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Post by paulhodgson777 on Mar 3, 2016 14:07:08 GMT
Hi all!
I have just recently discovered the GM's Block podcast and have been listening to them on my morning run, really great stuff and lots of good advice.
I am currently running a D&D 5E group at a local comic shop and I have six players. We've been playing for about a year and have played through Horde of the Dragon Queen and have just recently finished Rise of Tiamat.
I've never really run such a big group. I haven't played in a few years, my last game was D&D 3.5 and we averaged around 3 to 4 players a session, which was perfect. With 6 players everything takes so much longer.
My players cover the whole spectrum. We've got the roleplaying guy who likes dialouge and putting on voices and acting out. We've got the guy who knows the rules and rolls his dice ahead of time and is ready to rock when his turn comes around. We've got the guy who is always on his tablet, looking up when it's his turn. Got the guy who never remembers any rules, and each combat round asks what he has to roll. So quite the range of players.
I have a ton of notes and the whole adventure to keep track of, and it's hard to pay attention to each character and engage with their backgrounds and stuff. I try make them roleplay a little by giving Advantage if they use their backgrounds and flaws, but some players are disappearing into the background a bit, just doing the same things in combat, never really getting involved in the roleplaying bits and the other elements of the game.
Have you guys got any advice on running D&D for a large group of players, and keeping such a large and disparate group engaged?
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Post by dmsam on Mar 3, 2016 16:17:29 GMT
Add a second DM.
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Post by joatmoniac on Mar 3, 2016 17:29:07 GMT
I have been running a Pathfinder games for several years now and have had six to seven players at it the entire time. It's not easy, not at all, but it can be done. I ended up making people not sit where they normally sit so as to break up the ones that were most often on their phones or other devices. I alternate between combat and wide open options when I can, i.e. they are currently in a super dungeon, but when they pop out for air they are free to do whatever they want. Also, since you are in 5E you can have people working for advantages or giving disadvantages while in combat as well. If they make up a description of how they are maneuvering to attack the monster in a perfectly executed way then give them advantage. If they tell about how they get down on their hands and knees behind the monster for the other guy to push said monster then give the monster disadvantage on their dexterity check when falling, haha. For stronger roleplay tie together the players who does it well with the ones that don't. Fiasco is a good example of how to make those connections, but given that the group sounds like it is already running you may have to make those ties from behind the screen and reveal them to your players. You said that you are running at a local comic shop, does that mean that the players are people you already knew and you happen to play there, or did you step in as DM for the group? I'm sure that some others have had large groups as well, but I'm down to try answer any questions you may have about it to the best of my ability!
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Post by ino on Mar 4, 2016 2:57:55 GMT
I have a group of 10 to 12. Me and another dm plan to split them up soon, and I'm having all of them "compete" in a short campaign for a spot in my next long term game.
When "cat herding", u have to keep the players invested and involved. Someone playing on their iPad? Guess who's running initiative order the next battle. Dole out gm responsibilities to keep players busy. Constantly have players add input to the game. U walk into the room, what do u see? To encourage player investment, I have all the players make npc's connected their characters and work them into the story. Have them work in relationships between characters during character creation, and give them goals for them to strive for. Pair up stronger players with weaker ones to pull them out of their shells.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2016 4:40:04 GMT
I'd like to comment on this issue, but first I want to know if you're doing this for Adventurer's League or if it's a private group in a public location.
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Post by paulhodgson777 on Mar 4, 2016 6:03:07 GMT
Hey guys, thanks for the input. We play at a comic shop on Wednesdays, so I think it's part of the 5E "thing", not sure what's called. The shop submits our attendance as far as I know, but I don't know the details. I have two friends in the group, the rest I'd never met before but we all get along great. It's a good group and I don't want to split it up at all. I've also just started another game running Out of the Abyss. It's different people and we play once a month on a Sunday. Four players, much easier to run! The advantage of the bigger group is they can tackle foes way tougher than than their level should allow. I did once try a thing where we narrated a journey across the High Moor on the Sword Coast. I set a basic scene, 'randomly' chose one player to flesh out the scene with something from his background or anything that had happened in the campaign so far, and then 'randomly' chose another player to say how the scene was resolved. I deliberately chose the quieter players, trying to get them to engage more. It kinda worked and I think I'll try that again. I think it's called Travel Montage, not sure where it comes from. Sorry for the rambling replies...  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2016 21:48:17 GMT
If the store owner is reporting attendance, it is almost assuredly for the D&D 5e organized play system, Adventurer's League. The exact program for HotDQ and RoT (also PotA and OotA) is called D&D Encounters. Does this ring a bell? In any case, you should probably have a chat with the owner about his expectations of you as a DM. The league has a bunch of extra rules which mostly exist to ensure character portability between tables. That is, a player can take his character to any other AL table in the nation, including conventions and online, and be on a level playing field with every other player in the AL. In theory, at least. In practice... I've seen a lot of "illegal" activity. I mention this not because following AL guidelines will solve your problems (it won't), but because you have certain rights and responsibilities as an AL DM. I'd bet money you've broken some rules already. For example, have you allowed characters to exchange wealth and items?. AL ResourcesAL Player's GuideGeneral Information
It's possible the store owner doesn't understand the expectations of hosting AL games, or assumed that you already knew when you offered to DM at his store. The important thing here is to be prepared if a player heavily invested in the AL program shows up. If you're running a private group in a public setting, that's entirely different. Now to actually answer your question... Large group and mixed group are intractable problems unless you're willing to kick players (which technically isn't even an option in AL, unless the player is being disruptive or the group exceeds 7 players). The best you can do is to master the system and be highly organized. System mastery is on you. If you want some tips on organization, let us know. This might be a good topic for a guided chat in the new DMB chatroom. That said, if you've had a fairly consistent group of players over the course of HotDQ and RoT, you're managing the problem well. In a public venue, players tend to quietly drop out if they're not happy with the game (unless it's the only game available to them). Finally, it sounds like you want some of your players to engage more in the social aspect of the game. Realize that some players are never going to be engaged with that sort of play, and it's not your job to tell people how to have fun. It's okay to encourage certain behaviors, but it's a fine line between lack of reward and punishment for those who don't want to do it. You can use the Inspiration system liberally, but be careful about granting straight up Advantage for good acting or vivid descriptions. |
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Post by paulhodgson777 on Mar 9, 2016 15:56:21 GMT
I've also found speeding up combat helps. I reduce some monsters hp but increase their damage. So it kind of averages out.
We've tried a couple of different initiative methods: the standard one, the one where you re-roll each round, but I've just settled on going around the table in order, it's boring but it works the best with a large group. I'm thinking of trying "popcorn" initiative, where the person with the highest initiative roll goes first, but then that player decides who goes next, and then that player decides who goes next, and so on.
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