I've been looking around D&D for a bit and I've seen a variable size for parties of adventures. I've seen parties as small as a single person and up to eight or nine players, not including the DM. I'm just curious about what size people prefer for their adventuring party, and why they prefer it. Any thoughts?
It's different for everyone. For me, being heavily into rp, I think a party of 3-5 players would be best. They could all talk without having to talk over each other, but still enough of them to make it a group activity.
Five is the absolute maximum I'll allow for an ongoing campaign. I might do six for a one shot. I also prefer to go no lower than four, but will do three if necessary.
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DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder) Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I like to fill my table with however many of my (carefully chosen so the group works well together and shares the same metrics of what makes a gaming session "good") players as are available to join in.
That makes my "ideal" size in the 10+ (not counting me) range, but I typically have only 4-5 players on hand due to scheduling and travel distance issues.
90% of my Pen and Paper RPG career has been 1 GM/DM and 3 players. So I naturally gravitate to this kind of dynamic. However it is a small group and really limits what you can do, especially at lower levels. For standard everyday play I would say 4-6 is ideal. More than 6 and RP is usually lost and the game grinds under multiple conversations, PCs not paying attention, DM getting frustrated etc...
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I find 5 is ideal, I have done larger groups, but their is less RP as you can't dedicate as much time to it.
I have done smaller in other systems, and larger in D&D (other versions), but 5 is still the best.
Currently have a group of seven and it can be a little unwieldy at times but most of the time one person or another can't turn up, so it is mostly 6 at any one time.
In my opinion 4-5 is the best number of players in a campaign.
I've DMed a group with 7 players and it took us an hour and a half to kill 5 skeletons. The next session was easier because 3 people didn't show up. We got through a lot more than the previous sessions.
My problem is that everyone tends to argue and goof off, making it impossible to continue the adventure.
Four seems to be the standard around which the game is designed. For example, isn't Challenge Rating assuming a party of four? My current and first attempt at DMing has a party of four, which I like.
I could see myself DMing within a 3-5 player range without any issue. A 2-player game could be a very intimate, character-driven campaign I could get behind, and a 6-player game could be a struggle that I think I could handle.
But I'm not really interested in solo player or 7+ groups.
A person in my group is DMing his own campighn with 10 people any ideas on what to do because he says he needs help before he starts, and he wants them all to play.
A person in my group is DMing his own campighn with 10 people any ideas on what to do because he says he needs help before he starts, and he wants them all to play.
Exploration pillar:
Keep the players together.
Allow only one player to scout ahead. The 'scout' type players should take turns doing this.
Let all of the players know that when you describe what the scout observes, that's what the scout reports back. Basically, don't repeat yourself. If the players are not paying attention, consequences may occur!
Social interaction pillar:
Have the players decide on one or two player to represent the group. Give all of the players a few minutes to give input to the representatives though.
Give all of the other players 1 minute or so to describe what they wish to do (shop for armor, etc...), but the main story elements should stay with the representatives.
Combat pillar:
Have a player keep track of monster hit points.
DM makes a list of pre-rolled d20 results. Go down the list for results of monster attacks, saves, initiative, etc....
Use average damage when monsters hit.
Give players no more than 1 minute to decide what they want to do when it's their turn. If they cannot decide, they take the dodge action, and move to the next player.
I've always like 5 as an ideal party size. The main reason being is that 4, in my opinion, is the perfect party size.
The reason I always shoot for a party size of 5 instead of 4 even though I think 4 is the right amount of people. Is that we all have lives and might not be able to make it to every single session. So with a party size of 5 it is easy to keep playing if someone has to drop out for a week.
I would say the "perfect" party size varies from group to group and what kind of game players want. Personally I prefer a party size of 4-5 players, I'm a big RPer so this is the perfect size to ensure everyone gets a chance to shine in the spotlight, and even if someone can't make a session we're still enough people to play and have a good balanced party.
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I've been looking around D&D for a bit and I've seen a variable size for parties of adventures. I've seen parties as small as a single person and up to eight or nine players, not including the DM. I'm just curious about what size people prefer for their adventuring party, and why they prefer it. Any thoughts?
It's different for everyone. For me, being heavily into rp, I think a party of 3-5 players would be best. They could all talk without having to talk over each other, but still enough of them to make it a group activity.
Five is the absolute maximum I'll allow for an ongoing campaign. I might do six for a one shot. I also prefer to go no lower than four, but will do three if necessary.
DM: The Cult of the Crystal Spider (Currently playing Storm King's Thunder)
Player: The Knuckles of Arth - Lemire (Tiefling Rogue 5/Fighter 1)
I like to fill my table with however many of my (carefully chosen so the group works well together and shares the same metrics of what makes a gaming session "good") players as are available to join in.
That makes my "ideal" size in the 10+ (not counting me) range, but I typically have only 4-5 players on hand due to scheduling and travel distance issues.
90% of my Pen and Paper RPG career has been 1 GM/DM and 3 players. So I naturally gravitate to this kind of dynamic. However it is a small group and really limits what you can do, especially at lower levels. For standard everyday play I would say 4-6 is ideal. More than 6 and RP is usually lost and the game grinds under multiple conversations, PCs not paying attention, DM getting frustrated etc...
My player group recently shifted from 6 players to 5.
I think the slightly smaller size works better.
So - for me - a small group of 4-5 is probably ideal.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I find 5 is ideal, I have done larger groups, but their is less RP as you can't dedicate as much time to it.
I have done smaller in other systems, and larger in D&D (other versions), but 5 is still the best.
Currently have a group of seven and it can be a little unwieldy at times but most of the time one person or another can't turn up, so it is mostly 6 at any one time.
In my opinion 4-5 is the best number of players in a campaign.
I've DMed a group with 7 players and it took us an hour and a half to kill 5 skeletons. The next session was easier because 3 people didn't show up. We got through a lot more than the previous sessions.
My problem is that everyone tends to argue and goof off, making it impossible to continue the adventure.
it's been a long time...
Six is best for me. Real life happens and having missing players still allows you to run a decent game without all the players present.
Four seems to be the standard around which the game is designed. For example, isn't Challenge Rating assuming a party of four? My current and first attempt at DMing has a party of four, which I like.
I could see myself DMing within a 3-5 player range without any issue. A 2-player game could be a very intimate, character-driven campaign I could get behind, and a 6-player game could be a struggle that I think I could handle.
But I'm not really interested in solo player or 7+ groups.
A person in my group is DMing his own campighn with 10 people any ideas on what to do because he says he needs help before he starts, and he wants them all to play.
Good luck!
I've always like 5 as an ideal party size. The main reason being is that 4, in my opinion, is the perfect party size.
The reason I always shoot for a party size of 5 instead of 4 even though I think 4 is the right amount of people. Is that we all have lives and might not be able to make it to every single session. So with a party size of 5 it is easy to keep playing if someone has to drop out for a week.
Six or Seven covers all the specialty classes and has room for a couple "fighter" types and a Bard. Eight just makes it even more fun.
Cleric - Thief - "Magic User" - Fighter - Ranger - Bard - Paladin - Druid
Four is the perfect number for me,
Five is also acceptable :) and allows the party a little more flexibility with available powers.
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4-6 is ideal but I've gone from single player to 10 before.
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I would say the "perfect" party size varies from group to group and what kind of game players want. Personally I prefer a party size of 4-5 players, I'm a big RPer so this is the perfect size to ensure everyone gets a chance to shine in the spotlight, and even if someone can't make a session we're still enough people to play and have a good balanced party.