I’m brand new to the game and I have never played using Burning Wheel system either. I’m about to run a play by post game and was wondering if there might be any unforeseen problems that might encounter by having more than the recommended amount of players? The game book recommends 2-5 players (including myself) but are their risks or problems if I had 6 or 7 players (including myself), such as an unbalancing of game mechanics, etc?
the most obvious (having run a session of MG with 7p) is help becomes overwhelming; it begins to drown actual skill. Further, the artha cycle slows down for everyone a bit, and if it doesn’t, someone is grabbing WAY more than others.
You should play Mouse Guard with four people – one GM and three players. The “risks” of using 6 or 7 players is that the game either doesn’t work or requires a huge effort on the part of the GM.
Thanks for the input. I was already strongly leaning towards sticking with the recommended amount of players and this just reinforces my thoughts on it.
If anyone else has opinions on the matter, I’d love to hear them.
I’m in a 6-player game right now and it’s working relatively stably, with only a couple of modifications. All opposition is doubled or tripled, and only one mouse can Help another mouse at a time. That, and characters with very neatly defined specializations, makes it run fairly smoothly.
Not as huge as you’d think. I find the trick to it is being flexible with the letter of the rules while keeping the spirit of them.
It takes some creativity as often rules are modified, replaced or ignored on the fly but it is usually done with the input and consensus of the group and the goal is always to have a fun, rewarding session.
So far it has gone remarkably well and the campaign has been flowing along smoothly.
Thanks for the input, everyone. I decided to go with 5 players (1 more than the recommended). I think that with the nature of play by post games, it will be easier to maintain without leaving that “wanting” feeling in any of the players minds.