Five players?

[Jason Morningstar]

Hey everybody,

My weekly group wants to go nuts with Agon, but I'm concerned that five players is too many - I've played with three and that seemed perfect.  Any advice on playing with a larger group?  Any pitfalls?  Any hacks that would make it go more smoothly, or GM advice?

For the glory of Zeus,

Jason

[Darren Hill]

When I played, I had five players (plus me), and it seemed fine. Lots and lots of strife, of course.
I can't offer any special advice - nothing in the game really breaks with increased players. You've just got to make sure your combats have more than one named character. In a 3-player group, I imagine you'd often get buy with 1 NPC/monster, plus maybe a bunch of minions. More players require lots of NPCs. Using 1 major NPC of 12-20 points, and 1-3 NPCs on half that points (possibly with a boat load of minions) hsould give a pretty challenging fight.

[Remi Treuer]

Hey Jason,
I think that you could run it for five. Three is my personal maximum for pretty much any game, it's the most people I can feel like I'm communicating clearly towards.

A couple things if you're going to run Agon:
1. Assign a person to be in charge of tracking Glory for each session. Do the same for the 'Highest Wound Rolled' and 'Highest Number Rolled', etc, etc chart, as well. This will cut down on your paperwork, which might be helpful.
2. Make clear how Oaths work, and, if you're using the Trick mechanics, tell people that they can make using a Trick contingent on getting an Oath from the person it benefits. Oaths are a big deal, and should be pushed hard.
3. Find ways to make Refreshment interesting. Make sure it ties into the story or characters some way and don't let narration slack off. I think it would be easy with 5 players to let it slide into die-rolling, and that's harmful to the spirit of the game in the long run.

I think Agon will be a lot of fun for you, and I'm looking forward to hearing some AP from your group!

[Jason Morningstar]

Thanks, guys, that's encouraging!  We'll definitely play before Christmas.

[John Harper]

Wisdom has been spoken.

Five players should be fine. I think there will be an "odd man out" effect, though, since Glory-hounding (especially in combat) will be even more critical. 3-4 PCs will be raking it in, while the other gets swept to the back of the pack. This might amp up the competition, though, which is a very good thing.

Darren is spot on about NPCs. Don't be afraid to stack up 3 or even 4 nasty named dudes. Swift and First Strike are your friends.

I'm really happy to hear you're digging the game, Jason. The Roach is definitely a spiritual predecessor to Agon, in terms of wahoo-fun PvP.