How to Run for Large Groups
We saw a tweet this week asking a question about running for large groups. It’s one of many that we have seen pop up in many different platforms quite regularly. While running for a large group isn’t for everyone, one of our favorite games was 10 players. Large group games can be a lot of fun, but they require a few things in order for them to be effective. We will first tackle some logistical issues, then we will discuss
The first issue is time. Your not going to run a three hour game with ten people. Nothing will happen. In our larger game we would do monthly sessions that were about 5 hours of game time. Four is okay, but you don’t want it any shorter than that. You also may want to make the game monthly because prep is a bit harder. It’s not enough to write a single adventure (this is where our initial game went horribly wrong), you need either several things to investigate or a single story that has multiple threads that must be followed. Essentially while it’s a big group, you need the party to break into smaller groups to accomplish tasks. You will still have them work together in big conflicts, but overall expect most of the adventure to happen in smaller groups.
At the beginning of each session you need to find a way to signal each path that people can follow. Our game was in Star Wars and each adventure would start with a rehash of the previous game, followed by the group landing on a planet where they would go to a cantina or meet with a contact that would tell them about things to do, or they would hear rumors about things to do. Then each individual decides what their character would be interesting in pursuing. Once everyone was decided they would get up, move around the room to sit next to those who would be on the same mission.
At that point the GM takes turns in-between each group. Essentially each group gets one round of actions to deal with whatever they are currently doing. Then you move to the next group. Encourage the players to talk with one another and decide what their next move will be (that is why they are next to each other) so that by the time you get back to them, they can tell you more about your next move. This will keep all player engaged and keep the game rolling.
At the end of the session or arc have a big combat or crazy social encounter planned to involve all of the characters. It will drag a little, but as it is only one part it usually feels like a satisfying way to wrap things up. One thing to be aware of is that if you don’t plan carefully the players may end an adventure a little bit earlier than the others. You just need to be very aware of pacing to help keep people together.
A final and very important part of making this type of game work is the players. You need players who get involved, enjoy the stories of the other players, have some experience with role playing games, and are cool with that being the norm. Our group was composed of people from three other RPG groups that we were involved in. They were all people who really enjoyed role playing both in the game sense and in the role playing sense. They were always excited about their characters and whatever story we would tell together.
Something to know is that this can get a bit exhausting as a GM. You are always on, as opposed to the normal ebb and flow of a session where GM talks, player discuss a course of action then tell the GM. You will constantly be communicating and will need to keep track of several stories progressing in your head at once. This is not everyone’s idea of a good time and if it’s not yours then simply don’t run for 10 people. But it can be done and it can be done well, contrary to the advice of many people on the internet. In fact, this was one of our favorite campaigns. It had memorable characters, great side pursuits, and a fun story. Furthermore, it really made us grow as a GM. You pack a lot of GM practice with some added challenges into a single session of gaming. We recommend trying it and seeing where it takes you.
