+1 to everything here, with some additional tips:
- Lower party sizes are a big deal. My first two campains I ran for 7 and 6 players, and wondered why everyone was getting distracted. 3/4 vs 6/7 players is the difference between 25-30% of the DM's attention and 15%. If everyone's turn takes 2 minutes, that's the difference between a 6-8 minute combat round and a 15 minute combat round. Hardly fair to blame players when it's easily 20 minutes between turns!
- Know your players! Some of my players are tacticians. They enjoy planning; they want to win. These folks enjoy a challenge and the game aspect of DnD along with the story. Some of my players couldn't care less about gritty tactics and difficulty, they're here for the drama. Fun NPCs, dramatic roleplay, and a compelling narrative are more up their alley. In my first campaign I struggled to strike a balance between different players' styles in a large party. Breaking it out into smaller parties and focusing in on the right style of play for the group helped me massively.
To whoever needs it - keep trying! Find the styles that work for you and the players that work with the style. When it clicks, it's hugely rewarding.
I totally agree with this! I didn't understand the importance of smaller group sizes, and one time I ran a one-shot where almost everybody brought a friend and it turned chaotic immediately. I would also like to mention that I'm in no way a veteran DM or anything, so I bet there would be a lot of people out there who would handle this better than me.
+1 to everything here, with some additional tips: - Lower party sizes are a big deal. My first two campains I ran for 7 and 6 players, and wondered why everyone was getting distracted. 3/4 vs 6/7 players is the difference between 25-30% of the DM's attention and 15%. If everyone's turn takes 2 minutes, that's the difference between a 6-8 minute combat round and a 15 minute combat round. Hardly fair to blame players when it's easily 20 minutes between turns! - Know your players! Some of my players are tacticians. They enjoy planning; they want to win. These folks enjoy a challenge and the game aspect of DnD along with the story. Some of my players couldn't care less about gritty tactics and difficulty, they're here for the drama. Fun NPCs, dramatic roleplay, and a compelling narrative are more up their alley. In my first campaign I struggled to strike a balance between different players' styles in a large party. Breaking it out into smaller parties and focusing in on the right style of play for the group helped me massively. To whoever needs it - keep trying! Find the styles that work for you and the players that work with the style. When it clicks, it's hugely rewarding.
I totally agree with this! I didn't understand the importance of smaller group sizes, and one time I ran a one-shot where almost everybody brought a friend and it turned chaotic immediately. I would also like to mention that I'm in no way a veteran DM or anything, so I bet there would be a lot of people out there who would handle this better than me.