How many NPCs can players keep track of at a time?

[Bagpuss]

Imagine you run a game where the PCs have to interact with the UN. How would you present the 100+ diplomats to a group of players?

In any vote the UN faces there are only going to be three groups; those "for", those "against" and the "undecided". Have a figure head for each of the first two groups, then most of your NPCs the ones the players are going to interact with at going to be in the third group. Each NPC in can also represent a number of other votes they will bring with them as often countries vote in blocks as they share similar goals and have various pacts.

You could throw in a "traitor" like NPCs in one of first two groups to mix it up. Plus some civil servants that may help or hinder access to the main players in any group.

Also there are various committees, that like the Security Council have more influence in particular areas than the full range of representatives so you might only need to think about the commity or the Council members. Then you might want to think about advisers that the players may need to influence.

It depends on how the players want to act, they can only press the flesh with so many people in one day.

 

[Janx]

In real life, science says people can manage an average of 7 objects or concepts at a time.

So unless they make a checklist of people to visit, they're going to have a hard time juggling more than 7 people to negotiate back and forth with

Social science says a person can manage about 50 real relationships (friends, family). The observation being that anybody with a zillion friends on facebook isn't really friends with those people.


I don't think the 50 friend limit inhibits working with 100+ people to solve an international crisis, but it may impede long term relations.


I suspect the PCs will work with key individuals, who use THEIR contacts to influence other groups.

the PCs will attempt to meet with the actual top dogs initially and probably get snubbed by more than a few.

they will meet with some more despicable country, because those people are eager to raise their cred

they will also make an ally from a small country, who while desperate to get in on something big, is also genuine about their interest in the PCs cause.

 

[Jhaelen]

In real life, science says people can manage an average of 7 objects or concepts at a time.

Sounds like a good starting point. I might be wrong but I think in order to manage more than that, what you are instinctively doing is to group objects until you have a managable number of groups. When the number of groups becomes too large you start creating 'super-groups', etc. ad infinitum.

I recall an Ars Magica scenario that featured 20-30 npcs participating in a tribunal meeting. And the above approach is exactly how they managed that high number: The npcs were first encountered in groups of 3-5, each group representing one of the covenants located in the tribunal area. Only after that initial introduction would the players decide which group to approach to get to know the individual members and try to figure out ways to manipulate some of them to influence the groups' votes in their favour.