So I just started a new campaign on Roll20 with some friends I had met at uni. Now the group was rather large with 8 people showing up. Though I felt like I had prepared quite a bit for the session, I was having trouble getting the game to move forward. Had one group of people sharing a computer, and I constantly kept forgetting that certain players were there as I couldn't see their faces, which resulted in some players not getting nearly enough screentime.
Does anyone have any tricks to run large groups? I know many will say that I shouldn't and I should break the group up into two groups, but I don't think that's an option at this point. Any other advice on the matter?
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When I first started running large groups one of the things I did was, in my own campaign prep, put in specific elements I knew would cater to certain players. Work in their own story threads, items I knew they would like, things like that. If the fighter playing an ex-mercenary type didn't get any screen time last session, then I have an NPC this session be a mercenary who used to work in one of the same mercenary bands as said fighter - naturally prompting him to step up and show his face.
I strongly suggest running through skype. Roll20 is a big pain without voice, and skype helps out a lot with that. Having a group of people running off the same computer however is a huge problem as it does limit that. I found voice chat to be a big benefit, though with a group of 9 people in call, invariably a small handful will start to steal most of the attention while the less vocal types stay back. In this case, its your job as the GM to listen for people being talked over and call attention back to them. "Shush, Rob was trying to say something, we'll get to you in just a moment. What was that Rob?" Then let Rob say his bit and go "Okay, sorry for interrupting, now go ahead." If somebody starts going quiet, specifically call on them. As time goes on you'll learn to recognize them by voice (took me ages - I'm horrible with voice / face / name recognition) and that'll help out.
For campaign balance, don't up the power of enemies you are fighting. If you have a group of 8 level 3s, their average party level is actually 5, which means they should be able to handle CR8-9 boss fights. However, if you throw them against a CR6, they'll destroy it with action economy. The way I handled it was to make encounters with MORE monsters, not more powerful ones. It also helps to give monsters max HP instead of average, lets them soak a bit more damage instead of being blown up in round 1. I also suggest having your encounters utilize tactics. Barriers that provide cover, the cleric buffing them, using potions to prebuff, tactical spells from enemies, mixed groups, whatever it takes. Remember - your NPCs shouldn't be stupid, and with a group of 8 players, they REALLY shouldn't be stupid. Assume your enemies want to live as well.
Oh, a suggestion for mapping? You know how normally you make the default hallway 5-10 feet? Yeah. Avoid that. Default hallways should be 15 feet wide if you can make it make sense, a 5 foot wide hallway ends up with a 50 foot line of players, animal companions and hirelings, which means the back half gets to sit on their thumbs for the full fight.
Set a timer for yourself as well. Just use a website and set for 30 minutes to buzz in your ear. Every 30 minutes, take a second to think "Okay, who hasn't gotten any action?". When I first started GMing a larger group I had a list I checked on every 30 minutes. Who hasn't seen any action? Have I handed out xp and loot recently?
Force players to use macros. Seriously. This speeds up roll20 so much. Here are a few of my favorites:
Initiative: [[d20+1.01+?{Modifier|0} &{tracker}]]
Instead of 1.01 put whatever your initiative is. The .01 element is to help differentiate between people who roll the same (So if Jack has a +2 to initiative and rolls an 18 he gets a 20.02, if John has a +5 and rolls a 15, he gets 20.05, we know John goes first and it sorts that way). For GM usage, just remove the "+1.01" element and use the popup box. If you click on your token before hitting the macro, it will automatically enter it into the initiative tracker.
For GM usage:
[[d20+?{Bonus|0}]]
This one literally just rolls a d20 and has a popup box to ask for the modifier.
The double square brackets will make a more compact roll, which is really great. When you make NPCs, just learn to make their attack roll macros while you go - most of the time it's a simple
Scimitar 1 A:[[d20+10]] D:[[d8+4]]
Scimitar 2 A:[[d20+10]] D:[[d8+4]]
Scimitar 3 A:[[d20+5]] D:[[d8+4]]
That way when it's time to roll for enemies, you copy and past the macro from your notes into the text box and you're good to go. All 3 attack rolls done and over with.
Anyway, good luck! Great love for roll20, helps make gaming possible for those of us who live in the middle of nowhere.
Wow, thanks so much. We use Google Hangout with Roll20 so we do get some face action. I'm not too familiar with some of the macros on the site or how to set those up, but I think that they will help a huge load.