This problem might sort of fix itself as time goes on-- a party of nine 1st level characters is splitting the 400 XP from their 1st level encounter nine ways. Yes they'll curb-stomp whatever's being thrown at them at first, but it'll take them a VERY long time to level up. Published AP's assume a certain level advancement rate, so they might be in for a challenge when they reach the end of the book facing CR 5 and CR 6 encounters at level 2. If you're writing the campaign yourself, you'll just have to plan the encounters accordingly-- a party of nine level 1's is probably an EPL of 3 or 4, so use enemies as appropriate.
Trouble is, with that many players, any combat situation is going to take three times as long to resolve.
Try harder to split the group into two parties with two DMs. Really.
Trouble is, with that many players, any combat situation is going to take three times as long to resolve.
Try harder to split the group into two parties with two DMs. Really.
Also true, and it has nothing to do with the challenge level of encounters. I've been in a party of eight, and combat takes so long that people get extremely bored between turns. So there will be problems with this party no matter what CR gets thrown at them.
|
Once you hit the 9-10 player mark, it's time to seriously look at breaking up into two groups.
Based on my experience with 7 players, I'd:
Max HP for all opponents,
Double the number of "minions" per encounter,
Add 1-2 levels to named NPCs or add the Advanced Template to named monsters,
Ditch XP and level the PCs at key story points,
Keep the PCs ~1 level behind the level recommendation,
Do not give out extra treasure (only whatever loot is added by extra minions).
Then adjust from there.
With 9-10 people, combat is going to slow down due to the shear number of players you have.
-Skeld
|
|
This problem might sort of fix itself as time goes on-- a party of nine 1st level characters is splitting the 400 XP from their 1st level encounter nine ways. Yes they'll curb-stomp whatever's being thrown at them at first, but it'll take them a VERY long time to level up. Published AP's assume a certain level advancement rate, so they might be in for a challenge when they reach the end of the book facing CR 5 and CR 6 encounters at level 2. If you're writing the campaign yourself, you'll just have to plan the encounters accordingly-- a party of nine level 1's is probably an EPL of 3 or 4, so use enemies as appropriate.
The problem with that method is that you eventually end up with high-level opponents versus low-level PCs, which is a recipe for a high-level opponent to one-shot a PC. Sure the remaining PCs will defeat the NPC through economy of action, but it's going to suck for someone during round 1, especially if the PCs don't win initiative.
-Skeld
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Best idea is to throw more enemies at them. Stronger is never a good idea unless you intend to pile up the bodies.
Stronger foes over more foes will put them at an advantage for most fights but you will come to that fight where the amped bad guy drops an area effect against his weaker opponents.
Oh look that Blasphemy has just crippled the party, the breath weapon has just crippled the party, the high DC confusion has just landed and they are beating themselves to death. The amped big bad is making a full attack against the Magus, that extra power to compensate for 9-10 characters is now being channeled on to his sorry ass.
I don't think there is a good way to do this. Some issues include: Combats taking far too long with too long of a break between the spotlight for each player. Non-combats being either a total mess of opinions or the majority of players getting edged out by a few vocal players. The terrain in APs being poorly designed to fit double the players and double the enemies (a room that fits 9 players and 9 enemies is a minimum of 15x30 with no room to move around, many indoor locations will be hell, especially if they have 5ft hallways). Encounters being hard to balance due to the capability of players to focus fire (what CR does a boss have to be to not be 1-rounded by 9 slightly-lower-CR archers?).
Since your group is unwilling to be split into two, I'm having a hard time seeing how this will work. Maybe your best bet is to try a non-AP, where you can design around the large group. You can mitigate the above issues by: making larger terrain areas or more outdoor encounters, having more complicated tactical combats that allow neither side the ability to concentrate their forces or their fire (secondary objectives like protecting spread out locations or having to actuate some kind of devices in different places), and minimizing the amount of pure RP bits to ensure players always get their prescribed go.
Is killing half your players viable? That's a harsh solution, but it might work.
With a party that big your best bet is not to bother with an AP. Just create an adventure yourself. I know it seems like a lot of work but trust me rewriting an AP is going to be just as much, if not more work.
Don't forget that a group that big will almost inevitably be getting in each other's way. Same can be said for doubling the foes, so it's sauce for both.
Years ago, at either a Dundracon or a Grimcon, we set up a very large run, 15 players.
We had one GM, and I assisted. We enforced a fire-team set-up, with 3 characters/players acting together. First fight was a mess, as expected. Second was better, and after they offed the characters of two disruptive players, everything went smoothly. I was mostly a spectator by the end.
Maybe you could have them organize as battle buddies, coordinating their actions. Warning though, when they get good at it, you, as the GM will seriously have to up your game strategy.