, 03:54 AM Yeah I cap my group out at six players too - anything more than that and some folks are going to be going home dissapointed. I'd rather run a quality game with six than a crappy one with eight. Not to mention the effect on your rep as a DM. I played in a game with twelve folks one time and I was thinking Man, I wish my character would die so I could go home. Of course the DM was catering to one player and ignoring everyone else, and I suspect I wasn't the only one thinking that as the game fell apart in a couple weeks as player after player suddenly had something "come up" that they had to do instead. I recently had a slot open so I talked to the first guy on my waiting list and he asked: Can I bring a friend? I told him no and he decided not to join in. So I just moved on to the next dude on the list who was downright eager to join in.

If you insist on doing it though, I would actually reccomend the opposite of what 3nigma said. Satisfying the role-playing and idividual attention needs of eight players is like an eight hour session right there - with most of the party doing nothing for the other seven hours. In combat, conversely, everyone gets to paticipate when their turn rolls around and has a stake in the action at hand. You get your combat tracking down flat and run a fast-paced encounter you'll be able to get lots of then in easy, with opportunities for everyone to shine. Then folks that want to do some individual attention character rp development stuff can go over it with you after the game, or during the week via email. I'd reccomend getting one of those little 30 second hourglasses, and if someone hasn't decided their action move on to the next person. If someone goes off on their own they either encounter "nothing extraordinary" while the rest of the party plays, or a creature at the parties CR - by themselves, then after it kills them the party can come and avenge their death and get the loot.
:ayyyy!:
gwydion
04-07-05, 09:04 AM i at one point in time during my current campaign had 14 PCs. the campaign is still going on and we mantained the party at that size for 8 months. i found that when the party is that big you have to have a live table (if someone says something their character says it.) i also enjoyed having them seperate. you could cut the group into two. the ToEE is a rather large campaign and you could easily have the group split up and meet at two different times. then just make arrangments to be together for the big battles that everyone wants to be involved in.

i dont know if this will help but it worked for me.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Veldan Rath 04-07-05, 01:00 AM	Long ago, when I was in my 20's, I enjoyed DMing a large group. Now, in my 30's, I'm having some toruble (well, a lot) taking care of my players. Part of it is the scope of the campaign (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, 3.5 revision by the Community), but it is the number of players. I'm just not sure what to do, sure there are a couple of players not a "productive" as the rest, but I' just dont see how I can work that angle. A player (and roomie) and I had thought about spliting the group, he would start a new campaign himself, either taking 1/2 the group with thier current characters, or starting a whole new party, where I'll continue the rest of my campaign with the rest... any opinions?
3nigma 04-07-05, 01:38 AM	LOTS of roleplaying, LITTLE combat
Nom 04-07-05, 02:59 AM	In general, 4 is much better than 8, and I'd tend to recommend two groups of 4. You could even run both groups at the same time (same building, different rooms) if you want a more social feel. Another option is for each of you to play in the other's game, which would allow you to both play and DM. Obviously, you either need to play different adventures, though you could play the same adventure and take a more NPC role. If you do crossover with playing, it's probably a good idea to take a more back-seat role anyway, and use your experience to encourage the less productive players in his group by pushing them to the forefront.
Eliza_Stormwhisper 04-07-05, 03:10 AM	The most I like to do is 6. I prefer smaller groups with multiple characters for each player. My current campaign started with three players and five characters (including a DMPC), and now has two players with seven characters (including two DMPC's). It's a lot of fun. I DMed for 13 players once. That got out of hand after two sessions, and we all quit.
dama 04-07-05, 03:49 AM	In combat, have them roll all the dice at once just before it is their turn; the dice to hit, the dice for damage & the dice for a saving throw all in one toss & just before it is their turn. When it is their trun they tell you "I hit AC # for # damage & made a # on my saving throw." If they are not ready then they miss their turn that round. When you have more people then what each player & character does matters less. People that are indecisive or are squeezing the crowd for attention have more time to get organized for the next round. :) After you get used to playing like this it is such a rush! We had as many as 12 players & the DM had photographic memory, or eidetic memory. The next DM I had was in the opposite situation - I was the whole party, all 3 of me. :) Right now I am DMing for 6 low level players of various familiarity with D&D. I can hardly wait to justify elite teams fighting them. :) Imagine a rogue scout (good spot, listen, etc. skills) as bait that screams the alarm & goes running back to the ambush. Everybody refocuses & then activates single shot items like invisibility. Mages casts sleep & grease, etc, the rogue scout cowers in a poorly made cover (with invisibility item & a trap door) ready, a bunch of archers above, rogues behind... I am talking 1 or 2 hit point CR 1 monsters like sprites! Ahhh... I can hardly wait to teach them about strategy & tactics. :) Presently, the players use all the planning that any barbarian would - rush into battle! :)
Ut-Napishtim 04-07-05, 03:54 AM	Yeah I cap my group out at six players too - anything more than that and some folks are going to be going home dissapointed. I'd rather run a quality game with six than a crappy one with eight. Not to mention the effect on your rep as a DM. I played in a game with twelve folks one time and I was thinking Man, I wish my character would die so I could go home. Of course the DM was catering to one player and ignoring everyone else, and I suspect I wasn't the only one thinking that as the game fell apart in a couple weeks as player after player suddenly had something "come up" that they had to do instead. I recently had a slot open so I talked to the first guy on my waiting list and he asked: Can I bring a friend? I told him no and he decided not to join in. So I just moved on to the next dude on the list who was downright eager to join in. If you insist on doing it though, I would actually reccomend the opposite of what 3nigma said. Satisfying the role-playing and idividual attention needs of eight players is like an eight hour session right there - with most of the party doing nothing for the other seven hours. In combat, conversely, everyone gets to paticipate when their turn rolls around and has a stake in the action at hand. You get your combat tracking down flat and run a fast-paced encounter you'll be able to get lots of then in easy, with opportunities for everyone to shine. Then folks that want to do some individual attention character rp development stuff can go over it with you after the game, or during the week via email. I'd reccomend getting one of those little 30 second hourglasses, and if someone hasn't decided their action move on to the next person. If someone goes off on their own they either encounter "nothing extraordinary" while the rest of the party plays, or a creature at the parties CR - by themselves, then after it kills them the party can come and avenge their death and get the loot. :ayyyy!:
gwydion 04-07-05, 09:04 AM	i at one point in time during my current campaign had 14 PCs. the campaign is still going on and we mantained the party at that size for 8 months. i found that when the party is that big you have to have a live table (if someone says something their character says it.) i also enjoyed having them seperate. you could cut the group into two. the ToEE is a rather large campaign and you could easily have the group split up and meet at two different times. then just make arrangments to be together for the big battles that everyone wants to be involved in. i dont know if this will help but it worked for me.