With 5 or 6 players?

[LORDs_diakonos 0]

What changes do I need to make to the base adventure to play with 5-6 players. I know I can download the extra charaters but in the different encounters should I add stormtroopers etc..

[Kallabecca 983]

LORDs_diakonos said:

What changes do I need to make to the base adventure to play with 5-6 players. I know I can download the extra charaters but in the different encounters should I add stormtroopers etc..

It might have helped if you'd read the adventure. It says things like "Use X minions for each Player" when setting up the scenarios.

[LORDs_diakonos 0]

No reason to be mean about it. :-)  I know there are things like that but the adventure as I read also says it is for 4 players and not 6. So my question is will it scale to 6? Will adding 6 Gamorreans for example be ok for 6 players. Are there others things I should adjust for playing with more then the 4 player limit the adventure mentions? 

Thanks for the help

[ramza82 8]

As Kallabecca already mentioned, and as stated multiple times in the book, every encounter in the beginner game matches the number of enemies to the party size. The rest of the adventure is skill checks and teaching players the core mechanics of the game. 

[Ceodryn 41]

Really? Because if we actually read the adventure, the only encounter that is "per PC" is the 1st one, the Gamorrean encounter. There is however a brief mention during the starship combat encounter that if the PCs have only 1 gunner, drop the Ties to 2. There is no scaling of any of the other encounters. So, how about instead helping LORDs_diakonos with his question…

1. The 1st encounter scales perfectly without having to worry about it. Well, actually, let's worry a little, because 5 or 6 gam. could be deadly at the start of a beginner game, especially if your PCs all fail their hiding checks and act later, or if they are still struggling to use advantages and maneuvers to gain the upper hand. You don't want to be deadly right of the bat… keep that for the Stormtroopers later on . So, if things are turning urgly, maybe a patron jumps in the fight with a blaster, or a barrel of booze fall onto one of the gam., or some other fun environmental happening.
2. The 2nd encounter is social, so all what it means is that it's very likely your PCs will succeed if they socially gang up on Vorn. That's fine.
3. The 3rd encounter can either be social or combat. If it becomes combat, 2 droids isn't tough, 4 is however. Maybe then add one more droid or two inside, since after your PCs fought the 2 outside they should have a good idea of their abilities and should plan accordingly to storm the inside.
4. The 4th encounter is definitely combat with the Stormtrooopers. There are 2 groups of 3 minions. Tough, very tough, for 3 or 4 PCs, but with 5 or 6… not as much. I would add a third group of 3 minions that is rushing onto the PCs. You want that encounter to be deadly if your PCs decide to dig their ground and fight… They shouldn't! They should be creative, use the environment, get advantage over the STs, flee, whatsoever, but they don't want a straight firefight against STs.
5. The 5th encounter is similar to the 3rd. It can be either social or combat. I'd add one or two more protecting the ship at the loading ramp.
6. The 6th encounter is starship combat. If you have 5 or 6 PCs, you need those who aren't gunning something to do. Look into the beta updates, there was a page with a bunch of actions possible for co-pilots, mechanics, slicers… OR you could put one PC into a ship, like a Z-95. If you only have the Beginner Box, take the stats of the Tie, add 1 defense (for the shields), 2 hulls, decreasing handling by 1, and you're good to go - I have no idea what the stats of a Z-95 should be… the most important here is to move forward and give your PCs that want to pilot something to do. If there is more than one PC ship, maybe add 2 more Ties. This encounter is super easy with Pash and Lowie in the YT-1300.

I haven't played this adventure with 5 or 6. I will actually do so this weekend, and plan to do as I describe above.

Cheers

Ceodryn

[Diggles 69]

Thanks to Ceodryn for actually answering the poor noobs question!

 

Another idea instead of 6 PC's in 1 freighter is to allow any other decent pilot skilled characters to get a personal fighter of their own.  A good success roll at the space doc control shows them various ships and where they're parked.  Maybe they try and hijack some Z-95's or a Y-Wing 2 seater, Firespray/Skipray.

[wormwoode 0]

My group ran the beginner game cold, right out of the box with 4 pc's. Many of the players (myself as GM, included) hadn't played a proper RPG in years, and a few folks at the table had never actually done it, at all. It went amazingly well. I was the only one who did any homework. I read the rules, checked out the scenario, and cleared up any lingering questions by asking them here on the FFG boards.

The pc's were really excited to get back to the table. A bit too excited, perhaps, as they recruited two more players for the following session. We gave them a quick dice lesson, and jumped into "Long Arm of the Hutt". (I used the downloadable characters, and made the pc's "extra" prisoners on the 'Fang). 

When playing with 6 pc's, my advice would be this: Keep in mind that combat is relatively easy to scale up, it's keeping everyone involved the rest of the time that can be difficult. Four is a group. Six is a bit of a mob. Make note of what each pc's strengths are regarding skill checks- where do their characters really get a chance to throw serious dice? Make sure everybody gets a shot at showing off their particular character's big skills. Keep them invested, or they may drift off a bit.

That said, I guess I would also suggest really pouring over the adventure in advance. The beginner box adventure is pretty easy to run, but "Long Arm" has a lot more story to it. No big deal for a table with 4 players, but if you plan on running that one with 6 pc's, you may want to read it thoroughly, and make some notes as to where you might be able to sum up some of the lengthier bits of story-telling. Keeping 6 people engaged and attentively looking for clues in long-winded exposition isn't always easy.

Good luck. 

[kinnison 850]

I wish I could get more players.  I have 2, but #3 and #4 bailed on me.  and my wife isn't too interested in a RPG.  Doesn't help my FLGS closed due to the owner having a heart attack.