What size groups are you most comfortable DMing for?

[Asmor]

7-8 players plus henchmen is about right for me.

Funny, I read that and was thinking "Well, somebody's old school." Then I saw the OSRIC link in your sig.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Funny, I read that and was thinking "Well, somebody's old school." Then I saw the OSRIC link in your sig.

Yeah, when the username references the 1e DMG that's a dead giveaway.

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't know what to vote... IIRC my max was 6 and it was ok, but since I haven't tried more I cannot really say if I'd still be comfortable or not :\

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Anywhere from a group of 2 to 10.

 

[Lord Ipplepop]

6-8 experienced players is my "perfect" group.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

4-6 is my preference. I will run with 3 although I prefer at least 4 so that I don't have to worry about running an NPC to some extra support (or downgrade challenges). Once you get beyond 6 it is hard to keep everyone engaged in the game at the same time. Combat rounds can also start to take to drag on a bit once there are more than 6 players.

I know that groups of 10+ were a lot more common in older editions of the game but I also think that there were a lot less combat options to choose from as well. Most of the time, if you weren't a caster, you just picked a target and rolled to see if you hit them. Nowadays, you might weigh up whether or not you want to Power Attack (and for how much), fight defensively, disarm , trip, grapple, etc., It all just adds to the time each person takes a round.

Olaf the Stout

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I like groups of between 4 and 6 players, with 6 being optimal - enough people for some of the more grandiose scenarios, but not too many to handle. It is also the number that I have had the most experience with.

The Auld Grump

 

[Coplen]

I'll gm up to either 7 or 8, but it slows the game down.

 

[Mark]

I checked 4, 5 & 6 and would DM, in a pinch, for 3 or 7 but do not feel relatively comfortable when I get to those extremes of my range; 3 being too few to not have to make too many adjustments for my taste and 7 being too many to feel that the players are getting enough individual time.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

Voted 6. That's my sweet spot number. I like five players, too, but prefer 6. Less than that feels like playing D&D in junior high with my brother again. More than that becomes too cumbersome and far to difficult to keep the game on track.