Large Group Campaigns

[KB9JMQ]

Normally I pick a critter that looks tough for the group. Then I throw about 2-3 times as many of them at the party as I think will be challenging. Once I've gotten the encounter to the point where I'm almost certain that one or more PC's will die, I know it is about right.

My players are very resourceful.

(Note: The above formula, used long enough, will get you invited into the Rat Bastards Club. )

That is the formula I now use. It just took me a dozen sessions to come up with it
I don't think I am a RBDM yet but I am working on it.

 

[Graybeard]

I have 6 players in my group. So far, taking too much time in combat hasn't been a problem. If it does become one, I will borrow a 30 second timer one of my players owns (he DM's another game for the same group). As for encounters, I discovered early on that the PCs would easily defeat my low level bad guys so I began to throw more of them at the party. A group of a dozen or so level 2 and 3 warriors is a good match for 6 level 2 PCs. When the PCs got to 3rd level, I started including a couple of higher level bad guys and lowered the amount of lower level ones. The PCs will be 4th level soon so it will start to get interesting as I recently introduced a recurring villian (9th level spellcaster).

My group consists of:

2 clerics
1 wizard
1 warlock
1 scout
1 fighter

Sometimes when I think an encounter will be challenging, the PCs will do something unexpected and make it too easy.

Good luck on your game.

 

[Chimera]

One final thought. I've seen the "decide your actions in X time, or you skip your turn" advice given a couple of times here, and in other threads. If you feel this is harsh, try geting people to use Delay as a default. In other words, if they don't have an action ready on their turn, then they automatically Delay until after the next person in the initiative sequence. This gives them a little more time to think, without losing their action. The consequence of not coming up with an action is that you keep moving down the list, never getting a turn, until you do.

Not a bad response, but I want to address the perception of being harsh in making someone do nothing.

The whole point of that is to wake up the player and change their behavior. ("Hey, you're playing a game and we're running combat. Wake up and be a part of the game.")

Hopefully they won't experience too many "Ok, you do nothing, on to the next player" moments before they catch on. Saying "I delay" and figuring things out while the GM deals with the next player is a very acceptable response and I would hope that the player 'got that' at some point rather than just get frustrated and leave - or have the GM and other players get so frustrated that the person is disinvited from further play.

 

[Nellisir]

Use the "Players Roll All the Dice" option from Unearthed Arcana. This keeps players a little more involved, and dramatically reduces the amount of time YOU spend rolling dice. This is particularly significant in large, multi-opponent battles.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Ry]

I found this helped more than anything: In combat, if it's not you're turn, you don't talk unless spoken to by the person whose turn it IS. The strategizing my group is capable of on another player's turn is incredible, and it slows combat to a crawl. If somebody wants / needs help deciding what to do, they will ask. With eight people, this DRAMATICALLY speeds up gameplay. You might need to remind them a few times before they get the hang of it. Players accept this much more quickly than the "decide in X time" rule, and I think it works better and feelings aren't hurt if a player doesn't decide because someone else is talking.

Oh, and another vote for Players Roll All the Dice.

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

We have around 6 players plus DM in our game and our combats were dragging on far too long. So we tested a new method of running battles last session and it seemed to work well.

Basically it works like this: everyone rolls initiative normally. Then everyone declares their intentions for the next round, roughly in order of initiative (it only really matters if one person's action depends on another). Then it's a free-for-all as everyone resolves their actions simultaneously (attack rolls, damage rolls, effects, etc.).

Bam. Round over.

It might not be that good if you're into cinematic descriptions of peoples' actions, but it's great for flying through rounds. We thought there would be problems with people doing things that didn't make sense (e.g. attacking someone that would already have been killed earlier in the initiative count), but there wasn't; any hiccups were easily adjudicated.

What this system does is get rid of the overly tactical aspects of combat (e.g. people using rulers/protracters to get every possible target out of their fireball spell), thereby speeding it up tremendously. It also gets rid of the people who sit around daydreaming and only decide on their action when their initiative comes up. This system forces them to think ahead. It also brings an element of chaos/confusion into battles, which is something that the overly tactical miniatures aspect of D&D effectively neuters.

Try it and see for yourself.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

I run a game for 7 players. I know that at least 1 will be missing most sessions and average attendance is 5 players. We will still game if 3 of them show up. If they leave a character sheet, someone else runs the PC and they have equal chance of death and XP. If they choose not to leave their sheet, they are rear guard/supply detail and earn no XP. I only have one player who is a stickler for details and takes a bit of time with his actions, so it isn't too bad.

My group has changed members quite a bit during this campaign. In previous campaigns my players wanted lots of individual role-play at the expense of the majority of players sitting around doing nothing while they role-played visiting their mother's house to eat dinner, a shopping trip, etc. I told them that I would not be accomodating them in this campaign and I probably lost 2 players due to this and other changes (increased use of minis, no house rules, less angsty "realism" and more heroic fantasy).

The campaign began at 1st level with 6 players. It is now at 12th level with 7, but only 2 have been here since it started, which caused fewer continuity issues than you would think. I am used to running games of 6-8 players, so overall, it hasn't been a big problem.

DM

 

[Luce]

I have a group of 6 players(2Fighters, 2 mages, cleric and rogue). I prefer to use either 1 strong advesary, which has a lot of options(outsiders or spellcasters), small groups of 'hard' monsters( meaning lots of HP, but not non-versatile attack-like giants or beasts). This tends to speed up combat. If you like trowing large number of weaker mosters,do not be afreid to make to them retreat, if the fight is going against them.(I liked the 2ed Morale mechanics, If you show your superiority, by displaying a lot of magic /or killing the the leaders- the 'mooks' turn tail and ruuuuun )
Also if you can manage to convince the players, run a low(er) level magic campaign. We all like cool toys, but keeping track of so many PCs equipment can be a logistic nightmare(to use a cliche :\ ) That is not to say-not to give magic out, just limit the options a bit- one(or max TWO) primary weapons, 2-4 wands /per group. Try to introduce the main gear("latest version" weapons, powerfull items...) as part of the equpment of fallen advesaries VS. the PCs creating or buying them.<hi-jack>I really dislike the treatment of item creation in 3ed, it leaves the impresion that given enough gold and some time you can prepare for anything. In some groups I been a mid-level (10-12-ish) fighters start to resemble walking armories carring around 5 +1 bane swords(undead, evil outsider, m.beast,m.humanoid, dragon), all custom order. Mechanicaly sound,but really shaters my image of what heroic fantasy should look like.</hijack>

 

[Rel]

I just thought of another way to use weaker foes to challenge big parties: Waves.

Having a dozen Orcs attack the 4th level party won't represent much of a challenge. The 3rd or 4th wave of them starts to wear on the resources a bit. And you only ever have to juggle a dozen baddies at a time.

I don't recommend doing this often but it is fun for the Fighters to get to Great Cleave once in a while, fun for the Ranger to drop an enemy with every arrow of his Rapid Shot and fun for the Wizard to lay every bad guy low with a single Fireball. It's a nice reminder that they have progressed beyond 1st level.

 

[StupidSmurf]

Eleven active players here....

1. Definitely enforce the "one person describing their actions at a time" rule, and assure everyone that they'll get their "turn".

2. At your end, make sure your NPCs are fleshed out with spells, special abilities, stats, everything, right at your fingertips.

3. Read up on any of the more obscure powers/feats/spells the night before so that you'll be fresh and on your game.

4. Have a Master Control Sheet with everyone's level, AC, hp, base attacks, saves, and any special attributes that must be kept in mind (e.g. Setzer has a Cloak of Minor Displacement, Sinjo has a Robe of the Archmagi thus has an SR, Dark Agnes has a Holy Avenger and also radiates Pro.from Fear).

5. Emphasize that it's not your job to know what's on every player's sheet. If someone notices too late that they had something that could've helped matters two rounds ago, oh well...guess the character, in the heat of battle, forgot all about it