D&D General Recommendation for a party of eight+ ?

[Duo Maxwell]

I plan on running a one-shot adventure with my friends, but it will be for a party of eight (and possibly more). What kind of adventure would you recommend running for a large group that's manageable? If I don't resort to writing my own, are there any classic modules that worked well for you in the past?

 

[Theory of Games]

Edition?

 

[tetrasodium]

I plan on running a one-shot adventure with my friends, but it will be for a party of eight (and possibly more). What kind of adventure would you recommend running for a large group that's manageable? If I don't resort to writing my own, are there any classic modules that worked well for you in the past?

Two parties of 3-4 players and two GM's who each play in the other's game or two different games with parties of 4 and one gm

 

[Duo Maxwell]

Edition?

My friends have expressed an interest with the upcoming 2024 PHB.

 

[Duo Maxwell]

Two parties of 3-4 players and two GM's who each play in the other's game or two different games with parties of 4 and one gm

This would probably work since coordinating one large group to show up on the same day would take a Christmas miracle

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Yeah, I'm with tetrasodium on this one. If you're genuinely going to have an absolute minimum of eight people, attempt to split the group into two smaller groups. It will be more fun for everyone involved, especially if you have a second DM to coordinate with. Trying to squeeze roleplay and interaction and combat and exploration into even a 5-hour session out of nine+ people (one DM, eight+ PCs) is a recipe for a not-very-fun time for at least a couple of those players.

 

[jerryrice4949]

Yeah optimal group size is 4-5. The largest group I have ever DMed for is 6. We had to have ground rules as far as being ready when their turn came around to keep the game moving. The larger the group the tighter you have to keep everything to stop things from bogging down.

 

[Theory of Games]

My friends have expressed an interest with the upcoming 2024 PHB.

Hard to run without a DMG or Monster Manual. Plus there's been some changes that might make older modules unplayable. I'd wait and see. Regardless, with how 5e worked, large parties lead to ridiculously huge combats. Plus you and the players will be slowed down by the new rules. One round of combat will probably take 30 minutes.

I'd either find a co-GM and split the group or limit the size to no more than 5-6 tops.

 

[Tonguez]

Storm King's Thunder with an emphasis on the large scale combat might work? delete the NPC allies in favour of the extra PCs

Whatever the adventure, with 8 players I'd emphasize PCs as part of mass combat scenarios, smaller teams breaking off to do small missions within the larger battle. Co-GMs is a good idea too

 

[Duo Maxwell]

Yeah, I'm with tetrasodium on this one. If you're genuinely going to have an absolute minimum of eight people, attempt to split the group into two smaller groups. It will be more fun for everyone involved, especially if you have a second DM to coordinate with. Trying to squeeze roleplay and interaction and combat and exploration into even a 5-hour session out of nine+ people (one DM, eight+ PCs) is a recipe for a not-very-fun time for at least a couple of those players.

Yep, I tried this the hard way when I got my entire group of my closest friends to play the first two modules of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path from Paizo over 15 years ago. They mostly enjoyed it, but man oh man, combat was a slog, especially with the 3.5e rules.