It is a gaming mantra, “Do not split the party.” But it is also said that rules are meant to be broken. Why turn your gaming session into an episode of Scooby Doo? Simple: to let your players shine in their role, to force your players to confront their weaknesses, and to ratchet up the tension and drama.
Let your players shine
Splitting your party is like turning a chorus into a duet. With just a handful of players in each scene there is more spotlight to go around. Consider Star Wars: A New Hope in which Luke and Leia are separated from Han and Chewbacca. Compared to their escape from the detention block we can see greater opportunities for the stars to shine. Luke gets to shine swinging across the chasm with Leia in arm in classic fashion. Han chases down storm troopers only to bite off more than he can handle, with stalwart companion Chewbacca dragged along after his more foolhardy friend.
Neither of those memorable scenes would have had the same impact with all of the leads present. Your own game is no different. By splitting your group you give the Jedi a chance to shine in one-on-one, saber to saber combat. You give the rogue and monk a chance to sneak in and assassinate the evil wizard in the tower while the paladin and barbarian hold off the undead horde. In short, you allow epic moments to happen which simply won’t have the same impact, or might not even be possible, with six heroes on screen at a time.
Force your players to confront their weaknesses
The most dramatic moments are when characters prevail despite overwhelming adversity or their own weaknesses. By only having a few players in a scene, there is nowhere they can hide. Your wizard or politico cannot simply hide behind a more combat capable character, they must stand on their own two feet.
What does your Heavy or Melee Bruiser do when they encounter traps or a locked door? Think of the potential for building group cohesion when they gain a greater appreciation for that squishy slicer or techie. Taking characters out of their comfort zone allows them to shine in a different way, potentially giving them a chance to grow.
Ratchet up the tension
Watching Return of the Jedi demonstrates effective cutting between scenes to increase the drama and tension. Initially each cut leaves our heroes at a mini cliff hanger, leaving them at a moment of great tension as the tide of fate sweeps away from them. The Endor strike team is captured – cut to space – the Rebel fleet arrives but the shields are still up – Ewoks and Rebels fight desperately against a legion of the Emperor’s best troops but primitives are no match for Imperial walkers – now the Death Star is fully armed and operational – you get the picture.
A gamemaster could create a similar effect with the party intact, but by separating your players from the mutual support they usually enjoy you have the ability to raise the perceived danger and therefore the drama.
But How?
Nothing written above diminishes the fact that splitting the party has its own special challenges. It is important to keep a few points in mind at the table when you are handling a split party. I like to ask myself the following questions:
- Is everyone engaged and interested? Rephrased, are we leaving someone out of the fun?
- If this was a movie, when would the cuts and mini cliff hangers be?
- Do I have a few plans to get the group back together?
One of the greatest dangers involved with splitting the party is you risk losing the engagement and interest of your players when they are not in the spotlight. I would counter that in most system’s structured time, usually turn based combat, players already expect to wait a bit until they get to act. The key here is to get and maintain their interest and therefore maintain their buy in for having to wait.
I have read that is best to share time equally between players in this scenario; here I differ slightly and say it is best to share time fairly between players. What is most important is to ensure each player has a chance to do something memorable and impactful between cuts. This is how you will keep players interested and engaged, along with our next point.
The analogy I keep coming back to is that of a movie, with cuts between the heroes. This is my rule of thumb on when to switch. You will build up engagement by giving each player or subgroup the spotlight for just long enough to excite, but then switch to your other players to leave this subgroup wanting more. I recommend switching before or after a reveal, when the stakes have changed (like when a dangerous new combatant arrives in the scene), or when things have taken a turn for the worse. This will leave the subgroup interested and thinking of their next move.
How much time between cuts? Like many things in the realm of roleplaying games, this will depend on your group. If you keenly monitor your players to see if they are engaged, and repeatedly ask yourself when a movie-style cut would be, then your best judgment should not lead you astray. With a whole party session, keep the cuts between subgroups frequent. It’s okay to try out longer party splits, but that is the realm of running individual or small group sessions.
Finally, how will you ensure the group eventually gets back together? Whether a split party is something you have engineered, or a player initiated action, you will need make sure you have a few options available to bring the party back together while maintaining narrative coherence. How this will work at your table is going to depend on specific circumstances, but there’s a few items to keep in mind depending on how the party split in the first place.
As the gamemaster there will be times where you have decided and prepared for a split party. Take the time while preparing to wargame out a couple ways you see the party coming back together, consider how those ways will play out at the table depending on the choices your players make. During the game, at the same time you are asking the above three questions, consider which of those options are still viable and tweak as required to ensure your players can link back up again.
If your players have initiated a split party you may find yourself unprepared and with no idea how to reunite the characters. Get a good idea of what your players are trying to achieve and determine the conflict for those scenes. Once that conflict, and reason for separation, has been resolved you can feel free to briefly narrate how the players join back together. If it is not appropriate or entertaining to delay the players reforming the party do not fall into the temptation of unnecessarily playing it out.
To any gamemaster reluctant to split their party, I hope I have persuaded you to consider otherwise. I have had amazing roleplaying experiences on both sides of the screen when my group has violated this gaming mantra. Let your players shine, force characters to confront their weaknesses, and ratchet up the tension – split your party.
Share your experiences or rebuttals in the comments below!
Christopher Hunt
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