So I volunteered to DM a D&D club at my kids school. At the last game I had a party of nine people kids 10-11. As you can imagine the chaos was impressive. It went well but it was a straightforward adventure where they helped a farming village clear out some Ankhegs.
The next destination they chose is a village featuring a murder mystery. Any tips on handling a large group in a murder mystery? One thought I had was to print ten copies of notes with the various clues so they all have them.
I can't speak to your specific setting, but I've been a player/co-DM in many games with a lot of players.
My first suggestion may not apply, since you're working with kids, but if possible, designate a co-DM. That is, someone who can look up rules, or spells, or anything that will keep you from having to stop and do it yourself. This person needn't have inside information about the adventure, they just allow you to keep things rolling when there's a question about something.
Our DM made sure that our group of 8-9 players knows going in that there is a no repeat rule. If you miss something because of cross-talk or not paying attention, you miss it. Too bad. This also helps to keep things rolling. The only exception is maybe in combat, if someone is unclear about where things are (we use theater if the mind instead of battle maps).
I like your idea of individual clues for players. I think it would be neat to see how they RP sharing that information. As long as everyone knows what's expected and stays on task, the game shouldn't come to any grinding halts or have too many setbacks.
Split the party in half...no really do it. Then you give one half a set of clues and the other half a different set of clues. Some could over lap, some could contradict. this would allow you to run one side while the other side tries to figure out what they are doing. if needed, bring in a co-DM.
story lines; Serial killer on the loose: Different signature so are you dealing with one killer...or two? What were the motives? maybe they were hired? brother-sister that do it different but almost the same (thus the contradictions) ?
Shape shifter: the clues are different because it keeps changing, maybe toss in a cow or a sheep to make it confusing. <edit, i meant dead cow or sheep, but how confusing would it be if the killer was a 400 lb bovine for one of the deaths?>
Town psychopath : The mayor is the killer. he is watching and getting reports so he knows how close they are and will try different tactics to confuse them.
<usually i am not in favor of PVP, but you could always make it seem as if one of the other party members is the killer, thus that group will defend their party mate while accusing the other side. I wouldn't let it drag long as you eventually want them all playing together again. i hear there is a Dragon two towns over that needs taken care of...oh he has his brothers and sisters with em too.>
having someone to help with rules is a good idea, also, be straightforward about your expectations. If you're going to run a game for that many people everyone needs to understand that your rulings are final, and to work out what their character is doing during other peoples turns.Nothing is worse than spending 10 minutes for someone to just decide to hit it with a stick.
So I volunteered to DM a D&D club at my kids school. At the last game I had a party of nine people kids 10-11. As you can imagine the chaos was impressive. It went well but it was a straightforward adventure where they helped a farming village clear out some Ankhegs.
The next destination they chose is a village featuring a murder mystery. Any tips on handling a large group in a murder mystery? One thought I had was to print ten copies of notes with the various clues so they all have them.
Welcome to School Club D&D! You are in for a world of hurt however if you plan on running a game this large routinely. Last year my weekly game was 9 players and it was oh boy! For the Adults in the room, kids do not play like YOU! They are entirely different creatures. They require more hand holding in the beginning than even the most novice adult player and can easily fall into the adolescent horror of teenage bullying if allowed. It's real Lord of the Flies stuff if you plan on running Tomb of Annihilation.
My advice is to reach out to the parents of your players and see if anyone can volunteer to DM in your Club. Failing that, see if one of the older kids has prior DND experience. In my club, 6th graders are introduced to the game, and 7th and 8th graders can apply to be DMs. If they do their homework, usually a smattering of my favorite GM tips with Matt Mercer and Playing the Game playlist from Matt Colville, I ask them some questions about how they will run their games, usually seeing if the potential DM is aware of the awesome responsibility about to settle around their shoulders: the role of providing FUN to a group of players.
If none of that can be applied, then see if the group can be split to two or more days. At PVMS, I run my club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, players and DMs are split between those days. PM me if you want more advice...
Indeed! Kids are a whole different animal!! I run a game at the local library that grew from 6 to 14 kids. I didnt have the heart to turn anyone away. It's certainly moving along but I'm constantly challenging myself to find new ways to keep all their adolescent brains focused on the game. Combat can be a real time sink as you might imagine. One large battle last summer stretched out over 5 sessions. Its tricky...
Thanks for the great advice! Always looking for more. :)
Indeed! Kids are a whole different animal!! I run a game at the local library that grew from 6 to 14 kids. I didnt have the heart to turn anyone away. It's certainly moving along but I'm constantly challenging myself to find new ways to keep all their adolescent brains focused on the game. Combat can be a real time sink as you might imagine. One large battle last summer stretched out over 5 sessions. Its tricky...
Thanks for the great advice! Always looking for more. :)
Keep up the good work. Split the days/times if you need to, and most importantly introduce a talking piece to control the talk over and yelling.
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So I volunteered to DM a D&D club at my kids school. At the last game I had a party of nine people kids 10-11. As you can imagine the chaos was impressive. It went well but it was a straightforward adventure where they helped a farming village clear out some Ankhegs.
The next destination they chose is a village featuring a murder mystery. Any tips on handling a large group in a murder mystery? One thought I had was to print ten copies of notes with the various clues so they all have them.
I can't speak to your specific setting, but I've been a player/co-DM in many games with a lot of players.
My first suggestion may not apply, since you're working with kids, but if possible, designate a co-DM. That is, someone who can look up rules, or spells, or anything that will keep you from having to stop and do it yourself. This person needn't have inside information about the adventure, they just allow you to keep things rolling when there's a question about something.
Our DM made sure that our group of 8-9 players knows going in that there is a no repeat rule. If you miss something because of cross-talk or not paying attention, you miss it. Too bad. This also helps to keep things rolling. The only exception is maybe in combat, if someone is unclear about where things are (we use theater if the mind instead of battle maps).
I like your idea of individual clues for players. I think it would be neat to see how they RP sharing that information. As long as everyone knows what's expected and stays on task, the game shouldn't come to any grinding halts or have too many setbacks.
Good luck!
Split the party in half...no really do it. Then you give one half a set of clues and the other half a different set of clues. Some could over lap, some could contradict. this would allow you to run one side while the other side tries to figure out what they are doing. if needed, bring in a co-DM.
story lines;
Serial killer on the loose: Different signature so are you dealing with one killer...or two? What were the motives? maybe they were hired? brother-sister that do it different but almost the same (thus the contradictions) ?
Shape shifter: the clues are different because it keeps changing, maybe toss in a cow or a sheep to make it confusing. <edit, i meant dead cow or sheep, but how confusing would it be if the killer was a 400 lb bovine for one of the deaths?>
Town psychopath : The mayor is the killer. he is watching and getting reports so he knows how close they are and will try different tactics to confuse them.
<usually i am not in favor of PVP, but you could always make it seem as if one of the other party members is the killer, thus that group will defend their party mate while accusing the other side. I wouldn't let it drag long as you eventually want them all playing together again. i hear there is a Dragon two towns over that needs taken care of...oh he has his brothers and sisters with em too.>
I just want to tell everyone "happy gaming" and actually mean it. Whatever your game is, just have fun with it, it is after all, just a game.
having someone to help with rules is a good idea, also, be straightforward about your expectations. If you're going to run a game for that many people everyone needs to understand that your rulings are final, and to work out what their character is doing during other peoples turns.Nothing is worse than spending 10 minutes for someone to just decide to hit it with a stick.
Not good with murder mysterys, sorry.
Welcome to School Club D&D! You are in for a world of hurt however if you plan on running a game this large routinely. Last year my weekly game was 9 players and it was oh boy! For the Adults in the room, kids do not play like YOU! They are entirely different creatures. They require more hand holding in the beginning than even the most novice adult player and can easily fall into the adolescent horror of teenage bullying if allowed. It's real Lord of the Flies stuff if you plan on running Tomb of Annihilation.
My advice is to reach out to the parents of your players and see if anyone can volunteer to DM in your Club. Failing that, see if one of the older kids has prior DND experience. In my club, 6th graders are introduced to the game, and 7th and 8th graders can apply to be DMs. If they do their homework, usually a smattering of my favorite GM tips with Matt Mercer and Playing the Game playlist from Matt Colville, I ask them some questions about how they will run their games, usually seeing if the potential DM is aware of the awesome responsibility about to settle around their shoulders: the role of providing FUN to a group of players.
If none of that can be applied, then see if the group can be split to two or more days. At PVMS, I run my club on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, players and DMs are split between those days. PM me if you want more advice...
Indeed! Kids are a whole different animal!! I run a game at the local library that grew from 6 to 14 kids. I didnt have the heart to turn anyone away. It's certainly moving along but I'm constantly challenging myself to find new ways to keep all their adolescent brains focused on the game. Combat can be a real time sink as you might imagine. One large battle last summer stretched out over 5 sessions. Its tricky...
Thanks for the great advice! Always looking for more. :)
Keep up the good work. Split the days/times if you need to, and most importantly introduce a talking piece to control the talk over and yelling.