I had to end my most recent 4e D&D campaign because I couldn't make the players work together properly. There were 6 PCs that fell into 3 groups: 2 Min/Maxers, 2 RPers and 2 Jokers. They all wanted something different out of the game and it was impossible to make them all happy. Some of them were consistently trying to bypass mechanics and problem solve there way around everything then the more mechanically inclined players would force their hand by initiating combat. Also one of the jokers were consistently throwing shit fits when the dice didnt match what he thought would be funny. There was constant bickering.TQ: Any advice on either how to deal with this better or could you recommend a system that is better for large parties of diverse players all getting along?
>>98223220>it was impossible to make them all happy. Sadly, that's all it comes to. "Good friends" doesn't automatically translate to "good rpg group." RPGs generally work better when everyone is there to play the same game, and I don't mean the same system.
>>98223235Well unfortunately I don't have many options for players. I live in a rural northern Ontario town. They are literally the only players I can get so Ive been researching other systems that be a better fit.
>>98223282Flog them.
Sounds like you’ve got 2 Combatants, 2 Faces, and 2 Chaos Gremlins. That doesn’t seem like an unusual party comp. Maybe they’re more anti-social and dysfunctional than I’m imagining.I think the key is trying to give each of them something to do each session, so they aren’t stepping on each-other’s toes. Try using rounds or turns in dungeons and social situations: ask each player what they’re going to try and do, then resolve all of it at once, and repeat. The chaos monkeys can have a silly side-quest without ruining the social RP, and the combatants can research potential threats or go on an infiltration mission while the faces negotiate or provide cover.Come up with a handful of disposable modular “possible” encounters and improv how they’ll connect. You can railroad them to the main plot eventually, but give them the illusion of choice on the way by giving them a sandbox.Instead of punishing the troublemakers, have them set off a combat encounter. Have combat encounters involve rescuable hostages that give a little roleplay reward at the end. Synergize the encounter types so it feels like one player domino-tumbles into another player’s preferred element.Yeah, it’s a bit more work and the campaign will be longer, but the alternative is playing PbtA or fucking Munchkin.
>>98223220Break them up in two groups of three. Try to group them up not necessarily by their game preferences but by vibes. People that vibe well together will overcome any silly GNS categories you try to pigeonhole them to. A party of 6 is already too big if you ask me.
>>98223220Kill them all so no one has to deal with them again.
>>98223220>large parties of diverse players all getting along?Lol. Not gonna happen. What exactly caused the campaign collapse? Was there a specific incident or were you just tired of trying to make everything work?
>>98223220Play shit games, get shit players.
>>98223220>D&Dogshit>Six playersYou fucked up twice right from the start.
>>98223220Drop the jokers, tell the minmaxers to get their shit together and stop trying to play Diablo4 on your table, and the RPers to try and engage more with the other players instead of their own performative fixationI dislike d&d4 but to each his own, so it's up to youalternatively try to find a different group or consider online play, although I personally think online RPGs rob the game of its meaning
>>98223220It seems you have two people who want to play D&D 4e, two people who want to play other TTRPGs, and two people who want attention more than to play TTRPGs.> TQ: Any advice on either how to deal with this better, or could you recommend a system that is better for large parties of diverse players all getting along?I just improvised a mix of "adult" fantasy cartoon and Adventure Time for my friends. Obviously, you need to homebrew, too.
>>98223220>ai slopperIt's your fault and nothing that you do will fix this.
>>98223282>Well unfortunately I don't have many options for players. I live in a rural northern Ontario town.You can literally go on a quest to find Ed Greenwood's wizard tower.
>>98223220Well first off>don’t play D&DFor another, you need to start the campaign by removing player expectations. Min/maxing is based in a power fantasy; they want a character who is an MCJokers are disinterested in the game/setting so their character was never made in sincere interest and will quickly wear out.RP players are arguable the best of the lot depending on their competency and social skills. But they need time to play out RP that others don’t care about.I would recommend 1-choosing a system with better character creation and fewer stats to exploit for a power fantasy (never 3.5/pf or any later edition or D&D)2-giving out pre-gen character sheets at the beginning of the game with a single paragraph summary of the character’s history and personality3-running your game more like horror/survival in dungeons and more like a traditional fantasy rpg otherwise
Almost every game I see advertised these days is oversized. 3-4 PCs is like the sweet spot if your players actually put in a lot and have a lot of agency. 6 players is really, really pushing it.
>>98223314>the key is to overwhelm yourself giving the toddlers new activities to interest them every sessionThat would work for 4/6 at best and is unsustainable. The real issue is a “joker” is diagnosed typically as someone who doesn’t enjoy the game as played and is looking for amusement elsewhere. I was 100% that guy until I got to run a few one shots myself and learned how obnoxious it is to run a game with somebody deliberately refusing to play semi-seriously.The only solution for people who don’t take the game seriously is to force them to grow as players. All that being said, you should rotate one-shot or short campaign games between the players with no repeats to develop some self awareness around everyone’s play style.I’d recommend knave or cairn for the RP people to run, as it will kneecap the minmaxers and play to their narrative strength.I’d recommend an OD&D clone, Call of Cthulhu, or Delta Green for the minmaxers to run as it will hopefully engage the jokers with a legitimate threat they can’t fuck around with, as well as forcing the GM to think of situations that can’t be beaten to death or out rolled with optimization, and the RP people will have fun.For jokers; crash pandas or another one page rpg: something simple and easy to run that will leave them time to engage the game itself and enjoy actually participating, while hopefully getting their impulse to be absurd out. Alternatively for jokers: Dread. Making survival horror work is incredibly delicate and they’ll either have to learn to take it seriously or leave feeling disappointed that nobody seems to have fun when their GM wasn’t taking their own game seriously. It’s a ridiculously fun and simple game when run thoughtfully and a swift train wreck when run carelessly so it’s really perfect for some reflection.
>>98224673That's a lot of words to tell him to just play Paranoia.
>>98223220Prowlers and Paragons.
