But what if there are too many players...?

[resident_of_arkham]

I have often been plagued with the problem of playing a scenario with too few investigators, but what if there are too many players? Like up to eight? Will that mess a game up...especially a simple game like "The Haunting?"

[ThothAmon]

Nope, it won't mess things up. I've run a regular campaign for many years with 8 or more players. It just gives you more people to play with.

[resident_of_arkham]

Thank you for putting my mind at rest. How long does it usually take to set up a character for each of these players? None of them have actually played a role-playing game before.

[Roucheau]

Too many players is never an issue for Call of Cthulhu, as Keeper you just have a Hound of Tindalos pop in, or an adult Cthonian and the problem is solved. I kidding, I'm kidding, but given most gamer's reluctance to even try their hand at combating the Mythos, I've never had a problem with too many players. My problem has always be not enough.

[Anaxphone]

How long does it usually take to set up a character for each of these players? None of them have actually played a role-playing game before.

Honestly, it depends a lot on the experience level of the Keeper and just what sort of style you want to run. I am not trying to brag, but I can whip up a character for a newbie in ten minutes nowadays.

If it's a silly, campy version (Blood Brothers) or two-fisted pulp action (Masks), characters will be quicker to create than one attempting bona-fide psychological horror and deep personal horror (probably something with the Big H or Y'Golonac). With newbies, I'd recommend going for a more "pulpy" feeling, but your milage will vary.

Of course, one of my standard responses to large groups is to set up a few competing factions within the party, but that can be risky to manage well.

Anaxphone

[Bokrug]

Too many players is never an issue for Call of Cthulhu, as Keeper you just have a Hound of Tindalos pop in, or an adult Cthonian and the problem is solved. I kidding, I'm kidding, but given most gamer's reluctance to even try their hand at combating the Mythos, I've never had a problem with too many players. My problem has always be not enough.

Ditto. And Ditto

More players means more heads to mess with, and if you have to take some of them aside, just have the rest interact with each other in character for a while...

I would love to have the problem of too many players. Most of my gaming friends would rather be slaying dragons than running from otherworldly horrors.

As for character creation, it usually takes me about half an hour (multiple players done at the same time). Since they are newbies count on an hour or more for the lot.

[resident_of_arkham]

Thanks a lot for the info, folks! My fears have been put to rest now!

[AcesandEights]

The great thing about having lots of players is that one or more of your players is bound to make life difficult for the group, whether by design or mistake. Plus, as mentioned above, having investigator's at cross purposes or following their own agendas is great as well, though often counter-productive to the group it makes for great plot.

[Jannes]

on the other hand, I feel it's kind of hard to set the mood if there's too many players. My optimium group is 4, possibly 5. any more than that and it slows the game down (if everyone is not experienced and highly efficient) and, in worst case, gives those supposedly creepy investigatoins of the old ruins in the woods a 'field trip'-feel that kind of ruins it... I guess it's a matter of taste.

[Crumble]

I'd have to second Jannes, in my experience GMing Call of Cthulhu the best party size is four maybe five if they're really mature and willing to cooperate. Otherwise individual players won't get in enough play time and possible get bored and either do something stupid or distract the rest of the party with side conversations.

[Roucheau]

Large groups can be fun in that the more characters, the greater the chances that someone will fail their Hide/Sneak and then the mayhem can begin.

However, I concur...five is the optimal number of players for almost any genre or system.

[Laraqua]

But how does anyone find the time to deal with so many players? I've only got five and yet I find that frequently one or more fall by the way-side as the party splits, re-joins, splits again, with some investigating, some fighting, some rushing about talking to people... I may not be the best Keeper but I'm surely not the worst. How does anyone make sure that nobody feels left out?

[moonbeast]

IMHO, 4 or 5 is an optimal number for most adventuring groups. It's not too large that it's unmanageable. At the same time, 4-5 PCs is "big enough" that if one of them succumbs to death/insanity/crippled-out-of-the-scenario, the remaining adventurers still have a decent chance to complete their task.

I have GMed games with as many as 6 or 7 players (not just characters, but ACTUAL players) simultaneously. By experience, I can tell you that this has the potential to be very messy. That many players can get very rowdy and noisy, and the GM will have a hard time 'controlling' the ape-like mob behaviour of these players.

Statistically, for example, if you have 7 players, maybe 2 or 3 of them will be "serious" about the adventure and the task at hand. These ones are the "star performers" of the group and they will tend to grab the GMs attention a lot. Another 2 will feel sidelined and spend half of the game session twiddling their thumbs and WAITING for their clue to "be useful". And the remaining 1 or 2 will probably be totally distracted telling jokes about Britney Spears, or making stupid OOC (out of character) jokes about the latest news such as the Iraq War etc etc. These remaining troublemakers will also be doing distracting things such as TURNING ON THE TELEVISION during the game session, which then completely ruins the atmosphere of the game. They will also be shouting immature things like "Where the hell are the Cheetos! Goddamit! We ran out of Cheetos! How the hell can you expect us to continue playing Call of Cthulhu when we are out of Cheetos?! Cheetos are the nectar of the Great Old Ones. We must have Cheetos!" The sad sad thing is that I am describing adult gamers who are in their late 20s to 30s. Many gamers are adult-aged, but so many are immature or easily distracted from the actual game.

Lesson learned: I would much rather kick out half of these players from my campaign, and simply keep the "serious" 3 or 4 role-players who are serious about playing the game and serious about role-playing.

[David_Hallett]

I currently have six players, fortunately much less the ape-like mob, and far more focussed on the game, maybe because we devote an entire day (or a weekend) to it once a month.

The biggest problem so far is that in these early stages of the campaign when the PCs are not under threat most of the time, they sometimes split up rather a lot, not quite six ways, but certainly three or four. This can make coordination, and knowing who to deal with when, a bit tricky. But it seems to be OK so far.

However, the last time two of them went off on their own, they actually walked into a very dangerous situation, so I may see less of that in future.

[MikeC]

I once ran a 15 person CoC game. The scenario was the Devil's Canyon
from SHADOWS OF YOG SOTHOTH, and given the setting it worked out
pretty well: I had groups of people doing things simultaneously and was
able to easily jump between them until they had to view the big clue
(the special piece of film). Apparently I did such a good job that one of
the players afterward told me they were all convinced that I'd pull out
a projector and start an actual piece of film.

Ah, to be young and not know any better again.......

Of course, this was in a very dark basement with only one light for me
to read my notes, so that helped immensely. I never forgave my mom
for later paintng it white.

I would concurr that the optimum number of PC's for a CoC game is
between 3 and 5. I actually find that I prefer a smaller number of PC's
for an ongoing campaign, since that allows me to better tailor the
scenarios to their weaknesses and desires. A good trick, though, that
I adopted is the practice of having 'special guest stars': PC's who
stuck around for only a session or two, or having guests pick up playing
a significant NPC. It allows for a little variety of performance without
disturbing the central cast of players, and since I tend to shy away from
physically killing main PC's (though I'll send 'em to Riverview with but
a bat of an eyelash), I feel a little better killing off such characters,
especially since usually the player involved realizes that their character
is more on the chopping block.

MikeC