Just wanted to reiterate that I appreciate the timestamps.

@ancientswordrage

3 жыл бұрын

They're the best.

@darkseeker1112

3 жыл бұрын

OMG I agree

@Jc148

3 жыл бұрын

Werd!!!

@SteveVig

3 жыл бұрын

100% The time stamps are one of the features that keep me coming back to your videos!

"We're gonna think about it in terms of pizza time" [Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man liked that]

@rcschmidt668

3 жыл бұрын

Or TMNT. 🤓

"you might want to split the group" Low INT barbarian: okay, I'm gonna get my great axe.

@towers2917

3 жыл бұрын

lol

Another great system for large groups is a "West Marches" style campaign. Matt Colville has a Running the Game video on KZread explaining how that works. I am in a D&D group with 7 players + a DM and we call it an "Avengers" style Campaign, so all 8 of us play together once a month, but between that we break into small groups for "West Marches" style side missions.

I’m playing in an small group now but I’m still gonna watch, because it’s Dungeon Dudes.

@euansmith3699

3 жыл бұрын

Me too. I'm lucky to be able to get two players. The idea of running a game for more than three people sounds like madness to me. :)

@maid_of_heart3261

3 жыл бұрын

@@euansmith3699 DMing for 6 people. It is madness, but the fun kind

@Wolfphototech

3 жыл бұрын

*What do you define as Small groups ?* *I've found people have a distorted perception of what is a large group , mid size group & small group .* *Critical Roll by default is a large plus group .* *Dungeons and dragons 5th Edition is balanced , tested & designed for a 4 to 5 players & a DM ( mid size / default standard ) .*

@euansmith3699

3 жыл бұрын

@@Wolfphototech Indeed, 4 players allows for the classic dungeon party; a fighter, a wizard, a cleric and a rogue. :)

@strixx_-4483

3 жыл бұрын

@@Wolfphototech 3 players and 1 DM.

“3/4 is better than 6+” Me in a party of 5: 👁👄👁

@harrisonlucero74

3 жыл бұрын

Same lmao

@Observer31

3 жыл бұрын

5 is an interesting place - if the group works well together, people don't dilly-dally, the GM is good at focusing on everyone, it can be *great*! But, it is harder to pull off than 3-4...

The similarity between this video's content and the tips and advice I got from my colleagues before my first day of teaching 3rd grade is staggering.

@TheAtheistChef

3 жыл бұрын

Im just now imagining a whole class of kids Rolling for initiative to answer/ask a question.

@benjaminholcomb9478

Жыл бұрын

L O L

Oh, and one more thing. Don't underestimate how badly the group can work together to derail a session, in and out of game. It happens in a snap.

@MonkeyJedi99

3 жыл бұрын

...no Infinity Stones required!

I'm in a group of 9 (8 + the DM) and we've been a group for a long time. Most of us met & started RPGing in college, I'm the oldest but only by a few years & I'm 60. These issues that you raise are real and a challenge, even for a gang of old friends who generally all get along. The majority of my group are also mostly lawyers, not rules lawyers but actual lawyers (I'm not one of the lawyers in the group). This means they're good at arguing and know the game rules well. So our tactical planning sessions can get complicated, with several players trying to take on the leader role. Resulting in plans for situations often falling apart when we get into the actual moment, collapsing into what we call our standard "get 'em" fall back plan. Sometimes it's frustrating but often it's funny, we almost become the Keystone Cops of adventuring parties. Often saved only by the size of our group.

@wpleau1968

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a great group with a lot of history! Good on you, man!

Monty's initiative suggestions just infuriated every Alert or Initiative build.

@GuardianTactician

3 жыл бұрын

It could. Maybe we have the players sit in initiative order based on alert, initiative bonuses and then Dex score.

@jcdenton2187

3 жыл бұрын

In this case I would use the optional "Passive Initiative" rules that, iirc, is 10 + Dex + any other bonus

@jansolo4628

3 жыл бұрын

The solution here is to tell your players beforehand what your houserules are. Once you say that, then the players will know to not invest too much into initiative and any initiative bonus they get can instead be given as something else. If you're doing something like group initiative, you can have one of your players be the one to roll so that if one player does go for an initiative build, they'll be helping the party with a massive advantage on even just the first turn.

@orarinnsnorrason4614

3 жыл бұрын

Even if you're running group initiative you can always tweak it so that the ones with the highest modifier go first then down the order. That way the one with the build is still special.

@Dezbood

3 жыл бұрын

My way to alleviate initiative rolls is similar to Monty’s, but without the problems you face. Everyone rolls initiative and adds their bonuses. The highest roll goes first like normal, and then the order goes either clockwise or counter clockwise depending on the highest roll between the two players on either side of the player who goes first. If every player sits in the same spot every week, this means the order will likely always start the same way, but can go in either direction often.

ditching initiative can result in the monsters attacking back to back and killing player characters easier. That being said I appreciated the video as a DM running a 7 person game. I was very happy to hear that I have been doing much of what you all said. Gives me more of the feeling I am doing it right lol. Thanks guys.

@Wade8419

3 жыл бұрын

I think a nice time saving alternative is to run initiative based on their initiative modifier. This keeps things quick, as you can just put that info on your dm screen and don't have to roll for monsters since you would just take their dex. This would also prevent potentially upsetting players who intentionally picked classes or feats that are good with initiative, as they would still be rewarded for doing so.

@benjaminfrost2780

3 жыл бұрын

@@alexanderthompson7164 I am legitimately happy if that system works well for your table. Does not change my point that initiative is a very small part of combat time even with rolling, especially if done online with macro's. As well multiple enemies going at the same time can result in higher probability of player character deaths unless you are pulling your punches. I don't pull my punches, my players lose immersion and fun if they think I am. So having them go at different times helps. Not just 1 or 2 groups. Again I will repeat I am not judging how you are playing at your table and truly am happy if that system works well for your tables fun and gaming experience. My comment was purely a word of warning to doing that methodology with the risks that come with it. That's all.

Thursdays is DnD day. Dungeon Dudes releases their episode about 1 hour before my DnD session ends. :D

One time I was running a game of 12 players and one of my players realized how exhausting it was to run 12 players asked me and the rest of the group if we wanted to split the party and we did but we did it in a odd way of the player who proposed the idea killed his character off and we had a 2 dm game where the party can be split and 6 people can do this and 5 can do this and during combat we had 2 initiative rolls and all that but out of combat it went really fluid and smooth even though we had 11 players at this point and 2 dms

When running large groups of 8 or more in the past, we have used the "Co-DM" system, where you have 2 DM's. One is responsible for the main storyline and keeping the story moving forward, the other one is the lead on running NPC's in combat and social situations while the main DM narrates. It also gives a better dynamic to roleplaying social encounters when there are multiple NPC's involved, where the 2 DM's can each play different NPC's. The responsibilities can also be delegated, based on the strengths of the DM's. It also gives the main DM the ability to focus on the narrative, while the Co-DM can look up information for rulings that may need to be made, minimizing the time lost when there is a dispute about how something should work. I have seen this work extremely well when both DM's are on the same page and allow each other to shine, in the same way it benefits PC's when the players do the same for one another.

How I could've used this video when I first started! Some things I've implemented, since the new player hype has had me run 8 person games. - Saving everyones AC, and passive Perception, and spell save DCs behind the screen. - limiting some skill checks to only those who have them, often 3. -seating charts so chatty folks aren't distracting or taking spotlights - my own fun is using a wooden hammer from faire as a gavel when needed.

This is (as usual) timely, given the alarming rate at which I'm accumulating new players

@euansmith3699

3 жыл бұрын

Can you split your group in to a couple of more manageable chunks?

@Calebgoblin

3 жыл бұрын

@@euansmith3699 I'm gonna have to. It's just really hard to find a remotely consistent evening that I can offer everyone

@tomfoolery5680

3 жыл бұрын

And here I am, unable to find a soul... Near Indiana by chance?? :)

@subduedpotato7216

3 жыл бұрын

here's the real problem. Is there a video out there to tackle the ageless question of "what do I do about the alarming rate that I'm accumulating new dice?"

@euansmith3699

3 жыл бұрын

@@subduedpotato7216 I'm looking forward to the end of Lockdown, so that I can go to a gaming convention and submerge me fists in to those deep containers of Chessex Dice and feel them rattle and slide over my hands. Sooooooo many dice.

Monty's hair is getting longer...and I'm here for it.

@euansmith3699

3 жыл бұрын

He's got a way to go before he can challenge Matt Colville for "Most Amazing Barnet in D&D Media" :)

@ashleyhoughton8592

3 жыл бұрын

He looks dashing!

I’m not really a new player anymore, nor am I a DM (yet?), so a lot of these videos aren’t really catered to me... But you’re still my favorite KZread channel. I just love how organized your videos and thoughts are, and watching them is just a hobby more than anything.

Thank you for this. I am currently running a game for a group of 10 players. The first thing I did was to agree that we would get together every other week. This sure did help with getting that one day every one could get together. Every challenge you put forward I have had to address. It was nice to see others resolve these the same way I did for the most part. Keep up the great content.

@LeeMcKusick

3 жыл бұрын

10 in one group?

Re: absences -- I was once in a campaign where the DM decided that everybody had a split personality, with a completely separate personality and class for the personality that would show up when people couldn't show up. Your LG paladin 'George' might also be a CN barbarian when the player playing him isn't around; his armor might be stowed throughout his saddlebags and backpack if Grog the barbarian didn't feel like wearing it, he might have started a fight or two and not be allowed back in a certain tavern, etc. It's obviously not for everyone (and it's more work for the DM), but it was fun for our DM, and everyone involved (who understood the ramifications of not being present at any given regularly-scheduled session). My favorite party member other than myself was the rogue who occasionally became a wild mage (in 2E rules). (=

I'm currently running a larger campaign where I have the group roll to defend (their role+ac versus enemy attack bonus+20). With that I can tell everyone that is being attacked to roll at the same time to defend. I then role for damage for those who were hit. Also similar to said I have the group decide their battle order, but they still role for initiative. The middle roll of the party goes against the monsters initiative roll. If they lose they go after the monsters and if they win they go before.

@wpleau1968

3 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea. As long as players are rolling dice they won't get bored

Very much appreciate this. I'm running a large group. One thing I do to ensure that everyone has more or less equal spotlight is I use a non-combat initiative rule. When there is no combat, each player gets a turn in descending order of their respective characters' intelligence (with the theory that smarter people will act more quickly in this environment.). For us, it has worked well.

Me, who has never played and has one mate who's never heard of DnD: Ah yes, this will be interesting

Holy shit, first 100 viewers. I think that's the fastest I've been for you Dudes.

Thank you two! I have a party of roughly 6-7 about to play Curse of Strahd later this year and I really needed this video.

I started as a GM almost a year ago.. so I have been an online only GM. I ran 2 groups of 6-8 ppl, starting low and both groups are now around 11-12. Here are my tips: Scheduling: you got it right: set one day and thats the day. Since I run a story focus homebrew if two many players are missing they have alt characters that im running through a published campaign. Combat: I honestly can't imagine running combat outside of a VTT. I used to make them roll their initiative but the VTT you just press "Begin COmbat" and its rolled for them and monsters, instant combat! I even use a reroll initiative per turn since that keeps the order dynamic and makes them pay attention. You do have to change the way you balance combat, they become really strong specially with items and the more combat savvy. I find that throwing waaay stronger monsters in around 3/4 quantity of players works. As you say, a horde of lower monsters is cleared in a turn by my two fireball wielding casters. The VTT keeps track of HP, conditions etc.. and you just open the mosner sheet, target a player and press the attack. Everything is rolled and calculated in an instant and you are instead narrating what is happening. Honestly it does make it more "videogamey" but if you do it properly it becomes quite fast and you can handle a combat with 7 people and 10 monsters without losing a beat,. You still must know your monsters and attacks so you can react quickly on their turn. It comes to a point where the slowdown in combat is players discussing strategies or thinking too much in their turn. As long as you as the GM don't slow it down it will work out. Honestly even if I ran a game in a table IRL I would do all the combat I can on the VTT in a laptop beside me. You lose the charm of throwing real dice... but you gain a lot of speed. And with proper roleplay it really brings a new kind of feeling to the game.

Great video guys! I have been in a campaign with 8 players & the DM for about a year now, and we have felt every issue discussed in this video. Definitely sharing this with my DM and fellow players!

1:01 Me: Wait...Kelly is wearing the Roots sweater now? What madness is this!?

@brandoncurtis1636

3 жыл бұрын

I said the same thing last week; the few times this happens, it always throws my brain for a loop

@iododendron3416

3 жыл бұрын

It's when they put the head on the wrong torso.

@Brannen666

3 жыл бұрын

Do you think Kelly gets cold and borrows a sweater?

This was such a helpful video! I'm DMing for a group of 7 right now and I definitely feel more equipped to mitigate issues with my players.

We have a small magical tavern, that one player holds, that players that can't be there go into to handle players that are not there. Just incase we stop a game session in the middle of something. So the next time we play the people that were not there last time can come straight back into the game.

I am running a long home-brew campaign for 6 players. These have been great ideas. Thank you so much. Fortunately, the whole group is just 2 families, so we do not have the scheduling problem. But all of the rest are exactly what I was hoping to hear about in your video. Thank you for taking the time to organize these thoughts for your viewers.

Thank you very much for this video. I have this issue going on right now and I appreciate the tips.

Back in the AD&D, 6 was the standard size for groups! 6 allows you to have a couple of people that can't make it and the group can still play! Our Pathfinder group plays every other week, but we will change weeks if someone will miss one week, but can make it the next week. Encounter balance is hard to get right anyways, it just takes experience!

Consider not giving boss monsters hp, but instead giving them turns to live. With six or more PCs, living six turns is amazing if you are a Big Bad Evil Guy.

@ancientswordrage

3 жыл бұрын

Doesn't that remove a lot of agency from the players?

@josebocanegra8720

2 жыл бұрын

@@ancientswordrage depends if you tell them that rule, I often did that plus a few hundred HP for my 8 players or else they would melt the enemies, it has worked very well

When running a group of 7 or more people, I like to have one of the most experience players "co-DM", someone that I can let behind the DM screen during combat who's perfectly capable of going "my character wouldn't know that". Then in combat, 2 players take turns simultaneously ala Mystic Vale, each one talking to the DM for their side of the table. When it gets back to the ends of the table, all the monsters from biggest to smallest take their turns, only actually rolling dice for "significant attacks" (e.g. ones that can kill a player) and otherwise using a list of pre-rolled D20's and average damages. For players couldn't make it to the game, they travel with the party and every combat, we hand wave a small group of enemies tries to flank the party that those PC's go take care of while everyone present focuses on the threat that plays out at the table.

I am a newbie DM (I've run a couple of smaller games thank goodness), but I currently have a group that grew to 8 people, so this was really helpful for me! Thankfully, everyone in the group is usually SUPER COOL and they all care about each other's characters so they love sharing the spotlight. Those side conversations though... since they're all friends, they can be killer to the flow of play! Great content, thanks :)

15:58 a few little tricks, force separate the party, use things like changing terrain, magic traps of teleportation, hard flanking enemies, double battle locations, add extra mcguffins, use skill challenges to isolate a few members and have a combo-combat/rescue encounter. This allows for easier coordination for the dm, encourages teamwork, allows for raised stakes in short bursts, and means that you can control the pace and keep things on a knives edge.

Are you all only doing one video this week? I was thinking you do videos on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I've been anxiously awaiting those remaining warlock subclasses!

@izaac05

3 жыл бұрын

they've been doing the subclasses every other week, with no video in between

@rcschmidt668

3 жыл бұрын

^ What they said, but I am with you in missing the content. Looking forward to watching the Dusk Wardens get back to action! 🤓

3 minutes! Edit: This was amazing and sound advice Dudes!!!! I don't personally run with that many people, but the tips and ideas like assigning a Battlemaster are super interesting and useful to me.

Thanks for all these tips!

Thank you so much for addressing this issue! When I am DM, then the group always is 3 Players. I like the time-allotment per person, plus the game becomes more fun in terms of how the PCs will manage the full range of social, exploration, and combat situations. Lately as Player, I end up in groups of 6 - 8, and the results are variable.

Another excellent video! I think the most important advice is near the end. Run the game you want to run, say no when you need to yo do that, do other social things with the friends you had to say no to.

Very useful video! Thanks a ton

I needed this so much. Thank you, I'm running my first CoS subcampaign and we have 6 total.

Wow! This is really valuable and I appreciate your experience. Thank you.

This is so awesome and super helpful!

Roll To Hit and Damage at the same time! This one has helped me a lot, and I really encourage it. In fact, I even encourage it for smaller groups!

Thanks for the great advice. I like the idea of making other people responsible for aspects of the game. We use initiative cards, and then the players are responsible for remembering who goes when. It works for us.

I love the initiative tips. I typically am running or am involved in 6-player groups and it is a slog going through combat. I have used the rules-guru tip before, and it works well: let 1 person be the player you appoint to look up a rule so things don't get bogged down during combat (or even non-combat). The party leader is another good idea. THANKS for the tips!

This came at the perfect time. I’m running a 6-7 (kinda wacky what happens) player game and I NEEDED this advice

I've been running a D&D game with a group of 9 people and it is AWESOME but tough at the same time, I have even "hired" another DM to help me, he controls the lore and I do the battle part, but we both work on the sessions before hand so we can have a general idea of how is going to work. I am glad I found this video, it really suits my needs and will help me a lot :)

Impeccable timing! Once again

One thing That I have had really good experience with in large groups, that you guys did not talk about, is giving players jobs around the table. Get your players to help you keep track of things. Making it one of your players responsibilities to track initiative can really help you keep the flow of battle while you are free to manage other concerns at the table. Making sure one player is keeping track of all the treasure that gets found so you can manage inventories between sessions. Things like that. I have a player who is responsible for putting out maps and keeping track of where the party is located. If you have the right group and a couple players who are willing to help you manage the game it can be an incredible boon!!

OMG this is what happened to me, I just started DMing and my first party has 7 people playing. I think I lucked out in the sense that these people are all getting along so far but a lot of these tips will help me out immensely. I particularly love the idea of appointing a player to be a battle deputy!

my first campaign started with five, grew to 11 and stayed there for over a year, finally brought it to conclusion with 9. it was by far one of the funnest things ive ever been a part of. you guys really know the issues we faced spot on. i now do a podcast with just four players on spotify called dungeon noises by smiling hat gaming. just started it because we want to invite the whole world to our special table. my first campaign was literally all homebrew and i had a close friend expose me to dnd and literally co-dmed with me to begin the game and that was so helpful. the creative things they did naturally evolved into an amazing story we wish we had recorded. now we are. And its tomb of annihilation. i know it may be a lot to ask of your time, but i want for you guys to be at our table in spirit always. you’ve helped me create something with my friends that will last a lifetime, and for that i hope you will listen to the first few episodes of our podcast so you can be a part of our story too.

The largest group I've run is 8, but our regular player group is 3-4 players, for weekly 10-13 hour sessions. Your tips are of course very on point!

Honestly playing online on Fantasy Grounds can alleviate so many of these time sinks. I was one of those people that thought playing D&D online would never be the REAL way to play and kills the spirit of it. But this pandemic has shown me how fun it is to play online and to have everything calculated for you and so clearly presented. My brother never wants to go back to in-person playing again because he likes FG so much.

I'm DMing for a large group (6 to 8 players) over the Internet, and for now the tricks I've developed are: - Use premade assets. Having a neat map early can inspire you. - Only use tools that help speed up prep. - Give enemies no more than one resource to keep track of. - Roll things like HP, initiative and stealth in advance, and don't be afraid to use the average. - Add damage instead of subtracting HP, and use a calculator to reduce mental load. - Use upscaled low CR enemies instead of more complicated variants. - Reduce the number of windows open on your PC. It's okay to rely on paper and a phone too.

Great advice! Also splitting the group might the perfect time for a new DM to cut their teeth on getting behind the screen. Compare notes during the break, and everyone has a blast!

An idea for quick initiative is just to create a list based off Dex and characters will always go in order of that stat. Then pepper in monsters based on their Dex.

@aimeebaloo3389

3 жыл бұрын

As someone who DMs for 6.... yeah, I really might start doing this, though based off initiative and taking the +5 from advantage into account

I loooove my 8 player campaign! I love these tips that help me DM my big group well!

as a dm to a party of currently 8 players, i am very lucky that all of them are very amicable and (as fans of critical role and other d&d broadcasting media) they love watching eachother play i will also say, just as a note, we play online, and once every two weeks, instead of weekly, which i asked for because that allows me to work with more time for preparation of each session

Virtual table tops solve a lot of the problems... Initiative and damage are just a click or two. Also online games mean that one person being distracted won't distract the others, plus side bars can be done via text chat instead of interrupting voice. The tip about reducing the types or complexity of monsters is spot on... I'm running a low magic game for 5-7 players, and I dread any time they go up against a spellcaster, but luckily my setting makes that rare. Another tip for that many players is try to tie most plot events in to someone's backstory; it holds player interest, and by rotating whose backstory is involved you keep everyone invested.

One thing I've found helpful is taking time to write summaries after each session and sharing it on a blog or forum for the group. Nothing very detailed, but a few paragraphs about major interactions, funny events, etc. It tells those who couldn't make the session what happened, can be used to highlight all the character players so they feel they added to the story (I try to mention each character at least once), and gives something to reference back to for both the DM and the players throughout the game. Also a good way to make sure they get names right for NPCs or locations. If someone in your group is great at this, they can totally do this instead! You could even rotate who writes, either in or out of character POV, which can encourage players to pay attention to details in game. But that will depend on the player group. I've been in groups asking players to recap for the table what happened last session at the beginning of the next, but it often launches into squabbles or a competition, each person highlighting only their character's actions, and missing major plot points. While it gets your players involved in the storytelling, it also often takes 10-20 minutes in games I've been in and the DM has to step in regardless to clarify some points. I'd balance this with the group explaining to absentee members what happened over a meal during a rest or upon meeting up with them after a DM-led recap (like 5 min of major events and points) is given. Honestly, my players do this without even prompting, which makes me really happy! Especially since it helps solidify their character personalities and group dynamics.

17:15 i think a better way to use this type of initiative is to go in the order of who has the highest initiative bonus and then go to the lowest. This is mainly to help people who have abilities or items that give them higher initiative, not feel like its useless

OMG this is LIFECHANGER love you guys

I'm going to be DM in a few weeks for a party of 5 and while it's not a large group this is still helpful as well.

Our group of eight players and two co DMs use roll20. A few dynamics that work for us: - we start on time and PCs are either part of the episode or simply distracted in another tunnel/room - players waiting for their turns in combat often post links to memes. It's not too distracting as long as the DM doesn't click the link - side conversations can be held in different chat applications on the side - recap in discord allows missing players to catch up when they miss a session - players get up from the table whenever necessary. This did lead to our barbarian falling for our wizard's cantrip distraction. It didn't work on the monsters, but the PC didn't know why he heard voices in that direction. Ha! - each co-DM is in charge of one type of monster (initiative, tactics, spells) - one DM tracks treasure, the other has monsters/maps

I appreciate this as a DM. Some people can take not having a ton of attention a session, some people can't stand waiting. I agree, more than 7 or 8 is just too many, but I do appreciate in a group with more than 4 people you can lose one or two people and just keep running the game and subtract some of the extra monsters. I also have been trying to use mob rules as an additional way to speed up turns and reduce the amount of rolling I do as a DM. I think you could probably title this "Tips for Running A Large Group"

First time DM running 5 players. First 10 sessions were rough combat-wise, but lately I've learned how to run monsters better AND homebrew some of my own. My players have actually loved boss fights since!

Super helpful, running first campaign for about a year now, just got to 9 players

@DungeonDudes

3 жыл бұрын

That's a big group. Good luck!

We run alot of campaigns with 6 or 7 players. We like to just roll initiative at the start of a session. this carries on throughout and the monsters get rolled into the list in groups. It has helped a lot and every player has a chance to go first. Nothing like the fast guy in the group used to going first going last all session cuz he Nat ones his initiative. We enjoy it.

Great ideas. I do a lot of what you said but I may have my experienced player keep track of conditions. I usually use a piece of paper and blu-tak it on with the condition but giving that bit to someone else will save time.

I'm surprised you guys didn't mention a West Marches Campaign! It's very similar to what you guys were talking about at 5:31!

You can also announce turn order and who is coming up in combat, as well as encourage players to keep track.

This was great, as I am a new DM running 2 campaigns of 6 players. As far as additional idea/tips for combat. I have started creating spreadsheets with the most common monster information (Max HP, AC, Passive perception, actions, etc.) and then print that out and have it with me. I have found that it saves time as I am not constantly having to flip between pages/tabs to check what the monsters AC is, or what their hit modifier is, or what the Save DC is on their action. For out of combat, I stop having players roll for things that can be covered by their passive perception or passive investigation. If a player wants to check for a hidden door or a trap with a DC of 13 and their passive perception is 15, I usually just let them find it without having them roll.

I run a group with 6 players, I have already started delegating jobs haha. I have one player run the initiative tracker for me. I do have one player that seems to hog the spotlight a bit, might have to talk to him about that before the next session. I run the hostile creatures as a group, but with fights with a boss and minions I have two separate initiatives for the boss and the group of minions. Another thing I am thinking of implementing is group initiative for the players; they choose their order, then whichever group (players or hostiles) is the least "surprised" by the combat goes first, in the case where both were prepared for a fight, a single initiative roll for each group determines it.

I have been running a 10-12 player group for about a year now. You nailed it with the issues that causes. I suggest, do not allow alcohol during game time. Herding cats is easier. I have tried the initiative all the ways you suggested. And with push back from the group with do it normally. I even made an initiative tree. Rule is if you step away before your turn. You get one group shout out then you are skipped. I have started a smaller group 5-6 with some of the same players in the bigger group, mostly all the girls, and they are finding that dynamic much more to their liking. Probably gonna divide the group. It has become a bit of a head ache.

These were actually some incredible tips

I've been running with 7-8 at my table for so long now, I don't even know if I could run a table "for 3-5 players" (as modules typically state). Did this with two different groups. Once was as the church Youth Group. A couple kids were interested in playing, our priest was a huge Tolkein and CS Lewis fan, and liked D&D himself, so I had his blessing. A couple kids turned into FIFTEEN with only my kids and I think two others having ever played before. A few sessions in and we were down to six or seven that were really interested. Way less stress. The second was at the FLGS. I got tagged for our departing DM who had a job change. Had been playing 5e for three months and hadn't played since 2e in the early 90s. The three at our table grew to 5, then 7, danced up to 10, then busted up to twelve for awhile and it was CHAOS. I did it. We had fun, but man was it insane. Every week, we were constantly interrupted by getting the 1-2 new people up to speed by making a character. I had this great level 0 campaign that was stalled for MONTHS until part of the group finally broke off. Then, we were at eight with there still being one of them being someone who was a "guest star" for the night and phased in and out. The group settled at seven by the time we moved it to my house and that's where we've stayed (even through covid over Discord/Zoom). Timers. Definitely stage time and timers. Each person gets 1 minute to state what they're doing, roll, and move on. Call out "Bob the Wizard, you're up next right after Tom the Bard." Tom got one minute "on the stage" to ask his questions and do his thing. If he was having a conversation, that was one thing and might get a bit more time, but "um uh...lemme see..." was part of the one minute. I also came up with "out of combat initiative" to keep that non-combat narrative hogging player from just talking all game long to every single NPC. Whatever the last combat initiative was, that would stay until the next combat. This way, when combat would drop, and Tom would kill the last monster, Bob could still immediately take his next turn in initiative and get the Chance to Do Something, even if it was the first dibs to search the bodies. As for splitting the party? Yeah, no. When that happened, I gave the "split" one minute -- per person within the group -- to have stage time. Three people split off? Your WHOLE group gets three minutes. If you had one person in there that's a ringleader doing the "side quest", and he takes over? Sorry. Don't split the party. Swarms were good. One combatant enemy per player was good too. I also switched to the UA challenge rating system which honestly worked FAR better for me than standard CR for planning adventures. My group in high school was 8-10 people and I was a player, so when it came to DMing, this wasn't too alien to me. But still, when I go to conventions, and there are only 3-4 other people besides my son and I, I feel like the table and amount of ideas are just SO DAMN QUIET compared to when I'm used to.

My best combat tip: When announcing whose turn it is, also say whose turn is next so that person can be ready.

Oh man, I've been running a 6 person party since May and these are all things that we've verrrry gradually figured out since then (like, the party leader thing we juuust locked down maybe three weeks ago) and I wish this video had existed a year ago haha

Great episode as always Dude's 👏 👌

Just thinking of one that’s basically a story of a guild being formed and different groups go out to do some missions. They connect in the grand scheme of things but they can allow small campaigns to happen. And can lead to some interesting things like some characters gaining some information that others don’t. Or have information that’s important to another group. Be an interesting way to run things IMO.

I’m am currently running a 3.5 campaign for 6 players, and that can feel overwhelming at times. I found that running the game episodically really made it manageable. There is an overarching story, but today’s episode covers this chapter, and so on. Also I have an experienced DM playing in the game and he coaches our player that is new to D&D, while I handle the rest of the party. It runs fairly smooth. The bane of our game is scheduling.

I started as a DM with six players with no experience so this video is going in my resources 😅

@dyykaacovers

3 жыл бұрын

Still in my first game I've run with 6 people. Definitely regret saying yes to so many people but can't imagine dropping a single of them.

@crankysmurf

3 жыл бұрын

@@EricDMMiller That's too many for a newbie DM -- 4 to 6 is optimal since it's easier to control fewer players and the players have less time to wait for their turn during combat (assuming the players aren't newbies as well).

First time one of these has been released at a relevant time for me, with a 7-player one shot happening on Sunday. Glad I can join the timely dungeon dudes video club 😂

I have a group of 5, so this kinda helped. Thx

I have a group with 7 people that works really well. Some of my tricks includes using dndbeyond to run encounters (it rolls initiative for the monsters, and allows me to quickly reference spells etc from the website). We also run certain RP outside of game night, if it doesn’t involve all party members. By voice talk or chat. Actually really cool! We are lucky that our schedules tend to work out, so we have no issues there. The tip about assigning roles to players is really interesting, as my biggest problem is that the party sometimes run into paralysis when presented with choices.

I just started running Curse of Strahd for seven PCs, six players plus mine. Scheduling isn’t an issue for us, fortunately, mostly because I spent a month talking to potential players. It helps that most of the players play a campaign on Tuesday, I run mine on Wednesday, so we have a reliable schedule.

I was a first time DM running 7 players, and still am 1 year later in the same campaign we run every 2 weeks. I run normal initiative, and like you say some get distracted, but calling out to the player who is after the current player helps massively keep things moving, ie; Barbarian you're up, Ranger you're after. Once the monster initiative is revealed on the first round I start putting them into this call out too; Ranger you're up, the Goblins are next. In hindsight could speed it up even more by just doing this in the first round too, but I like the suspense.

I'm very excited to watch this cuz I'm currently in a 6 player campaign

For the initiative thing, you can simplify by assuming all the players rolled a natural 10 (15 if they would have had advantage) and pre-roll for the monsters

A thing i've done for my 6-Player group, but would definitely do more often for bigger groups, is to give non-combat-sidetasks. A small puzzle or riddle that ties in with the campaign or character, that is specifically given to a few players to do while the others are in combat. + Cuts down on Combat time + Less balancing issues + Premium way for story exposure + Great way of smuggling other games into a DnD Session - Needs to have something specifically prepped - Unless planned well, it feels unnatural that one PC is just missing from combat - Player needs to be able to work independently on the Sidetask Doesnt work on every encounter, but give a player a McGuffin to work on while the rest of the party grinds down the BBEG, for that said McGuffin to deliver the final blow in the end and you have yourself a fantastic encounter. Examples; - Complex and Epic: During the LMOP-Finale, i challenge the player closest to ancient magic to attune to the forge of spells, infusing his weapon with temporary magical damage. To do that, i give them a burning chalice with blue-burning alcohol fuel, various powders like flour that do nothing, copper sulfate (All unlabeled of course) and an encoded instruction paper that tells them which one "Sparks the forge of spells", a.k.a showing them which one is the copper sulfate that makes the flame green and gets them +5 Magic damage on each sucessful hit. - Simple: The BBEG challenges the players to a riddle while he makes them fight his minions in an arena, if they solve it, they will be let free. Could be any word based riddle, and if i catch a player thinking about the riddle on their turn they get struck by a surprise extra minion

Pre-roll initiative for monsters. Get rid of monster spell slots, stick with recharges, one per day, and at will

I played in over 20-players D&D campaign. It was played on discord+roll 20, anybody could join and leave at any time and keep their heroes till they join the next time. Mostly there were around 10 players at a time, but sometimes there were 20 people and sometimes just 5. It was chaotic and beautiful, the DM was great at creating drama and interactions between players. Fights were great - we once fought a Kraken from the shell of a flying dragon turtle :). The key things to make it work: - make people vote at the start of session who is the team leader today and let that person decide when it takes too long to agree on something - some players like spotlight, some players like to be in the background and just do their thing in fights/rare occasions - have more of the latter kind of players - use all the computer systems and tools to help with running fights. You can get extremely fast with a little experience and good macros. Like 10s per turn even with high-level players and many enemies. - 10 seconds to start saying what you do on your turn or you lose it - you should decide what you want to do before it's your turn

Time stamps amazing. And great tips! My few additions: Scheduling: the same night every week seems great sometimes not do-able. I’m a shift worker as are my friends/group and this would simply not be do-able. So simply have a round of democracy where the dm posts a poll on our shared group of when can we play and most votes wins. It is varied and people miss out sometimes but that is life. Missing characters: so i startes my last group with finding reasons why they wernt there and quickly ran out. So i just wrote a reason into the story. “The planes are collapsing, the actions of the antagonists to bring gods i to the material plain is causing the plains & the pcs to literally blink in and out of the world. Pepper some foreshadowing (a town cryer notes the monarch went missing & magically returned) and the visions these players had in between episodes and boom story reason. Pre rolling enemies iniastives is the way and balancing have a rough idea of pc action economy and damagae output and match it (also pre-written modules beef the hp a bit, add a couple extra enemies and use tactiful environment)

I like to have players roll initiative for the next encounter, at the end of the previous one. They're already still in dice rolling mode, and it lets you keep the narrative going. (I also pre-roll initiatives for my monsters.)

Left a campaign yesterday, dm heard me try input information so many times. And after getting really bored I stated how I wanted my character to walk into the forest. Get a msg privately from the dm, I explain my issue which when I originally mentioned before. Before they told me to stop wanting to take the spot light. Soo yeah dm didn't assist me getting any spot light. So now I got a really great Dwarven wizard character concept for somewhere else :3 Still sucky how there was a lack to making sure I was feeling satisfied. Thanks for reading this

Me: sees timestamps so I can skip to the parts I actually want to see... Also me: watches every second because I want to see it all