Advice sought: game getting boring

[SteveC]

Okay fellow ENNers, here's my dilemma. I am currently running the Shackled City Adventure Path and my group has gotten to a fairly big size: 8 people when everyone attends.

I don't know if that is the exclusive reason for it, but some members of the group are getting bored. I have some who bring laptops, and they're starting to hit the Solitaire at points, and another brings a book to read.

Now because the game is big, not everyone gets to be on scene and have my full attention all the time. The thing is, I'm really working to make sure and give everyone their time in the sun, but it seems like some of the group can't deal with that.

Now I don't really have a problem with reading or playing a non distracting game when your character isn't in a scene, but it's started to slow things down, and it's also REALLY starting to annoy some of the players who ARE very into the game.

I suppose the ultimate solution is to reduce the size of the game, but have any of you had a problem like this? I am committed to bringing the awesome, and so I want to keep things at a high level. This is really not a problem that I normally have, and I think it may boil down to a difference in play style: the bored players seen fixated on the pure combat elements, and I like to run my combats more Iron Heroes style where you can make interesting role-playing style choices even in the middle of a battle.

Thoughts...comments...advice is welcomed!

--Steve

 

[Shayuri]

Have you talked to the bored players and asked them specifically what would bring them into it more?

Why speculate when you can know for sure?

 

[SteveC]

Have you talked to the bored players and asked them specifically what would bring them into it more?

Why speculate when you can know for sure?

That really is a good point. I think I know 'em well enough to say that they consistently want their kind of action, which I may not exactly be able to give them in the quantity that they're looking for. Ultimately, that may mean that my game isn't for them, which when you have 8 players, isn't the worst problem to have.

--Steve

 

[Asmor]

I gotta say, I think the size of your group is, while maybe not the only factor, one of the major factors...

My group's usually pretty large, 7-8 people, but on a couple occasions we've had several people cancel at once... One game I ran was only 3 players, and it was an absolute blast (they actually finished an entire (small) dungeon-- intended for 8 people!-- in the single 4-hour session)... In another I'm playing in, the last two games have been 5 people at each and it's been a whole lot better than they usually are.

The fact of the matter is, D&D just doesn't scale well. I almost think that if you've got 8 players, it might be better to split into two separate groups each with a DM and 3 players, of course then you're screwed if a couple people can't make it.

 

[Agamon]

Yep, I've had groups that were too big and paring them down was the solution. I didn't kick anyone out, it just kinda worked that way. I have 6 right now, which is 1-2 more than optimal, but it really helps, especially if your game isn't constant action. Some people can get into watching other roleplay, others, not so much.

 

[Korgoth]

The fact of the matter is, D&D just doesn't scale well. I almost think that if you've got 8 players, it might be better to split into two separate groups each with a DM and 3 players, of course then you're screwed if a couple people can't make it.

I find that so sad. I love playing in the 6-10 player range; 6-8 being optimal.

My advice: switch to an earlier edition of D&D! It goes much faster. C&C works too, as I recently found out. Big fun.

 

[Agamon]

I find that so sad. I love playing in the 6-10 player range; 6-8 being optimal.

My advice: switch to an earlier edition of D&D! It goes much faster. C&C works too, as I recently found out. Big fun.

Wow, really? I've never found 6-8 people good for any sort of game, short of party games. I don't think the OP has a problem with the speed of combat (in fact, combat, even in 3E, is built in such a way as to incorporate everyone equally). It's the out-of-combat stuff that is the problem. And I feel that. If your game is RP-heavy, it's hard to make everyone in a large group feel included.

 

[Phlebas]

I find that so sad. I love playing in the 6-10 player range; 6-8 being optimal.

My advice: switch to an earlier edition of D&D! It goes much faster. C&C works too, as I recently found out. Big fun.

I used to DM pretty big groups (AD&D) and often had similar problems. unless you have a group that likes being big and complex, and takes the delays as a small price to play, then you always end up with someone bored or RP encounters taking hours as you try to give everyone a fair share of the action. In fact its the RP that tends top slow things down as one DM cannot physically/mentally keep on top of 10 players flinging questions simultaneously. Maybe i'm a bad DM but i don;t know too many others who had any more success. I regularly have 6 players and thats my limit these days for any campaigns

IMHO combat isn't the problem, we've got 3,5 down to near AD&D levels now (Cyclic initiative, simple mats and counters, 'delay' if you don't know what to do etc), spot, search and listen rolls also makes things simper ("Everyone roll, ok those with above 15 hear this...."). Its when the PC's roll into a tavern to ask some questions you have an issue....

My advice to OP, talk to the players, cut the group size down, eg split the group in two for a time and do alternative weeks for group a & group b. If that works better then you know what the real issue is

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

Okay fellow ENNers, here's my dilemma. I am currently running the Shackled City Adventure Path and my group has gotten to a fairly big size: 8 people when everyone attends.

I don't know if that is the exclusive reason for it, but some members of the group are getting bored. I have some who bring laptops, and they're starting to hit the Solitaire at points, and another brings a book to read.

Now because the game is big, not everyone gets to be on scene and have my full attention all the time. The thing is, I'm really working to make sure and give everyone their time in the sun, but it seems like some of the group can't deal with that.

Now I don't really have a problem with reading or playing a non distracting game when your character isn't in a scene, but it's started to slow things down, and it's also REALLY starting to annoy some of the players who ARE very into the game.

I suppose the ultimate solution is to reduce the size of the game, but have any of you had a problem like this? I am committed to bringing the awesome, and so I want to keep things at a high level. This is really not a problem that I normally have, and I think it may boil down to a difference in play style: the bored players seen fixated on the pure combat elements, and I like to run my combats more Iron Heroes style where you can make interesting role-playing style choices even in the middle of a battle.

Thoughts...comments...advice is welcomed!

--Steve

I'm having the same problem ... and I'm also running Shackled City!

The last session was just NOT fun, and nearly resulted in a TPK. I've called a one-month vacation while I examined the game's problems and tried to address them. The overwhelming feedback is that people want the game to continue, so that's the path I'm gonna go. Since they can't really afford the raise dead scrolls, I'm gonna need to pull out some serious Deus Ex Machina, but that's ok - my motto is to always put the game before the story.

One possibility is to reduce the number of combat encounters and then add character interaction scenes with CR rewards. This reduces combat (which is slow!) and rewards roleplaying scenes without skewing the balance of the module. (If you let them fight all the monsters AND get lots of story XP, they'll advance too quickly.)

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

Another possibility for large groups is to require PCs to "buddy up" in pairs of two. They aren't linked to each other like Siamese Twins, but they have a reason to spend most of their time together, both in and out of the dungeon. Brother, lovers, best friends or deadly enemies would all be possible "buddy" concepts. 3 pairs of 2 are easier to manage than 6 adventurers running in different directions.