What's wrong with splitting the party?

[diaglo]

I think this works only if it is a short break, like half an hour or so. If the half-party currently playing has a combat, then it's already too long at least if you're playing 3ed.

well the obvious solution then is not to play the newer editions.

 

[Li Shenron]

well the obvious solution then is not to play the newer editions.

I don't throw the baby away with the dirty water

 

[Endur]

Remember the Adventurer's Motto: "Stay together, slay together. Act apart, get hacked apart."

This is funny.

 

[Umbran]

The GM made heavy use of the infamous Lucas wipe.

Focus on one group for a few moments, and WIPE! it's the second group for a bit of time, then WIPE! back to the first.

Of course, Lucas had access to advanced editing technologies that are not really applicable to a dry-erase battlemap:

Focus on one group for a few moments and WIPE! Redraw, redraw okay, now it's the second group for a bit of time, then WIPE! Redraw, redraw, Hey, where was your mini? Dang, get the halfling out of there, will you? Okay... back to the first...

 

[Crothian]

That's why I love Tactitles. We have enough to do two groups at once. Just don't have the table space to elave them out at the same time.

 

[Lanefan]

Chalkboards. Over the years I've built up a small collection of the things, so if I ever need to have 2 or more maps going at once, I can....

Lanefan

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Of course, Lucas had access to advanced editing technologies that are not really applicable to a dry-erase battlemap:

Dry erase battlemap?

Nah - a 10'x5' table.

 

[lukelightning]

Nah - a 10'x5' table.

Which is 10'x10' in 3.5

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Which is 10'x10' in 3.5

... Only when it's fighting.

 

[sniffles]

We all know the saying: "Never split the party."

But why is it bad?

Is it because it's a pain in the ass on the DM to have to worry about two or more smaller groups at once?

Is it a metagame thing that people beleive the encounters they run into need everyone to defeat, and half the part y just won't cut it?

Is it just because it goes against the party structure of the game?

Does it always end in no fun TPK?

In my experience I think it's the first two - it's hard on the DM to run two parties simultaneously, and players tend to assume they'll always need all their firepower at all times.

I have seen a DM do it well, though, by modeling his adventures on tv shows. If you look at the structure of a tv show you see that it cuts back and forth between different groups of characters in small chunks between commercial breaks. If a DM can manage to keep the players from dragging out their moment in the spotlight, he can switch back and forth between two parties pretty quickly so that the players in the non-spotlight group don't have to spend hours as spectators.