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<blockquote data-quote="CrusadeDave" data-source="post: 2770383" data-attributes="member: 6716"><p><strong>Hmmmmm....</strong></p><p></p><p>Things that I have done when I have more people than 6 at the gaming table. Combat is of course the biggest problem to slow the game down, but not the only one.</p><p></p><p>To speed up combat: </p><p></p><p>Pre Draw the Combat Maps on the Battle Board.</p><p></p><p>Use a white board to write out the initiative order, and as you cycle through it announce, "Conan up, Merlyn on deck, 15 Bugbears in the hole."</p><p></p><p>When someone's turn comes, they need to start describing their action within 5 seconds. Or they can defer. </p><p></p><p>No Kibitzing on combat during other people's moves.</p><p></p><p>Kibititzing on combat during your move is a swift action, and must be done in character, "Aquinas! I need healing!"</p><p></p><p>I've been in groups where initiative is not subject to a D20 roll, it's just a straight modifier. Sometimes, that allows the DM to plan tactics a little easier. "Okay, the Bugbear Bard goes before the 15 Bugbears Barbarians, so he's activate a bard song so they can all power attack for an extra 3 when they all rage and charge right afterwards...."</p><p></p><p>Regardless, having little 2-3 round scripts for the bad guys is essential. Otherwise you can forget to use some of their most powerful abilities and magic items. You should also have a contingency for retreat/surrender. At what point does Steve the Psion decide that it's time to bolt, and what is his prefered means of escape?</p><p></p><p>Also, if you're heading into RttToEE, one of the things you'll want to do with combats, is try to script when people in adjacent rooms will arrive. I.E. if the party assaults the main gate at the Crater Ridge Mines, when will Maraclar (?) bring the Advanced Howler and the Ballista into combat in rounds 4 and 6? Will Terrenygit (?) enter the battle with his zombies at round 3 or round 8? Will it just be one huge slobberknocker with everyone within the main complex between the Basilisks and the Earth Temple guards eventually enterring the fray? Plan these out.</p><p></p><p>This works for more complicated army vs army battles. You'll have alot of them in the RttToEE.</p><p></p><p>Another thing to try is to simulate battles against BBEG's. You know what your parties' usual tactics are, so if you want the showcase encounter in the moathouse to be memorable run it through once, on your own. Critique your battle responses to the party's action. Use the exercise to plan strategies that your villain can use to great effect.</p><p></p><p>Non-Combat.</p><p></p><p>One of the things I notice when the group gets bigger is that distracting OOC comments start to get more distracting. I've tried to mitigate them by...</p><p></p><p>Excusing some people from the table for a bit, if they will be off scene. Allows them to either Role play a quiet scene with each other (Cooking by the Campfire while the Rogue and Ranger are infiltrating the Ogre base camp at night), or to talk about the movies they saw, or the next great character build they have in mind.</p><p></p><p>Another thing you can do, is to award XP to the people who stay IC the most. Allow everyone to vote for the top 3 at the end of a session, and give the "winner" an extra 8%, 2nd place 7, etc, and let the loser get no extra. If you do this, you should decrease the amount of XP awarded oin the CR table by 4 percent or so. This way you're not obviously penalizing anyone for bad RP.</p><p></p><p>Another thing you can do is to give out extra XP for the person who writes up the Log Book for the party and takes the official notes. With 9 people IC it's handy to have the official "This is what we did" that everyone can refer to.</p><p></p><p>SImilarly, just as you do in Monopoly, assign someone to be the banker. When you give out an item of loot to the banker, list with it the resale value of the item. So they can divy it up accordingly and keep everyone's share accurate.</p><p></p><p>Just some thoughts....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CrusadeDave, post: 2770383, member: 6716"] [b]Hmmmmm....[/b] Things that I have done when I have more people than 6 at the gaming table. Combat is of course the biggest problem to slow the game down, but not the only one. To speed up combat: Pre Draw the Combat Maps on the Battle Board. Use a white board to write out the initiative order, and as you cycle through it announce, "Conan up, Merlyn on deck, 15 Bugbears in the hole." When someone's turn comes, they need to start describing their action within 5 seconds. Or they can defer. No Kibitzing on combat during other people's moves. Kibititzing on combat during your move is a swift action, and must be done in character, "Aquinas! I need healing!" I've been in groups where initiative is not subject to a D20 roll, it's just a straight modifier. Sometimes, that allows the DM to plan tactics a little easier. "Okay, the Bugbear Bard goes before the 15 Bugbears Barbarians, so he's activate a bard song so they can all power attack for an extra 3 when they all rage and charge right afterwards...." Regardless, having little 2-3 round scripts for the bad guys is essential. Otherwise you can forget to use some of their most powerful abilities and magic items. You should also have a contingency for retreat/surrender. At what point does Steve the Psion decide that it's time to bolt, and what is his prefered means of escape? Also, if you're heading into RttToEE, one of the things you'll want to do with combats, is try to script when people in adjacent rooms will arrive. I.E. if the party assaults the main gate at the Crater Ridge Mines, when will Maraclar (?) bring the Advanced Howler and the Ballista into combat in rounds 4 and 6? Will Terrenygit (?) enter the battle with his zombies at round 3 or round 8? Will it just be one huge slobberknocker with everyone within the main complex between the Basilisks and the Earth Temple guards eventually enterring the fray? Plan these out. This works for more complicated army vs army battles. You'll have alot of them in the RttToEE. Another thing to try is to simulate battles against BBEG's. You know what your parties' usual tactics are, so if you want the showcase encounter in the moathouse to be memorable run it through once, on your own. Critique your battle responses to the party's action. Use the exercise to plan strategies that your villain can use to great effect. Non-Combat. One of the things I notice when the group gets bigger is that distracting OOC comments start to get more distracting. I've tried to mitigate them by... Excusing some people from the table for a bit, if they will be off scene. Allows them to either Role play a quiet scene with each other (Cooking by the Campfire while the Rogue and Ranger are infiltrating the Ogre base camp at night), or to talk about the movies they saw, or the next great character build they have in mind. Another thing you can do, is to award XP to the people who stay IC the most. Allow everyone to vote for the top 3 at the end of a session, and give the "winner" an extra 8%, 2nd place 7, etc, and let the loser get no extra. If you do this, you should decrease the amount of XP awarded oin the CR table by 4 percent or so. This way you're not obviously penalizing anyone for bad RP. Another thing you can do is to give out extra XP for the person who writes up the Log Book for the party and takes the official notes. With 9 people IC it's handy to have the official "This is what we did" that everyone can refer to. SImilarly, just as you do in Monopoly, assign someone to be the banker. When you give out an item of loot to the banker, list with it the resale value of the item. So they can divy it up accordingly and keep everyone's share accurate. Just some thoughts.... [/QUOTE]
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