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<blockquote data-quote="Ant" data-source="post: 1474178" data-attributes="member: 17627">I DM a group of 9 PCs + 1 cohort + 1 henchman + 1 animal companion.&nbsp; I'm also a huge fan of throwing hordes of vile beasties at the party.&nbsp; Now normally this combination would spell disaster but here's what we do to make combat flow nicely (most of the time).&nbsp; You'll find it pretty much agrees with all the other great advice posted in this thread:1)&nbsp; Roll all the dice together:&nbsp; It's amazing how this little trick helps speed things up.&nbsp; Getting the players to roll their attack and damage dice together is pretty easy (those crazy players love rolling as many dice at once as possible).2)&nbsp; Use initiative cards:&nbsp; If you do nothing else, do this!&nbsp; Initiative cards save so much time and help keep things organised.&nbsp; A few sessions ago I forego the cards as a bit of an experiment ... and it wasn't pretty.3)&nbsp; Work out the bad guy's tactics and stats beforehand:&nbsp; Sure, you can't foresee everything the players will do but get a quick battleplan together.&nbsp; Will the evil, leather-clad, halfling mage-sisters be prepared with enhancement spells?&nbsp; Well, figure that into their stats!&nbsp; Are the hobgoblins going to throw handaxes then charge into melee?&nbsp; Make a note and then use it!&nbsp; And don't go into too much detail -- you probably don't need to know the modifier for every single skill for every single monster or NPC.4)&nbsp; On the ready line:&nbsp; Player's need to be prepared for their action.&nbsp; It's up to the DM to give them warning that their turn is imminent.5)&nbsp; Use miniatures:&nbsp; For largish battles you really need to know where everyone is so that the players get a sense of fair-play.&nbsp; Is that savage druid/bard in range for a charge or did that half-orc barbarian just cop a fireball to the nether-regions?&nbsp; Minis and battlemaps are the way to go.6)&nbsp; Distractions:&nbsp; It's inevitable that people will get side-tracked, especially in a big gaming group.&nbsp; Let people chat but the DM should never have to shout to be heard (I need to improve in this area myself!).7)&nbsp; Streamline:&nbsp; Keep a one pager behind the DM screen with all the vitals you need for combat (stats, tactics, spells).&nbsp; Keep page number references on this sheet if you want (where to look in the PG, DMG or MM etc).&nbsp; Use this in conjuction with the initiative cards.8)&nbsp; Print out a few &quot;cheat sheets&quot; containing simplified descriptions of the rules for combat, situation modifiers etc.&nbsp; Hand them out to the players and encourage them to use the sheets.9)&nbsp; Have fun!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ant, post: 1474178, member: 17627"] I DM a group of 9 PCs + 1 cohort + 1 henchman + 1 animal companion. I'm also a huge fan of throwing hordes of vile beasties at the party. Now normally this combination would spell disaster but here's what we do to make combat flow nicely (most of the time). You'll find it pretty much agrees with all the other great advice posted in this thread: 1) Roll all the dice together: It's amazing how this little trick helps speed things up. Getting the players to roll their attack and damage dice together is pretty easy (those crazy players love rolling as many dice at once as possible). 2) Use initiative cards: If you do nothing else, do this! Initiative cards save so much time and help keep things organised. A few sessions ago I forego the cards as a bit of an experiment ... and it wasn't pretty. 3) Work out the bad guy's tactics and stats beforehand: Sure, you can't foresee everything the players will do but get a quick battleplan together. Will the evil, leather-clad, halfling mage-sisters be prepared with enhancement spells? Well, figure that into their stats! Are the hobgoblins going to throw handaxes then charge into melee? Make a note and then use it! And don't go into too much detail -- you probably don't need to know the modifier for every single skill for every single monster or NPC. 4) On the ready line: Player's need to be prepared for their action. It's up to the DM to give them warning that their turn is imminent. 5) Use miniatures: For largish battles you really need to know where everyone is so that the players get a sense of fair-play. Is that savage druid/bard in range for a charge or did that half-orc barbarian just cop a fireball to the nether-regions? Minis and battlemaps are the way to go. 6) Distractions: It's inevitable that people will get side-tracked, especially in a big gaming group. Let people chat but the DM should never have to shout to be heard (I need to improve in this area myself!). 7) Streamline: Keep a one pager behind the DM screen with all the vitals you need for combat (stats, tactics, spells). Keep page number references on this sheet if you want (where to look in the PG, DMG or MM etc). Use this in conjuction with the initiative cards. 8) Print out a few "cheat sheets" containing simplified descriptions of the rules for combat, situation modifiers etc. Hand them out to the players and encourage them to use the sheets. 9) Have fun! [/QUOTE]

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