Jump to content

What's the perfect number for your party of PCs?


Shadow7

Recommended Posts

Often when I read a purchased adventure it will state this is best used with 4 - 6 PCs.  So I began to think what is the perfect number for a PC party?  I am currently running a campaign with 4 PCs.  The number is very good to manage, and even if we were to add another member or two, I think we would be ok.  What's the number that has worked for you?  Has anyone tried more, like 8 to 10 PCs?  Has anyone tried fewer like two or even gone solo with one PC in a Champions campaign? I know it can be done in Dark Champions! Just curious to hear what the perfect number is for your PC party.  Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like others, I find 5-6 players to be the best number.  I currently run 7 players, and IMO that is too many.  It seems someone is always paying attention to something other than the game.  As Netzilla says, not enough screen time with too many players.

 

I've run individual adventures for 1 player, but haven't done that for a whole campaign for decades. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5-6 is about perfect for me too. 3-4 is fine, but the inter-party dynamics really open up when you add that 5th player. I'll run one-shots for 7 players, and have even done 8, but anything more than that is too much for me.

 

OTOH some of the most fun games I've ever played & run were one-on-one games with just my best friend & me back in the day.

 

Both my current games are 5 players and 1 GM cuz that's how much space there is around the table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like an odd number so if there is a difference of opinion on something, you can vote and not tie.

 

I've run games with as few as 3 players and as many as 15. My preference is 5 or 7, so we have a good cross section of archetype mixes, i.e. bricks, mages, martial artists, speedsters, etc. without combats taing entire game sessions..of course that happens anyway...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a long time we had a floating NPC character that was in a lot of our games, whatever the genre: Bacis Tira.  He was a very generic character for whatever the game setting was and had a pretty basic set of disads that made him easy to play for anyone who'd drop by or wanted to try out the game.  It worked really well.  Bacis was a drifter, he could show up at any time, but the next day he was gone.  He was not critical to the game but fit in well.  It always worked well for him to show up almost anywhere at any time because that's just what he was like.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a long time we had a floating NPC character that was in a lot of our games, whatever the genre: Bacis Tira.  He was a very generic character for whatever the game setting was and had a pretty basic set of disads that made him easy to play for anyone who'd drop by or wanted to try out the game.  It worked really well.  Bacis was a drifter, he could show up at any time, but the next day he was gone.  He was not critical to the game but fit in well.  It always worked well for him to show up almost anywhere at any time because that's just what he was like.

So not the champion eternal, but the sidekick eternal.

 

Actually, an interesting concept. I witness to the mutliverse of history...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have both played in and run solo campaigns in the past and they can be a lot of fun. You get to go into a lot more depth regarding the hero, his motivations, and his history in a solo campaign than you could even try to do in a group campaign, simply because you don't have to juggle keeping so many players involved and satisfied.

 

For group play I've found four to be an optimum number for the HERO System, with seven as a maximum. With other games that can be different. For Behind Enemy Lines for example, I could handle as many as a dozen players. When running FASA's Star Trek, I found six to be best as long as each player had two characters (something I usually didn't allow). Let's be honest what are the navigator and helmsman supposed to do planetside? 

 

Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back just after high school I was running a World of Darkness game which would occasionally have up to 12 players show up.  It worked out, amazingly, because I compartmentalised the group - it was more like three groups of four running amok through the mean streets of Miami.  I would switch 'groups' every 10 to 15 minutes and switch character focus if they were doing their own thing (like one of the groups casing a bank - each in different spots) every three or four minutes.

 

I used an egg timer and everyone, whether it was there 'turn' or not, was interested in whatever the other groups were doing.  Or they'd talk about computer games quietly amongst themselves if they weren't.  Or RP amongst their 'group' - I even let them roll dice against each other without my intervention, if they wanted (the werewolves liked to beat each other senseless with non-aggravated damage 'playfighting') but not the 'world' (so no "I stole a car and crashed it through the building's window while I was waiting.")

 

If someone appeared to be getting bored I instantly 'spotlighted' them for a few minutes to keep them engaged until it came to their proper turn (bored, not whiny).

 

Four to six is optimal but its harder to come by these days among my friends, so three is a more common number.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...