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+--- Thread: Question on large combat events (/showthread.php?tid=8592)
Question on large combat events - MrPoopyButtHole - 10-10-2014
Greetings RPers! Some of you may know me, some of you may not! My character name on Balmung is Pyralis and if you ever see me make sure to give me a huzzah. My question is in regards to large scale combat events. For many of the plots I have going on, there is a large scale interest and I do not like to really shun anyone away from being a part of it. In the near future, I have a massive combat event coming up which will most likely involve 20+ people (last battle event I had ended up with almost 4 groups). I usually ask the people I know and trust to DM the combat and free-form it instead of rolls since rolls take waaaayyyy too long. I of course provide them with a description of the enemy, strength, weaknesses, and all that jazz. The event that I have coming in the near future I fear will be larger than the last and I’m starting to wonder exactly -how-  am I going to be able to keep all these people entertained and provide enough baddies for everyone to feel like they accomplished something.
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If I could I would rather DM the whole thing that way I can get everyone involved and give them special attention but reality is reality. So I turn to you for advice and guidance wise ol’ RP community. How do you handle large scale events? Do you free-form? Do you have multiple DMs or control the whole thing? Any feedback or kind words would be greatly appreciated. Or if you want to just say Hi Pyra, I miss you bea, that’ll work too.
RE: Question on large combat events - FreelanceWizard - 10-10-2014
The last time I ran a relatively large scale combat (for me, mind you; I think we had like 14 people), what I did was tell people what they should do OOCly, to wit:
"¶ One of the mercenaries turns, his eyes locking on the group, and shouts a warning! "To arms! To arms!" The crowd begins to move, the men and women of the company grabbing their bows and blades and dashing towards the tree line where you're hiding. ((Everyone gets 1-2 mercenaries to fight. Go ahead and narrate how you dispense with them or how you get disabled, your choice))"
(The ¶ symbol is how I identify narration in a channel.
)This puts the power in the hands of the players; you're basically asking the players to decide for themselves if they win or lose and to write their own part of the story. On the other hand, it presupposes the outcome and tells the players exactly what's going to happen in the end, which some feel eliminates some of the drama. It also glosses over the blow-by-blow description of the fight, which is what some are looking for in a combat scene (personally, in MMOs and LARPs, I prefer for the combat to end quickly, advancing the plot, but that's just me).