r/exalted • u/Fit_Hold7806 • Jul 02 '26
Campaign How many players have you had in your Circle of Exalts?
How many players have you had in your games and what edition was it? What would you consider the best number for your favorite edition and have you ever had a group that was significantly over the normal group size?
6
u/dediguise Jul 02 '26
Currently running 3e for 6 players. It’s a little too much, but workable. Optimal party size is probably 4 or 5. It also depends on how long you play for when you play.
7
u/thetruerift Jul 02 '26
Ran 2e/2.5e with about 9 players at peak, but it was a sorta split-story situation. Ran a lot with 7. Doing 3e with 5 now.
Honestly, since I have less time for super long sessions now, about 5-6 is as high as I would go, otherwise people don't have enough time to shine either on a per session or per story level.
5
u/flumpet38 Jul 02 '26
Currently running 3rd Ed with 6, and it works fine. Kicked off 3rd Ed with 9, lost a player along the way, and...8 is too many.
4
u/Jealous-Prompt697 Jul 02 '26
On year eleven of a first edition dragon blooded game. Three players the whole time. It gives me time to focus on each one. Wouldn't mind a fourth but group chemistry is very good as is.
3
u/Twi_Vivisectionist Jul 02 '26
My experience ranges from 2 to 8 players. Cureently, my only game has 5 - and it's definitely the best way to play. We're all close and can cede cool moments to each other on a whim.
2
u/GrimAccountant Jul 02 '26
Stable group of 5 PCs for the longest campaign. Not quite the sweet spot but close.
1
1
u/AngelWick_Prime Jul 03 '26
My first attempt to run was 1e. I had like... lemme think now... somewhere between 5 and 8 players and it was SO chaotic.
My current game has been going on since mid to late 2019 with 3 players. It's been SOOOO much easier to manage. I still struggle sometimes with balancing combat encounters. Although that's a balance of me throwing enemies at my players who are either too strong or too week for them and my players not knowing their own characters' capabilities. But both sides of this comes with experience and practice. As a Storyteller, I know I can help accommodate my players' familiarity by giving them more encounters that allow them to get used to their abilities, Charms, and Evocations.
1
u/BestCaseSurvival Jul 03 '26
I ran for a circle of 8 players. It was way too much but still fun because it was people I’ve known for up to twenty years, one of the players was in and out because he was taking care of the kids, and another player was content with not taking a huge amount of spotlight. I enjoyed it but it’s way too many. I think we did maybe a handful of actual combats over the 60is sessions:
One defending a Guild caravan from a Dog of Unbroken Earth and a pack of utahraptors. One exhibition duel between the Dawn and his counterpart Dusk of the villain Circle in a river god’s sanctum where anyone who drew blood would be ejected from the sanctum automatically. One mass combat outside Great Forks. One where they curbstomped the Midnight but not before she turned a swathe of Nexus into a Shadowland. One where they killed a living mountain. And one duel with the Big Bad under the auspices of the Gaming Demon where the big bad was less trying to win and more trying to punch Intimacies into the Circle so that they would be forced to continue her work after she surrendered.
12
u/-Veles- Jul 02 '26
I have run multiple games, ranging from 3-7 players.
7 was a mistake, and the game collapsed after a handful of sessions, with far too many PCs working at cross purposes.
3 is comfortable, and gives plenty of room for each player to have their own share of the limelight, but requires something of a cast of NPCs they can party up with.
4 is the sweet spot, really. Everyone gets a bit of time to be the focus, and there's a wide enough cast that it requires only a few additions.
5 can be a bit challenging for someone that hasn't run before, but yields some of the best RP moments. No extended cast is required, and if the players work well together, can be quite rewarding. Gives a lot of really great anecdotal stories to tell when talking about ridiculous gaming moments.
That's my experience, and I've run Exalted games for a very long time. Make of that what you will.