D&D 5E Is 5e suitable for large groups?

[Shiroiken]

It really depends on the kind of game you want to run. Games that focus on character growth and individual storylines cannot survive more than a handful of players (3 is best, 5 is the max). Games that focus on adventure, exploration, combat, etc. work fairly well with larger groups, especially if you have irregular attendance. My current 5E game is running the Temple of Elemental Evil. I have 8 players, plus myself. We seldom have more than 6 players at a time, but even when we've had 7 (I don't think I've had a single game with all players at once), it worked fine.

Some tips:
* Have a Party Leader selected at the start of each session. They are responsible for telling you the group's action ("we go down the left hallway"). This is sometimes called the party spokesman or "maker of irrelevant decisions."

* When the group needs to make individual decisions (such as exploring a room, actions in town, etc.) make sure you go around the table so that everyone gets a chance to make a decision. Alternate which way you go around the table to keep the end players from always being on the spot.

* During Combat, make sure everyone is paying attention and planning out their next move, so that they can act immediately. This is the number one thing that will slow down combat. Turns themselves usually only take a few seconds; it's the decision that usually takes time. You need to do the same with the bad guys (which can be very hard, since you're also keeping track of everything else).

* Make sure that players have character sheets that give them all the information they need to play their character. The number two thing that slows combat down is a player needing to look up how something works. It can also slow down exploration and sometimes social interaction too, so this is really important.

* Have players roll damage at the same time they roll attacks; it seems silly, but it really does help.

 

[KarinsDad]

We have 6 PCs, 1 NPC played by a new player, and another NPC in the group plus the DM. 8 people around the table, 8 party members.

Let me tell you. At that number of players, 5E is slow just like other systems.

Last 5 hour session (dungeon crawling), we got in one larger fight with 11 Orcs, an Orc Warchief, and a Shaman (MM Druid); one fight with 3 Ogres; and one fight with 6 Ogres. Maybe 12 total rounds of combat in 5 hours.

Sure, the fight with the Orcs was larger, but the Orcs themselves went down fairly quickly each.


We've even implemented a house rule (that most players follow) of rolling damage dice when rolling to hit. It still bogs down with 8 total players.

 

[Tony Vargas]

So, my (originally 4e/Pathfinder) group has been playing 5th edition on and off (including Next) for about 3 years now. We for the most part like the system, but we may end up annexing a few new players. Currently, there are 5 players and myself as DM but our numbers may end up swelling to 9-10. My question is, is 5e worth continuing on with this new challenge, or should we consider something like Swords & Wizardry, Warhammer FRP 1E or 13th Age? If so, what are some ways to speed up turns in combat?

There are a lot of little tricks you can do to speed up combat. Going around the table instead of using an initiative chart is one I like, for instance. More players do just plain mean longer combats and more danger of one or more players dominating or falling through the cracks.

FWIW. I ran a short-sessions (2hr/week) 4e campaign with as many as 12 players in some sessions, for 3 years. So it can be done. I've played & run 13th Age and it can go much faster or much slower based on what characters are in play - as with 5e, casters can potentially slow it to a crawl, while optionless classes like fighters tend towards very short turns. I'd recommend it over 5e for a lot of reasons - it has more RP-/story- oriented stuff, combat has a more 'heroic' feel, it handles TotM gridless play much better, and so forth - but speed of combat or suitability for very large groups isn't one of them.

As a player, having to wait 45 mins to an hour for your 2 minute turn to come back around was unacceptable.

If you have 5 players taking 2 minute turns, you'd think they'd cycle every 10 minutes. Even with 9 players it'd be less than 20. The key is avoiding characters so disparate in options and impact that some players end up taking 15 minute turns, while others take 2 minute ones. That's hard to do, even in outright classless games.