Elder Players' - Interlude Twenty
(from Mark) Fellow Players, I loved Mike's game the other night. I actually got to play about 1/5th
of the time, as opposed to 1/10th of the time. In case you hadn't noticed, our group is now made up of 10 people
who make it to almost all the games. So the other night was a rare joy, with only 6 people present...one DM and
5 players.
I wanted to bring up this topic to get people thinking, and to perhaps start a discussion of the situation. I
think the crushing number of players we have causes the following problems:
1. Players don't get enough play-time at the game.
2. Players get bored.
3. Players tend to not have fun, or feel cheated, or feel anger.
4. Players start combat just to have something to do.
5. Role-Playing with NPCs or between characters is almost impossible.
6. DMs get burned out.
7. Interludes are too much work for a DM, if even half of the 10 players participate.
8. Individual character story-lines are neglected, or just don't exist at all.
Well, I think I could go on all day. I think that we have too many players. I think it goes without saying that
we NOT ALLOW ANY MORE PLAYERS TO JOIN OUR GROUP. Beyond that, I am not sure what else to do....
Do you split the group up? Do you push people out? Do you draw straws? Do you hope for poor attendance like
the other night? I have spoken with a few players about this matter, and no one has come up with an idea that
any of us feel good about.
To wrap this up...If you have any ideas how to address this issue, please e-mail your idea for all to hear. If
you are not enjoying the group or the game, and have been looking for a graceful way to bow out...now is the time!
If you have a great idea for a campaign, or a series of adventures, and you want to recruit some players to run
away with you to begin a new group...now is the time begin recruiting!
At this point I (personally) am ready for any answer that reduces the size of the playing group to a managable
size. This is of course only one man's opinion, but I know more than one or two of you agrees with me.
WRITE BACK WITH COMMENTS....Mark L. Stinson
Feel Free to Contact me at VoidPulp@aol.com