Advice for starting a game

[kputnam]

So in at least one of the games I play in, we have too many people. By "too many" I mean that our last game had something in the area of 8 or 9 players. That number may go down to 7 or 8 in the future, which is still, imho, too many. So I have two basic concerns.

1) Should I offer to run a second game in the same time slot? The game runs at my local gaming store, so people can keep coming to the same place. I do enjoy playing in that particular game, but I am enjoying less due to overpopulation. I also wouldn't mind running something, as I haven't had the chance to in some time. That game should be running this Saturday, so I suppose I can see how crowded it is then.

2) If I run a game, I'll probably make up my own campaign. It may be set in Golarion, or not. I would like to run an urban adventure, where a significant portion of the action would take place in a small city, although I haven't really though out a long-term campaign. So my second concern is how to plan out an urban campaign setting (how detailed should the city be, etc), and thoughts on ideas for a general campaign theme (note--I am not running a horror game. If I wanted to do that, I'd be posting on a Call of Cthulhu message board).

[Captain Xenon]

i find that 5 or 6 players is best, but the CR system is built for 4 players. make sure to calculate your APL properly. with 9 players you technically could run two games, but be sure to talk to them about the idea before you plan too much.

there are a lot of great city books for the golarion setting, with books for three major cities in Varsia, the great city of Absalom, several other books that detail other cities, and a new cities book due out soonish. the magnimar book could be a good one, as its also near sandpoint and a lot of goblin tribes.

for an urban game, the first thing you really need is a quick set of NPCs to use- city guard, shopkeepers, random townspeople, and some thugs for the bad part of town. second thing you need is an urban bestiary- even if its just ally cats, rats, and angry pigeons, some players will try to fight them.

there is always a lot to do in cities, and the most common enemy will be other humans(often with npc levels). theme-wise, you could have them play detective with a recurring villain group, or deal in political intrigue, or solve various problems like dire rats in the cellar or an old tomb accidently opened by new construction. or even just running errands for a local wizard. some cities have their own mega-dungeons under them as well.

running your own adventures, i find its best to plan a couple of levels worth of encounters ahead, with a few extra side-encouters and wandering monsters prepared in case the players decide to throw you a curveball.

[Pan]

The 3.5 DMG II has a fully fleshed out city Saltmarsh. It includes NPCs and plots and all kinds of good stuff to mine. I'd suggest looking at that. Another road may lead you to Eberron's Stormreach once again an excellent source for mining for an urban game. On the Paizo front there is a book on Absolom and probably Korvosa and other cities that should be able to help you come up with something to run.

Does sound like you guys are overpopulated. My ideal group size is 5 players. If somebody cant make it then you can still play. I'd talk with the group at your next game and see how everyone feels. You could split the group into two barely sizable to run groups. You may also annoy the current GM. Use tact and let everyone weigh in.