D&D General Player Numbers - The Sweet Spot?

[Scott Christian]

A recent discussion lead to the sweet spot for DMing D&D. Personally, I would like two questions here: what you prefer DMing and what you prefer as a player. Maybe a different thread for players. But the question is basic - how many players do you enjoy DMing during a session. Of course, the bigger question, and one I am most curious about, is why?

Thanks.

 

[Oofta]

Even though I always seem to end up with 6, I would prefer 4. Easier to focus on individual stories. As hard as I try with bigger group, it seems like with 6 there's always 1 or 2 that get less focus.

 

[DemoMonkey]

It's a tough thing to phrase because someone always takes it the opposite way no mater how you say it, but I am assuming you mean "How many players other than the DM at your table?"

5. Definitely 5 PCs.

 

[J-H]

Maybe it's just my players, but whenever there are just 4, there seem to be some gaps. With 5, everything is at least somewhat covered.

This is what I'm used to. Maybe it's better if there are gaps. I don't know.

 

[BookTenTiger]

4 or 5 players is perfect for me. That's enough players to keep things flowing without combat becoming a drag.

 

[Dausuul]

Assuming we are talking "non-DM players," I picked four. In my experience, that's the point where there are enough players to entertain each other, generate ideas and story material, and generally reduce the burden on the DM; but not so many players that it becomes a logistical nightmare to keep track of what they're all doing (both in and out of combat).

I'd say the next best number of players is five, and the next after that is three. Six is barely manageable. Anything less than three or more than six is right out.

 

[CleverNickName]

It depends heavily on the edition that we're playing. I assumed you meant 5th Edition, since it's the current edition of the game...so I voted 4 and 5. The game gets a little sluggish with 5 players, but it isn't unmanageable. 6 players is too many for my tastes.

But if we were playing 3rd Edition, the game is sluggish no matter what. Whenever we had more than 3 players, each combat scene would take at least an hour to resolve. That might be a bit too much for some.

And in the opposite direction, the number of players in a B/X Edition game of D&D doesn't really affect the speed or complexity all that much. Even when I was DMing with 8 players, our combat scenes usually resolved in about 20-30 minutes.

 

[Oofta]

Assuming we are talking "non-DM players," I picked four. In my experience, that's the point where there are enough players to entertain each other, generate ideas and story material, and generally reduce the burden on the DM; but not so many players that it becomes a logistical nightmare to keep track of what they're all doing (both in and out of combat).

I'd say the next best number of players is five, and the next after that is three. Six is barely manageable. Anything less than three or more than six is right out.

I thought it was 5 that was right out?

 

[el-remmen]

4 or 5 around a table + DM.

 

[iserith]

With 4 players the game works best in my view. My rule is no more than 5 (though I relaxed that a bit during the worst of COVID since a lot of people were stuck at home).