in my next Session on Saturday, i have to split my Group because two of them stayed in the City and the other shipped away. Now i have to merge them together without a boring timeskipp, where there just met each other.
I dont have a problem to manage "two Groups" thats quite easy for me. BUT I dont know how to employ the Group that i dont Manage. I Split them physically, that means they are in splittet in two Rooms to play. And in the TIme i manage one Group and lead them on to met the other, i dont know what to do with the other. I dont want to let them sit there and just... hanging arround and let them bore until i come back.
My only idea was to give them some Puzzles or something. Something where they have to figure out a solution.
Do you guys have other ideas oder shareable experience for me? Ples tell me.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Greetings,
Nils
PS: Pls dont spam "Yeah i have that problem, too!" or something like that. That dont helps anyone and is just annoying.
In my groups we've usually defaulted to just having in-character chats to get to know each other, or taking the time to discuss plans and strategies for what we've planned to do. And if you have to split your attention because of the players deciding to split up, then you can't be expected to be the only one to keep them all entertained while you have to focus on the other half of the group.
This might not work for everyone, but I (as DM) have deliberately split a group in half. However, I had 6 players (all really young, like 7-14), and knew they would get antsy waiting 15+ min between turns for the whole game. The split enhanced the fun for the players, and reduced my own cognitive load.
I worked with the younger 3 first, getting them into the boss area via one route, while the older 3 played video games. I took a 5-10 minute brain break, then took the older 3 to get to the final area (via a different route), and sent the younger 3 off to play together. One more 5 min DM break, and then we then had a final big battle. Total game time was about 3 hours, which was all they were up for.
The kids actually liked that format, and I would totally do it again. It gave me a chance to work closely with players, there was less waiting for turns on their end, and they seemed to make more creative decisions in a smaller group (especially the less experienced ones).
Again, this only works if each half of the party is content to entertain themselves while you work with the others. If they decide to split up, you are not responsible to keep them entertained.
If you only have 3 players, there's no point in splitting them up on completely separate missions. I also wouldn't run an adventure for a single player while the rest of the group sat and waited. It's okay to say, "That's just not going to work for running the game."
One more thing: this video (super long, but the part starts at around 45-60 min mark) shows how one might handle a "mini split." Basically, the characters are doing the same mission (trying to steal something from a mage). Two characters are creating a distraction out front, and one is sneaking around the back to try and swipe the papers. The DM cuts back and forth every few minutes, and it works out really well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mwvs_0gd6s&t=78s
Hello Everyone,
in my next Session on Saturday, i have to split my Group because two of them stayed in the City and the other shipped away. Now i have to merge them together without a boring timeskipp, where there just met each other.
I dont have a problem to manage "two Groups" thats quite easy for me. BUT I dont know how to employ the Group that i dont Manage. I Split them physically, that means they are in splittet in two Rooms to play. And in the TIme i manage one Group and lead them on to met the other, i dont know what to do with the other. I dont want to let them sit there and just... hanging arround and let them bore until i come back.
My only idea was to give them some Puzzles or something. Something where they have to figure out a solution.
Do you guys have other ideas oder shareable experience for me? Ples tell me.
Thank you and have a nice day!
Greetings,
Nils
PS: Pls dont spam "Yeah i have that problem, too!" or something like that. That dont helps anyone and is just annoying.
In my groups we've usually defaulted to just having in-character chats to get to know each other, or taking the time to discuss plans and strategies for what we've planned to do. And if you have to split your attention because of the players deciding to split up, then you can't be expected to be the only one to keep them all entertained while you have to focus on the other half of the group.
I am one with the Force. The Force is with me.
Hey DM Colleagues,
thank you for your respond. Honestly its was an inspiration for some ideas that will fit with my Group.
I wish you much fun with your next Sessions and hopefully nice Players that take notes ^^
In Love
Dungeon Maid Nils
This might not work for everyone, but I (as DM) have deliberately split a group in half. However, I had 6 players (all really young, like 7-14), and knew they would get antsy waiting 15+ min between turns for the whole game. The split enhanced the fun for the players, and reduced my own cognitive load.
I worked with the younger 3 first, getting them into the boss area via one route, while the older 3 played video games. I took a 5-10 minute brain break, then took the older 3 to get to the final area (via a different route), and sent the younger 3 off to play together. One more 5 min DM break, and then we then had a final big battle. Total game time was about 3 hours, which was all they were up for.
The kids actually liked that format, and I would totally do it again. It gave me a chance to work closely with players, there was less waiting for turns on their end, and they seemed to make more creative decisions in a smaller group (especially the less experienced ones).
Again, this only works if each half of the party is content to entertain themselves while you work with the others. If they decide to split up, you are not responsible to keep them entertained.
If you only have 3 players, there's no point in splitting them up on completely separate missions. I also wouldn't run an adventure for a single player while the rest of the group sat and waited. It's okay to say, "That's just not going to work for running the game."
One more thing: this video (super long, but the part starts at around 45-60 min mark) shows how one might handle a "mini split." Basically, the characters are doing the same mission (trying to steal something from a mage). Two characters are creating a distraction out front, and one is sneaking around the back to try and swipe the papers. The DM cuts back and forth every few minutes, and it works out really well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mwvs_0gd6s&t=78s