I have been playing a lot of dnd lately, but have been having trouble managing the group. I have 7 players, and it has been a bit chaotic, with people getting impatient, players using devices and people randomly leaving the table for no reason, with me having trouble getting them back every few seconds.
Does anyone have any tips for managing the large group?
First question: Have you talked to the players who leave the table "for no reason"? Like, asked them why they left the table? It's definitely worrying when even the DM can't figure out why players aren't staying at the table.
During what activities do they get impatient? During combat? Social encounters? Exploration? Is it the same for most players or does it vary by person?
If people are bored during combat, you'll need to tighten that up. If I find combat slow, I'll tell each player that they have 30 seconds to start their turn. They can take longer than that to finish the turn, but if they hem and haw for more than 30 seconds, I'll move on to the next character in initiative, then come back to them (and this won't change their position in initiative next round). I also ask a player to track initiative, which tends to speed things up tremendously.
Beyond that, it really depends on the exact behavior of the players and what's boring them.
First question: Have you talked to the players who leave the table "for no reason"? Like, asked them why they left the table? It's definitely worrying when even the DM can't figure out why players aren't staying at the table.
During what activities do they get impatient? During combat? Social encounters? Exploration? Is it the same for most players or does it vary by person?
If people are bored during combat, you'll need to tighten that up. If I find combat slow, I'll tell each player that they have 30 seconds to start their turn. They can take longer than that to finish the turn, but if they hem and haw for more than 30 seconds, I'll move on to the next character in initiative, then come back to them (and this won't change their position in initiative next round). I also ask a player to track initiative, which tends to speed things up tremendously.
Beyond that, it really depends on the exact behavior of the players and what's boring them.
First question: Have you talked to the players who leave the table "for no reason"? Like, asked them why they left the table? It's definitely worrying when even the DM can't figure out why players aren't staying at the table.
During what activities do they get impatient? During combat? Social encounters? Exploration? Is it the same for most players or does it vary by person?
If people are bored during combat, you'll need to tighten that up. If I find combat slow, I'll tell each player that they have 30 seconds to start their turn. They can take longer than that to finish the turn, but if they hem and haw for more than 30 seconds, I'll move on to the next character in initiative, then come back to them (and this won't change their position in initiative next round). I also ask a player to track initiative, which tends to speed things up tremendously.
Beyond that, it really depends on the exact behavior of the players and what's boring them.
First question: Have you talked to the players who leave the table "for no reason"? Like, asked them why they left the table? It's definitely worrying when even the DM can't figure out why players aren't staying at the table.
During what activities do they get impatient? During combat? Social encounters? Exploration? Is it the same for most players or does it vary by person?
If people are bored during combat, you'll need to tighten that up. If I find combat slow, I'll tell each player that they have 30 seconds to start their turn. They can take longer than that to finish the turn, but if they hem and haw for more than 30 seconds, I'll move on to the next character in initiative, then come back to them (and this won't change their position in initiative next round). I also ask a player to track initiative, which tends to speed things up tremendously.
Beyond that, it really depends on the exact behavior of the players and what's boring them.
thanks for the help, it is mostly during combat, when I’m fighting with large groups, and sometimes I find that they get bored during situations where their character is less involved than others. I have a session tomorrow and am thinking of trying to have more interaction with each player.
Okay, yeah, in that case, a couple of suggestions:
First off, it's almost impossible to actively engage all 7 players at once for 4 hours straight. :-) Some PCs will naturally have more of a spotlight than others.
Second, I'd plan for only one combat encounter, and look over the PCs' abilities to ensure that there's something in that fight for each PC. You'll want to look at not just the character's abilities, but the player's preferences, too. Have a player who loves puzzles? Add a fire-breathing machine with unlabeled levers. Have a social player? Include an enemy who loves to monologue and knows some crucial information.
Basically, try to focus on "set piece" battles that you can tune to the players and characters.
Runehammer on YouTube has a great series of videos on this where he talks about the importance of building an environment that includes a clear threat, a treat (something cool the players want to acquire), a twist or trap (some part of the environment that requires brains to figure out), and a timer (something bad that will happen in X rounds). Those tend to engage players and ensure they don't wander off.
I think timers are really key. If there's a sacrifice on an altar who will cause a portal to hell open in 3 rounds unless a PC can get to him/her and physically prevent the high priest from sacrificing the victim, the PCs will suddenly be a lot more attentive. ;-)
Okay, yeah, in that case, a couple of suggestions:
First off, it's almost impossible to actively engage all 7 players at once for 4 hours straight. :-) Some PCs will naturally have more of a spotlight than others.
Second, I'd plan for only one combat encounter, and look over the PCs' abilities to ensure that there's something in that fight for each PC. You'll want to look at not just the character's abilities, but the player's preferences, too. Have a player who loves puzzles? Add a fire-breathing machine with unlabeled levers. Have a social player? Include an enemy who loves to monologue and knows some crucial information.
Basically, try to focus on "set piece" battles that you can tune to the players and characters.
Runehammer on YouTube has a great series of videos on this where he talks about the importance of building an environment that includes a clear threat, a treat (something cool the players want to acquire), a twist or trap (some part of the environment that requires brains to figure out), and a timer (something bad that will happen in X rounds). Those tend to engage players and ensure they don't wander off.
I think timers are really key. If there's a sacrifice on an altar who will cause a portal to hell open in 3 rounds unless a PC can get to him/her and physically prevent the high priest from sacrificing the victim, the PCs will suddenly be a lot more attentive. ;-)
This will be less work, not more for the DM; people at the table will automatically get more attention; if a player can't make a session, then one of the 2 not directly involved can take over that character for the session. The two people not involved in a session can either find something to do together, or they can watch the game from the sidelines, which may actually be less 'boring' than playing but doing not much. Plenty of people spend 4 hours a week watching strangers play D&D! In addition to 'just' watching, you could allow them to run groups of monsters, or given a short (preferably written) briefing, they can roleplay an NPC or two. One npc might be the main spotlight, while his hench-being walks around the table backing up everything he says...Steven Erikson's Malazan series is full of paired NPCs who riff off each other as though they have been married for years... Delegate enough stuff to a player, and you may soon find yourself rolling up a character for their nascent campaign.
I have run games for 7+ players, and mostly they were too chaotic (and noisy) to be fun for me. If I had 7 mates around, I'd be thinking about playing Citadels or Muchkin or Poker or something.....and wondering where the heck I had gotten three extra friends from! :)
D&D can be enjoyable with 7 players, but if you feel you can't do the game justice with that many it is no failure to reduce the number of PCs. A merciful cull early may save the game in the long run.
I use simple rules when I have a group of 5 or more that might actually help you out.
Phones have to stay in pocket unless its an emergency, if someone is caught texting or using social media they take 2 dmg each time. (Somehow tie this into the story)
For combat the player that is next on initiative (going after the current player or creature) pre-rolls for action.
Everyone has a drink and whatever snack at the table before we start and can get more during mid break not during session.
Side conversations are kept to a minimum and I remind my players to chill while im explaining something or players are RPing.
I know some of these might be harsh but if your players understand that you are the DM and you are there to give them an amazing experience and if they actually want to be immersed in the world you are creating than they will understand.
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I have been playing a lot of dnd lately, but have been having trouble managing the group. I have 7 players, and it has been a bit chaotic, with people getting impatient, players using devices and people randomly leaving the table for no reason, with me having trouble getting them back every few seconds.
Does anyone have any tips for managing the large group?
Good topic!
First question: Have you talked to the players who leave the table "for no reason"? Like, asked them why they left the table? It's definitely worrying when even the DM can't figure out why players aren't staying at the table.
During what activities do they get impatient? During combat? Social encounters? Exploration? Is it the same for most players or does it vary by person?
If people are bored during combat, you'll need to tighten that up. If I find combat slow, I'll tell each player that they have 30 seconds to start their turn. They can take longer than that to finish the turn, but if they hem and haw for more than 30 seconds, I'll move on to the next character in initiative, then come back to them (and this won't change their position in initiative next round). I also ask a player to track initiative, which tends to speed things up tremendously.
Beyond that, it really depends on the exact behavior of the players and what's boring them.
21st Century Renaissance Man
Okay, yeah, in that case, a couple of suggestions:
First off, it's almost impossible to actively engage all 7 players at once for 4 hours straight. :-) Some PCs will naturally have more of a spotlight than others.
Second, I'd plan for only one combat encounter, and look over the PCs' abilities to ensure that there's something in that fight for each PC. You'll want to look at not just the character's abilities, but the player's preferences, too. Have a player who loves puzzles? Add a fire-breathing machine with unlabeled levers. Have a social player? Include an enemy who loves to monologue and knows some crucial information.
Basically, try to focus on "set piece" battles that you can tune to the players and characters.
Runehammer on YouTube has a great series of videos on this where he talks about the importance of building an environment that includes a clear threat, a treat (something cool the players want to acquire), a twist or trap (some part of the environment that requires brains to figure out), and a timer (something bad that will happen in X rounds). Those tend to engage players and ensure they don't wander off.
I think timers are really key. If there's a sacrifice on an altar who will cause a portal to hell open in 3 rounds unless a PC can get to him/her and physically prevent the high priest from sacrificing the victim, the PCs will suddenly be a lot more attentive. ;-)
I also recommend Matt Colville's video on the different kinds of players. Very insightful about the various ways that different people approach the game, and how to try to satisfy them.
Hope this helps!
21st Century Renaissance Man
Run 2 groups of five.
This will be less work, not more for the DM; people at the table will automatically get more attention; if a player can't make a session, then one of the 2 not directly involved can take over that character for the session.
The two people not involved in a session can either find something to do together, or they can watch the game from the sidelines, which may actually be less 'boring' than playing but doing not much. Plenty of people spend 4 hours a week watching strangers play D&D!
In addition to 'just' watching, you could allow them to run groups of monsters, or given a short (preferably written) briefing, they can roleplay an NPC or two. One npc might be the main spotlight, while his hench-being walks around the table backing up everything he says...Steven Erikson's Malazan series is full of paired NPCs who riff off each other as though they have been married for years...
Delegate enough stuff to a player, and you may soon find yourself rolling up a character for their nascent campaign.
I have run games for 7+ players, and mostly they were too chaotic (and noisy) to be fun for me. If I had 7 mates around, I'd be thinking about playing Citadels or Muchkin or Poker or something.....and wondering where the heck I had gotten three extra friends from! :)
D&D can be enjoyable with 7 players, but if you feel you can't do the game justice with that many it is no failure to reduce the number of PCs. A merciful cull early may save the game in the long run.
Roleplaying since Runequest.
I use simple rules when I have a group of 5 or more that might actually help you out.
I know some of these might be harsh but if your players understand that you are the DM and you are there to give them an amazing experience and if they actually want to be immersed in the world you are creating than they will understand.