Hi there, I'm looking for tips for GMing a large group and if it functions differently from smaller groups, what's important, what to look out for, ect.

I was delighted to find one of my rps taking root after i expected only a little interest (4-6) so I'd love to learn a little more before the IC goes up about what's good practice.

@Mae A large group can be tricky, especially after about the first 20-30 posts when the stories are starting to take root and develop.

1) Plan out in advance as much as you can
2) World Narratives can help a lot because not all characters will be around each other all the time. These help you break up how much information you are having to dump at once
3) Try to make each rpers experience unique. With large groups it is easy for one or two rpers to get left in the dark, find ways to make sure each character in the rp has something to do
4) Walk the balance between speed and slow posters. The larger the group the more diverse the posters will be. Make sure to have a minimal posts between last rule but also a must post by this day. It helps tremendously with keeping the posting momentum going without getting over whelming.
5) Chat room, private for your rpers. It's better than pm's much of the time for the exchange between many rpers during a short period of time.
6) Utilize colabs for small talk exchanges but don't let your rpers drag it out either.
7) Keep notes in a pm to yourself!

There are more of course but these are just right off the top of my head.

@Lady Amalthea thankyou so much! that's just what I needed. Do you have a reccomendation for a chatroom service or should i use the discord server?

@Mae Every server and chat is going to have its own issues. Some time out more than others, some people cannot access on certain phones, and so forth. Having said that, I use Chatzy.com - Just because I can personally use it on my laptop, my kindle, and my 5 year old phone, lol So I know it covers a wide range. It times people out and such and glitches from time to time, like I said they all have their draw backs but I like it since it is pretty easy to access and there is no download needed.

@Lady Amalthea wonderful! I've set up a Chatzy room and it doesn't seem too hard to navigate. I'll add some stuff in my ooc section about it and send PMs out after IC is all set up :3

In a large group, people will drop out. Absolutely. This is good and bad news: it's bad because obviously the more the merrier and you probably spent some time pre-IC planning stuff that isn't applicable with a different cast than you expected, but it's good because, frankly, you have less people to deal with.

You should basically allow for this. Allow no one character to be utterly indispensable (unless they can 100% be relied on, on pain of death, to stick with it) and don't cement any plots too far in advance. It's fine to pencil stuff in and make adjustments as things change, but nine times out of ten, roleplayers won't do what you expect them to, and nine times out of ten, you won't have all the players you expected by the time you hit the IC.

Chat rooms are a good way to keep many people involved, but this comes at the cost of people who don't share the most common timezone or who have as much free time - it's very easy for such people to get left behind in the frantic, excitable group natter that happens in chat rooms. These are people who're likely to feel like they have to 'catch up' and alienated. At best, it'll mean their characters are likely to be slightly disconnected from events that have been so meticulously planned. At worst, they're people who'll drop out. I would recommend trying to encourage as much OoC discussion as possible on the forum so, at the very least, there's a paper trail. Of course, if people want to work out specific things between themselves, then, by all means, chat rooms are an effective way to go, but information and discussion that involves everybody should be available to everybody.

My main horror in basically all RP's is the Mass Unguided Conversation of Doom - where a tonne of characters are in the same place and attempt to have an unstructured conversation. In my experience, just like chatrooms, this'll typically involve a load of waiting for people in awkward timezones/unsociable hours to catch up, or, more likely, their characters will be forced to be oddly silent during the proceedings that happen without them. If you have a super-good group that can all be available at the same time, then this isn't (such) a problem, but this is unlikely, so I recommend doing all you can to avoid MUCoDs. Depending on what your game is, I'd suggest trying to split your group into smaller groups and allow them to pursue linked but ultimately independent plots and then find a reason to shake it up when things start to get stale.

For me, character sheets are super valuable, and if I'm running a larger game, I like to insist on the importance of clear, easily-read sheets so that you can easily understand and compare information from them. In a game I'm running now, because the players have all submitted sheets in roughly the same format, it's very easy to get a grip on who the characters are and how they're likely to interact and knowing that information will help to steer proceedings.

Ahh... this is a topic we have experience with...

Our current project has 22 characters in the works currently, and its not even started public recruitment.

Beyond what @Jig said, you also need to be able to manage time. With a large player count, you will end up with players who are hours (or even days) ahead of the others. If you don't somehow keep track of time, people will end up tying knots on the timeline.

Also, if you've got a larger group, co-GMs are invaluable. Nobody is available all the time, all days. Sometimes RL comes in the way. Sometimes you're just tired. Sometimes you need to discuss plans with someone without having it public knowledge among the players. That is where Co-GMs come in. They can step in when you can't. They can see things from a different angle.

Co-GMs usually have strengths you do not have. Some might be better organized, others are better at dealing with people. Some might be masters are comprehending and utilizing lore, or perhaps good at laying out plots.

In our opinion and experience (there are several schools on it) a co-GM should not be kept in the dark. Its better for the secret plan of the RP to be known to all the GMs than to be solely the property of one. A GM that doesn't share plot with his (or her) co-GM(s) doesn't really want co-GMs. (s)he wants minions. Not atypically to take care of the boring, tedious parts. Not exactly fair to the individual chosen. Such burdens should be shared. That gives better dynamic and flow for the story.

Clear, easy-to-read sheets are also necessary, and don't be afraid to absorb ideas from your players on that. We've learned plenty from our players over the years.

for recruiting new players, longer RPs should also have summaries.

For the inevitable dropouts, you need a system for exiting player characters, and if death is a tool you plan to use, don't just kill all dropouts... it ruins the effect when you need it for the story.