Dungeons & Dragons is most enjoyable when everyone at the table has their own chance to shine. However, as you add more players into the party, you may end up with players leaving unsatisfied while you struggle to keep everyone involved in the story. As someone who tried to be a dungeon master to nine people when I ran a campaign for the first time, I know all too well that a party’s biggest flaw can be its size.

It’s a great feeling to have so many people interested in your story and setting, but you need to keep your workload manageable as the DM while making sure the rest of your players are having a good time as well. Although larger parties are certainly possible if you’re a bit more experienced, it's usually better to test your limits before committing to bigger parties. Here are ten signs your party size may be a little too ambitious in D&D.

10 Technical Things Like Leveling Up Are Eating Up Too Much Session Time

Newer Players Need More To Understand The Game

It may not be an issue for everyone, but I’ve found spending too much time on technical things like leveling up to be quite a pain in my own experience. This is especially relevant if your party is mostly inexperienced and needs help figuring certain things out. Leveling up should be rewarding and exciting, but with too many players to go through, making sure that everyone has made the correct updates to their character sheets and understands their new abilities can eat up a lot of time.

If you’re finding it difficult to manage your players, consider bringing in a second Dungeon Master to help you.

In a more seasoned group where players are confident about sorting this out themselves, this is much less of an issue. If you’re just starting out yourself or working with a lot of new players, you’ll have a much easier time managing everyone if you have a smaller group, as you don't want to bore people with a lack of actual gameplay. This is one of the reasons why it’s so D&D, since this will help you get a general idea of your future workload.

9 You Can't Settle On Dates/Times For Everyone To Attend

Scheduling Complications Are Normal In Moderation

One of the most common issues when it comes to organizing D&D games is finding a date and time that works for everyone. This isn't always something to worry about, but there comes a point where this can become a massive hindrance to the campaign. If you’re consistently struggling to gather everyone for sessions — or even worse, constantly having to compromise by running sessions with missing players — it’s a sign that there may be too many conflicting schedules for you to work with.

A convenient workaround for this issue is to run online sessions, but this won’t appeal to everyone. If you’re already running online sessions and still having this issue, then it’s a definite sign that your party is too big.

Life often gets in the way when it comes to tabletop games, but if you’re very rarely at the table, you probably have an issue on your hands. Even if your party isn’t overwhelmingly large, you might find scheduling easier when working with a smaller group. Leaving gaps between sessions that are too large can lead to players forgetting important details or becoming disinterested in the story, which is the last thing you want to happen.

8 The Party Spends Too Much Time Arguing About What To Do Next

Friendly Arguing Can Be Great, But Excessive Conflict Harms The Party

Although discussion and playful bickering should be something encouraged to help their PCs build bonds and relationships, a large party who are all trying to roleplay at the same time can lead to far too much conflict. If the party has so many clashing alignments and ideals that they genuinely cannot make a decision, it’s a big sign that you have bitten off more than you can chew. It’s great to have characters bounce off each other, but you still need your party to actually work together, which is difficult with too many people.

Spending a long time arguing can lead to very slow progression, as well as general irritation. Players may have to choose their desire to continue the story over staying in character or even speaking up on a decision at all, which isn’t going to be very enjoyable for them. You should always make sure your player characters have a good reason to work together, since the story can feel very flat without one, and it's more convenient for smaller parties to focus on specific goals.

7 A Lack Of Connections Between Player Characters

Players Should Have Chemistry Inside And Outside The Game

On the other hand, a lack of banter and relationships between player characters can also be a sign that you’ve got too many. If players feel overwhelmed by the number of other people at the table and aren’t interacting with some of them or can’t keep track of the other PCs, it can break the immersion of the campaign. If you're a decent number of sessions into a campaign, such as their name and class, and players still need to remind themselves of the basic information of other PCs, there may be a deeper issue than them simply being inattentive.

As a player, if you can’t describe your character’s opinion or relationship regarding someone else at the table, you may be finding it too difficult to keep up. If you’re late in the campaign and all the characters still feel like work colleagues instead of having interesting interpersonal relations, you’re missing out on one of the most fun aspects of D&D. I love to encourage players to form dynamics with each other at my table, and it’s a bit difficult to for everyone within a larger party.

6 Your Party Isn't Forming Bonds With NPCs

It's Hard To Stay Invested In Characters You Can't Keep Track Of

Another minor thing that can be a sign of a larger problem is that your players don’t feel inclined to form bonds with or pick up NPCs to adventure alongside their characters. If the idea of adding another character to the group temporarily causes annoyance or doubt instead of excitement, you’re most likely already pushing the limit of characters you need. One or two allies ing you should not completely break the game, unless they’re supposed to be some kind of purposeful fail-safe.

Not to mention, if your party struggles to form bonds with each other, they’re going to have an even harder time attaching to characters who aren’t necessarily permanent. In the event that players can’t even keep track of who is at the table, they may not be inclined to also keep NPCs in mind. This can be completely detrimental to the story you’re trying to tell.

5 You're Having Sessions Where Not Everyone Talks

Players Should All Have An Equal Voice At The Table

A scenario that’s arguably worse than not having people show up at the table at all is going through entire sessions where not everyone talks. It’s one thing to run a session without someone, but to actively show up and still not have fun is an even greater tragedy. Constantly being overshadowed or not having a chance to add anything to conversations is extremely disheartening, and it's something you should avoid at all costs.

This can also be indicative of other issues at your table, such as certain players being too overbearing. Those newer to the game may feel nervous about ing in if paired with too many experienced players, and it's important to make sure everyone is comfortable. If even a seasoned player is unable to get a word in, then you may have to rethink how you're running your sessions.

4 Fights Are Too Easy

It's Hard For Weaker Enemies To Pose A Threat To A Large Group

There’s a reason why the party size is limited to four in Baldur’s Gate 3, which has a heavy focus on D&D-style combat, and it's because of how much easier a large party size can make encounters. If you’re getting to the point where some players aren’t even getting a turn because the rest of the party can wipe out enemies before you get to them, then you probably have too many people in your campaign. Luckily, this can be a simple fix, as you’ll just need to add more enemies to encounters or make them a little more powerful.

4-6 players is generally the ideal party size to go for in DnD.

This may make fights less enjoyable, however, since everyone will need to keep track of a larger number of enemies, which can be quite daunting early on. I’d argue that having some unexpectedly hard encounters is much better for player engagement than incredibly easy ones, since you need to give your players stakes for them to feel like they’ve actually achieved something. Striking a good balance between challenge and practicality is vital.

3 Fights Are Taking Too Long

Spending Too Much Time Waiting For Your Turn Can Be Discouraging

Fights taking too long, especially without any real challenge, is a huge sign that you’re dealing with too many players. It's natural for combat to take a long time, since all players and NPCs need to take their turns, but if players are actively bored by spending most of their time waiting for their turn, you may want to consider smaller groups for your future campaigns. It’s no fun to just sit idle for most of the session, so you’ll want to get through turns fairly quickly to keep people engaged in a larger party.

2 Your Sessions Are Long, But Nothing Of Note Actually Happens

More Characters Complicate How The Party Approaches Their Goals

You may not notice a lot of the issues on this list when they affect you individually, but the main thing you’re going to want to look out for is often a culmination of them. If you can’t help it, slow, long sessions where nothing happens will be the death of your campaign. You don’t necessarily have to constantly progress the main plot in order to keep players engaged, as most love a fun side-quest, but the combination of a lack of story and conflict between players is an absolute recipe for disaster.

Although you shouldn't rush your story, you still need to give your players enough to stay invested in your campaign. Reddit Eepop_gaming suggests making sessions more "episodic," so something notable happens each session, even if it's not particularly plot-relevant. Using milestones for leveling can also be quite beneficial here, as players can progress at your convenience.

1 Not Everyone Gets Their Chance In The Spotlight

All Players Deserve To Feel Like The Main Character From Time To Time

As a dungeon master, you should allow every player character to have their “moments.” One of my favorite things to do when it comes to running campaigns is figuring out how to weave my players' characters into the plot and determining how their backstory can link to important NPCs, places, and more. If you have a large number of players, you might find it difficult to do this, especially if you have too many characters with similar roles in the party.

This can easily lead to characters accidentally overshadowing each other, which can cause players to feel bored or irrelevant. Everyone should feel like a protagonist, and all players deserve their own time in the spotlight. There’s bound to be a few sessions where certain characters get more focus, but it’s important to keep all your players entertained during Dungeons & Dragons.

Source: Eepop_gaming/Reddit