How big is your gaming group?

[Mark Hope]

My current group is 5 (it was 3, but we just recruited 2 new players). I also have a Dark Ages WoD game that has 3 players - it makes for a very intense roleplaying experience. 3 to 6 is my happy medium.

The most I ever DMed for was a group of 12. I was going hell-for-leather all the way through (it was a huge group exploring the ruins of Myth Drannor), but the players commented that they found the session a little slow. Even if you cycle as rapidly as you can between players in a group that size, each player will nevertheless have 5-10 minutes between each turn where they are left to their own devices. So even though I felt that I was able to handle a group of that size, the simple fact that each player spent a good few minutes deprived of my attention adds up to an unacceptable amount of time for each player over the course of an evening, imho. Never again.

 

[CalicoDave]

My current group is 5 players + DM. This works alright but I wouldn't want the group any smaller. 6 players + DM would be better and we've played with as many as 9 players + DM.

With 9 combat was a little slow, but mostly because two of the players didn't know there characters. One player had to look up that she got +4 to damage every time she rolled damage. Even in the same round.

Also, we aren't a heavy role play group, so the players can basically carve out as much face time as they want. If they are only there for combat they can just sit back and wait while that players that want to interact with NPC can come to the fore.

To me a bigger group has the advantage that everyone can play what they want as all the roles are covered by mulitple people. In the group now, with 5 players, I'm the only cleric, so if my character gets killed I'll feel that I have to play another cleric so the party has healing. Like wise, if the party rogue would get killed he'd feel that he would have to play another rogue.

 

[Ruined]

I currently have six players and that's the cap number for me. In some ways it's a shame, because I have other friends I'd love to invite into the group. But with our short time frame (we play for approx. 3 hrs every Thursday night), I want to make sure everyone gets some 'face time'. With larger groups, I find it inevitable that the quiet ones will sink into the background and not have as much fun as they should be having.

I once had a DC Heroes campaign that got wayyy too popular. One day I realized that ten of my fourteen active players had actually shown up for the game. Although it stroked my ego, the sessions were making me miserable.

 

[Pasus Nauran]

The group I game with has always been between 8 and 10 players. We have 8 currently, which makes for a great assortments of classes.

 

[MonsterMash]

20 is optimal.

but the closest i had was 14.

Even with OD&D(1974) I don't really like a group that is that big, but will admit that D20 versions tend to be harder to scale to larger groups than earlier editions.

 

[Meadred]

In the campaign I'm current playing we are a total of 8 people that play (including the DM). However, most of the time the group is smaller than that as people will drop off for a few sessions here and there due to work or other activities. We generally never play with less than three players and a DM, instead "suspending" the session.

Based on this and the other campaigns I have run during the years, I would say that the main problem with a large goup is that everything takes so much time. Combat can be especially slow, causing players to loose focus and begin fidgetting. It's hard to keep everyone's attention on the game at hand.

Personally I like smaller groups, 3 players and a DM is fine. That way everyone feels part of the game, and no one looses interest in what's happening. The problem with small groups is that you'll probably have to customize adventures and encounters for the group (Of course, this isn't a problem if you're not using bought adventures/modules as is).

Cheers,
Meadred

 

[Ghostwind]

My beginner D&D group is at 10 players.

My World's Largest Dungeon Group is 8-9 players.

My Advanced d20 group is 9 players.

My Intermediate D&D group is 8 players.

My Spycraft is only 4 players (whew).

My Epic group is 6 players.

I DM them all and the biggest challenge is keeping it interesting for everyone. The key is to make sure everyone stays involved. Have something going on all the time that requires thinking and planning. This will help keep them busy. When it comes time for combat, everyone rolls initiative, attacks and damages at once. If they haven't acted by the time their turn comes up, they go last after the monsters attack. Uncertainty=hesitation in combat and the player may pay the price.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

Current Epic Game (all PC's around 25th level)

1 DM

9 Players.

Combat goes Slowwwwwllllly, but the scale of devestation at the end of each round is trully awe-inspiring.

Later,

 

[glass]

Currently 4 people (3 players plus GM).

EDIT: and looking to fill that out a bit, and/or populate another group. See my .sig.

I have played with as many as a dozen, but that didn't go so well. I think largely that was due to adding a large number of one-off casual gamers to an established group. Six, seven, or even eight have worked fine in the past though.


glass.

 

[DrNilesCrane]

I've played in groups with 10 to 12 players, but not for long: far too slow, the DMs had a hard time keeping things under control, and usually the mix of players had too differrent of tastes to really gel into a cohesive group.

I only run with six players (under the assumption one will usually miss due to scheduling) and find it works great. Four or Five is OK although scheduling issues seem harder to overcome; for me, more players is too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. As DM I find that I have to spread myself too thin to make sure the adventures have something for everyone on a regular basis, keeping combat moving, etc.