Best TTRPGs For Large Groups, Ranked

Summary

Fate offers freedom for larger groups due to its open gameplay and equal footing for all players.
Forsooth is a DM-less game perfect for large groups, challenging players to improvise Shakespearean works.
Ryuutama’s focus on exploration and role-play makes it ideal for bigger groups, with combat taking a back seat.

Tabletop games are a great way to burn away hours with friends per week, however often everyone’s busy life schedule allows. With one person at the helm acting as the Game Master (GM), or the equivalent of whatever system they are using, they can take their friends on a journey that won’t soon be forgotten, forging bonds, facing dangers, and exploring new, fantasy places.

There are some systems that work better for more tight-knit groups, which can’t work for every friend group, as it wouldn’t be fair to cut out friends to keep the group small. While a crafty GM could stretch most games to fit larger parties, there are already systems designed for larger groups already available.

ttrpg feature image lancer deadlands fallout

Great Tabletop RPGs That Aren’t Dungeons & Dragons

Players wanting to try TTRPGs other than Dungeons & Dragons might want to check these games out.

7

Fate

The Amount of Freedom Opens the Doors for Larger Groups

Original Release Year: 2003
Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
Designers: Leonard Balsera, Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue

There is a wealth of TTRPGs available on the market, with many being eclipsed by more mainstream systems such as D&D, Pathfinder, and World of Darkness game. However, lesser-known games are equally deserving of attention from eager RPG players, especially those looking for a new home for their largest friend group.

Fate might be a system worth checking out for these groups, doing away with generic core traits such as strength and reducing the number of times players need to roll the dice. Fate doesn’t have rigid, set-in-stone rules. Instead, it introduces a more free-form style of play, which is sure to allow anyone running the game to tweak this system to the group’s size. All players start on equal footing rather than rolling for traits and hoping they get lucky.

6

Forsooth

A GM-Less Game Perfect for Improv and Shakespeare Fans

Forsooth! game and image of the man who inspired it

Original Release Year: 2012
Publisher: Spoiled Flush Games
Designers: Kevin Spak, Sam Liberty

Game systems that don’t require a GM to run them are rare, but they do exist, and some of them can even accommodate large groups. Forsooth is one such game which challenges all of its players to improvise Shakespeare’s lost works, providing a lot of freedom to create a muse for themselves, whether they want to go for drama, tragedy, or comedy.

Tabletop RPGs With Strange Systems

Sick of standard Dungeons and Dragons tabletop experiences? These TTRPGs mix it up with some unusual gameplay systems that keep every session fresh.

Fun is the name of the game here, and the more players ham up their performances, the better it will be. Plays usually involve quite a large cast, which makes it the perfect game to gather all of their friends together for a night of fun. Those who want to perform without the pressure of a stage will find Forsooth to be the perfect game for them.

5

Ryuutama

Combat Takes a Back Seat

Original Release Year: 2015
Publisher: Kotohi
Designer: Atsuhiro Okada

Ever wanted to step into a Studio Ghibli world of wonder and fantasy? Well, the closest anyone is going to get to that is through the game system Ryuuamata. The game derives clear inspiration from Miyazaki’s library of work, injecting fun, colorful, and refreshingly unique fantasy into the world of TTRPGs. Originally a Japanese game penned by Atsuhiro Okada, the game was translated into English, so now more groups can be spirited away on a wonderful adventure.

Though there is combat present in Ryuutama, it takes a backseat to other forms of play, such as exploration and role-play. This makes it more friendly for bigger groups, as the wonder and exploration won’t be brought to a halt with encounters bloated with too many players.

4

Blades in the Dark

A Focus on Cooperative Play

Original Release Year: 2017
Publisher: Evil Hat Productions
Designer: John Harper

Ever wanted to play the roles of outcasts, scoundrels, and ne’er-do-wells? Then, Blades in the Dark might be the perfect system. Rather than playing heroes on epic, sprawling quests of might and magic, Blades in the Dark is far more dystopian and darker. The game is in a fictional world where the sun has died, and none of the dead stay in their graves, coming back as vampires or ghosts.

Players choose a character class, known as a playbook, and will be one member of the crew, which also has its own playbook. The crew is at the heart of Blades in the Dark, and gets its own character sheet, as cooperative play among the crew is imperative. As such, the more players there are, the more formidable their crew will be, ready to face any challenges the game master throws their way.

3

Pathfinder

A Fantasy Game Series Similar to Dungeons and Dragons

Pathfinder started as a game based on the 3.5e system of Dungeons and Dragons, with the intention of making the game compatible with previous editions. Instead, it became a game in its own right, featuring unique worlds but with similar character creation rules and the familiar d20 system.

Extinction Curse, Kingmaker and Strenght of Thousands Adventures in Pathfinder-1

Best Pathfinder Adventure Paths, Ranked

For players looking to get into Pathfinder, these pre-written adventures are a great place to start.

Though it has never achieved the same level of popularity as D&D, Pathfinder is still a contender for a solid RPG system for a group who might be looking for something a little similar, but with refreshing new possibilities for stories and adventures. Balancing combat, exploration and companionship, it is an ideal game to dive into with a large party.

2

Elemental

Provides the Tools to Play Any Type of Game

Original Release Year: 2018
Publisher: Gildor Games
Designer: Gildor Games

Most game systems are wedded to specific themes, genres, and settings. Dungeons and Dragons is rooted in high fantasy, where even worlds such as Ravenloft feel the influence of the overall system. World of Darkness is set in the real world, in real places on Earth. And then there is Elemental, a game that promises total creative freedom for its players, giving them the tools to make a game following any genre, any setting, any story they want.

With such freedom, the GM running the game can make up scenarios more befitting for their friends, or use one of the pre-written adventures available. The psychological horror module Jailbreak, for example, is designed with bigger groups in mind, as it contains nine pre-written characters to play.

1

Dungeons and Dragons

Combat and Role-Play Flourish with More Numbers

dungeons-and-dragons-series-game-tabletop-franchise

Franchise: Dungeons & Dragons
Original Release Date: 1974

Dungeons and Dragons is one of the largest and greatest games, dominating the world of TTRPGs with the sheer number of worlds, campaigns, and character creation choices, which ensures not one single campaign will ever be the same. Even in the pre-written modules, every table will have a different experience just because of all the various ways people prefer to play and DM.

While there are tips and tricks DMs can employ to make this game work for a smaller-sized group, D&D works best when more players join in on the fun. They can ensure their party composition is perfect for any encounter, and it reduces the amount of awkward silence between party members. With larger groups, there will always be a few people delving into roleplay, whether it is among themselves, or with the DM.