Got a question for you guys.

Do you think it's possible to have a good role play with 16 people?
If the role play revolves around say, two battle companies of 8 and 8 in the same army?

Starting up a role play right now which I have put a lot of thought in, and want to make sure it doesn't fall apart. Quiet a few people are interested though. If everyone does pull through I would be seeing perhaps that amount of players.

Advice?

If the GM can handle it, then it is possible. It helps that you're keeping them in groups of eight, but if everyone comes together then things could get quite messy. The more people you have, the harder it will be to keep things organized. But on the bright side, you also have more minds together. It really depends on what you (as a GM) can handle. Some can handle several scenes with several characters while others prefer smaller groups. Larger groups have their pros and cons and the same goes for groups with only four or five members.

If things get too confusing, you could always look for a Co-GM or two. It's definitely doable, it'd just require more work and planning.

It's absolutely possible. More players just means a higher potential volume of posts to read through and a likely higher amount of people requesting things of you as the GM. As long as you have the free time to spare for the reading and doing GM stuff, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Honestly I think the thing that'll be hardest about doing a 16 person RP is actually getting 16 interested people to join.

However, if you're not feeling 100% confident of your ability to do so, the easiest way to simplify things for yourself while maintaining the high player number would be to get a co-GM. You could focus on GMing one group of 8, and the co-GM could focus on the other. Or you could get two co-GMs, one to co-GM for each side while you do the overall GMing stuff. Either way, that'd make it less crazy for you to manage and thus increase the chances of it running successfully.

It's definitely do-able, it just requires some experience and fore-thought in order to run it right. I would not suggest your first GM experience to be that size for example... At least at the start, let it slowly grow to that size. If you already have GM experience though than go for it if you think you have the time for it. But getting Co-GM's would definitely aid a lot in keeping things organized, flowing better and helping the RP on track during the moments life might hit you hard.

Bridgeburner said
Got a question for you guys.

Do you think it's possible to have a good role play with 16 people?
If the role play revolves around say, two battle companies of 8 and 8 in the same army?

Starting up a role play right now which I have put a lot of thought in, and want to make sure it doesn't fall apart. Quiet a few people are interested though. If everyone does pull through I would be seeing perhaps that amount of players.

Advice?

If you're truly dedicated you can do some pretty crazy things. For example, managing 11 players individually (akin to doing 11 1x1's at the same time, but keeping it coherent and related to each other). I would advise against it, but ultimately you can pull anything off. Go in with a clear plan in your head and don't let up; as soon as you give into laziness in these sorts of situations it can easily become a downward spiral. This is the difficult part considering you're already juggling a big responsibility, so further maintaining it grows even more tiring. Because of this, you honestly need to think over what you really want to do.

If you have doubts, limit the player count. Otherwise do whatever you think you can reasonably accomplish. Recall past GM'ing experiences (if you've ever had any) to get a gauge.

Thanks guys, I think you're right.

Although I'm always kind of reluctant to get a co-GM, because our opinion of what the tone of the RP should be can be quiet different.

But then again, it might be more fun that way, with a co-GM taking another direction every there and now, and being able to adapt the plot and story to that.

Jorick said
It's absolutely possible. More players just means a higher potential volume of posts to read through and a likely higher amount of people requesting things of you as the GM. As long as you have the free time to spare for the reading and doing GM stuff, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Honestly I think the thing that'll be hardest about doing a 16 person RP is actually getting 16 interested people to join.However, if you're not feeling 100% confident of your ability to do so, the easiest way to simplify things for yourself while maintaining the high player number would be to get a co-GM. You could focus on GMing one group of 8, and the co-GM could focus on the other. Or you could get two co-GMs, one to co-GM for each side while you do the overall GMing stuff. Either way, that'd make it less crazy for you to manage and thus increase the chances of it running successfully.

Legend of Renalta 2...

If you can handle it, great! If not, great! Just remember first and foremost that more players means you'll need more things for them to do organized in a coherent manner that works for their general skill sets, and if necessary, a system designed to handle the motions of several players at once.

If you're not sure if you can handle it, just start at 8 and gradually add 2 more over time until you hit your comfortable limit. Me, personally? Never more than 20. I'd go insane with more than that and for some of my role plays I set it lower than that.

Brovo said
Me, personally? Never more than 20. I'd go insane with more than that and for some of my role plays I set it lower than that.

Brovo said
Legend of Renalta 2...

Brovo said
Status: 21/15 player slots, 26/20 character slots.

Anyway, I was giving advice for someone who's clearly not experienced in gathering and managing large groups of players. You've got that experience, so you being able to comfortable run a large group roleplay is not at all surprising.

Jorick said
Anyway, I was giving advice for someone who's clearly not experienced in gathering and managing large groups of players. You've got that experience, so you being able to comfortable run a large group roleplay is not at all surprising.

Oh I know.

Protip: Divide the large group into smaller subgroups. Everyone being in the same place is a clusterfuck waiting to happen.