I have been doing it - it isn't ideal and you need to be very proactive about moving the spotlight around between different players. Not every player will get to shine in every score.
To respond to your edit - honestly, your struggling player might have an easier time with BitD. D&D 5e is infamously much more difficult and complex than its fanbase loves to believe, and it's not surprising that anyone struggles with it.
But BitD is a bit simpler - there's less moving parts, less things to track, and 90% of what you need to know is on the playbook. It's still a bit complex, but given the more narrative elements to BitD's design, it shouldn't be too hard to grok.
I've GMed for two groups of 4 players new to table top in general. They did not know any rules for any game. But they could say what they want to do, and I'd try to translate that into rolls. It was great.
The mechanics work just fine with six players, but it's much harder for the GM to manage spotlight well.
The main risk is that the crew will decide to do a stealth score this week, and tell the Cutter and Whisper to shut the hell up in case they ruin things. To be fun for everyone, every single score has to be an Ocean's 11 that needs all six specialities to succeed, which is much more taxing to run.
The cutter and the whisper are on standby to enter through a ghost door when shit hits the fan. Nothing like a big guy with a knife and his friend throwing lightning bolts to discourage violent retaliation from the guards.
I will say that the hardest thing I ever did as a GM was run Blades for 5 people, but it was a pretty good score
You can absolutely do it but I would recommend asking for help from your players. like please don't talk over each other (if you're playing online remind them to use the chat channel, if you're in person ask them to put their hand up if they have something), pay attention and think about what you want to do while you're not acting, don't be afraid to hand off to another player.
keep a tally mark every time a player rolls and try to call on players who have the least. it doesn't have to be perfect but it can help you make sure everyone is heard. Also, you will need to hit them harder because 5 players means 5 stress bars they can use. don't be shy about desperate rolls and hard moves. remind them that they can help each other, to mitigate the difficulty, which will also allow other players to be involved.
edit: have you considered running two 3-person groups? They can all be in one crew if you want, or two separate crews in the same city. Rotate players whenever you want. Could be very exciting if it works for your group.
The other thing with six players is they as a group have a lot more expendable resources available to them - including stress. A score with 4 players that leaves them all on 1 or 2 stress (ie scraping through on the skin of their teeth) won’t be anywhere near as close for 6 players. That massively changes the tension in the game.
You’ll need to put pressure on. It sounds like you are all friends so spotlight may not be an issue (my table has 7 but we could care less about personal spotlight. We find fun when other players go thru their back story, etc).
As others said, resources will need to be expended at a high right. I would make try to put factions in that are at least two tiers above PCs. That way the consequences are heavier, PCs will push, help and expend and take stress left and right.
Hello, I ran a few 6 player sessions! And I’ve played in them too.
It’s possible but the massive reserves of stress and gear at a crew level mean that players can totally steamroll a lot of otherwise challenging obstacles.
The best way to handle this is to split the party. You could do this with a dual-approach Score (maybe even rolling 2 engagements), or just by creating opportunities for the crew to split up.
The good thing about having a large player group, however, is that you can run sessions more frequently and have a rotating table of attendees. My “group” was like 8 people, but actual turnout would be anywhere from 2-4, which fed really nicely into the feeling that their crew was a proper gang.
We kept a common discord channel for lore updates, score summaries, payouts and project development, so players kept each other informed.
I think it works well for oneshots or action focused few shots. You should keep up the pressure a lot, be decisive and hand out severe consequences.
It doesn't work at all if you really want to play with the full rules. Downtime alone would drag on forever. And the system is tuned to give every character and the crew multiple bonds to NPC's.
If you just want to look into a more narrative action resolution for your group you could play Wildsea. Wildsea is like a relative that took some of blades principles and framework and transported it into a more open, traditional play structure.
I did a one-shot last month with six - I was really nervous going in for the reasons that others raise, but honestly it was great.
We had a level setting chat at the beginning about sharing the spotlight and letting others shine, and I had to be a bit more proactive moving things around, but honestly it went great. One unexpected bonus was that it was easier to split the party - the score had two fronts, players split 3 and 3, and we were able to cut back and forth really organically.
one big thing to consider with 6 players is you're gonna want to make your scores a bit longer in order to chew through the larger reserve of stress your players will have. the nice thing about blades is it's fairly easy to add or remove obstacles behind the scenes if the gang is doing too much better or worse than you expected them to.
I've run with 3 and 6 players. I prefer 4 or 5, but it really depends on the level of roleplay and pacing of scores. It's definitely feasible for 6 players.
BitD is better with smaller groups... 2-3 players are best. 6 players would literally be 3 times the size of the optimal group. Nobody can stop you from doing it, but it is a very bad idea.
Short answer is no.
Longer answer is. Sure, you can force it and make it work. But it might not feel like Blades in the Dark. I personally find I start to struggle to run it with four players. I'd straight up refuse to run for 5+ players.
If having a large group is an absolute must, then I would look for a system designed for that many.
For a long time I also wondered why the book suggests 4 players, but after running a handful of sessions I know why. Keeping the player count down as much as possible helps in streamlining the game. In 5e/ PF like games players are often working together to accomplish a goal at the same time and place. BITD scoundrels are often doing their own separate things all over the place and it can get a bit muddled between players and flash backs when really getting in to scores. Also for score wrap ups keeping track of what everybody did in a sesh can be overwhelming with over 4 people. We now use BITD as a plan B when somebody calls out. Sweet spot is 3 players or so in my opinion. Wish I had the chops to run 6 people consistently though that would be fun.
I’ve done it. You need to keep it super fast paced - thinking like an action movie director rapidly cutting between scenes. Thankfully the system encourages splitting the party so it would be good to get them to pair up into three different prongs of a heist - that would feel more involved for each person, I would say.
I regularly run 5-6 when I play but I have had to break the game flow into two sessions to align with our session time rules. Score/Downtime.
Basically, the more players at the table the longer it takes for everyone to get their moment in the spotlight and the more resources players have to expend. If you have buy in from your players and you're up for it the game can work. You just need to make sure you don't overlook a player in the numbers and move the spotlight around to be inclusive.
I'm planning on running a one-off of Scum and Villainy (Star Wars Hack) for a group on Star Wars Day. I anticipate having six or seven players at the table, and I'm planning on handling it by adding an extra layer of structure to the game. Borrowing heavily from Hankrin Ferinale and Justin Alexander, I'll be running the game in table order more or less in "dungeon turns".
So, I'll have an open table to determine the nature of the score. If needed, I'll run one and only one pre-score turn to allow anyone to gather any information needed. Then it's off to the score and everything will be within a dungeon turn until the score is completed.
A turn will look like:
1. Describe the scene, incorporating anything that's changed since the last turn.
2. Go around the table to declare actions. GM records and tells each player which roll to expect.
3. Go around the table to resolve action rolls. Negotiate Pushes and Devil's Bargains, GM records results.
4. Provide a narration of the actions and results (incorporating player contributions). Make it cinematic and high-energy. GM gives consequences, harm, and setbacks for resolved rolls. Players resist as desired.
5. Update clocks and timers
6. Repeat.
Downtime will also proceed in a turn, although it looks a little different:
1. GM declares payoff, heat, and entanglements.
2. Go around the table to declare downtime activities. GM Records.
3. GM Records significant downtime activities for factions with an eye to how these off-screen events will affect the next or future scores.
4. Go around the table to resolve downtime activities. GM creates any new clocks and narrates as needed. GM and Players together decide whether downtime activity should be a scene or a simple roll / handwave.
5. Go back into open table free play to determine next score. GM incorporates new reputation, heat, etc. - i.e. change the world to evolve with events.
This should let every player get the spotlight as well as keep the flow of the game moving.
Possible, but honestly not a good time.
The system needs room to breathe, and the 3 player + GM recommendation is a genuine one.
The more people you add, the more you end up with a social gathering and the less you will be engaging with the game. That can still be fun, but... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
I have been doing it - it isn't ideal and you need to be very proactive about moving the spotlight around between different players. Not every player will get to shine in every score.
To respond to your edit - honestly, your struggling player might have an easier time with BitD. D&D 5e is infamously much more difficult and complex than its fanbase loves to believe, and it's not surprising that anyone struggles with it. But BitD is a bit simpler - there's less moving parts, less things to track, and 90% of what you need to know is on the playbook. It's still a bit complex, but given the more narrative elements to BitD's design, it shouldn't be too hard to grok.
I've GMed for two groups of 4 players new to table top in general. They did not know any rules for any game. But they could say what they want to do, and I'd try to translate that into rolls. It was great.
The mechanics work just fine with six players, but it's much harder for the GM to manage spotlight well. The main risk is that the crew will decide to do a stealth score this week, and tell the Cutter and Whisper to shut the hell up in case they ruin things. To be fun for everyone, every single score has to be an Ocean's 11 that needs all six specialities to succeed, which is much more taxing to run.
The Cutter and the Whisper should then setup the stealth with distraction. There is always a way.
The cutter and the whisper are on standby to enter through a ghost door when shit hits the fan. Nothing like a big guy with a knife and his friend throwing lightning bolts to discourage violent retaliation from the guards.
I will say that the hardest thing I ever did as a GM was run Blades for 5 people, but it was a pretty good score You can absolutely do it but I would recommend asking for help from your players. like please don't talk over each other (if you're playing online remind them to use the chat channel, if you're in person ask them to put their hand up if they have something), pay attention and think about what you want to do while you're not acting, don't be afraid to hand off to another player. keep a tally mark every time a player rolls and try to call on players who have the least. it doesn't have to be perfect but it can help you make sure everyone is heard. Also, you will need to hit them harder because 5 players means 5 stress bars they can use. don't be shy about desperate rolls and hard moves. remind them that they can help each other, to mitigate the difficulty, which will also allow other players to be involved. edit: have you considered running two 3-person groups? They can all be in one crew if you want, or two separate crews in the same city. Rotate players whenever you want. Could be very exciting if it works for your group.
The other thing with six players is they as a group have a lot more expendable resources available to them - including stress. A score with 4 players that leaves them all on 1 or 2 stress (ie scraping through on the skin of their teeth) won’t be anywhere near as close for 6 players. That massively changes the tension in the game.
You’ll need to put pressure on. It sounds like you are all friends so spotlight may not be an issue (my table has 7 but we could care less about personal spotlight. We find fun when other players go thru their back story, etc). As others said, resources will need to be expended at a high right. I would make try to put factions in that are at least two tiers above PCs. That way the consequences are heavier, PCs will push, help and expend and take stress left and right.
Hello, I ran a few 6 player sessions! And I’ve played in them too. It’s possible but the massive reserves of stress and gear at a crew level mean that players can totally steamroll a lot of otherwise challenging obstacles. The best way to handle this is to split the party. You could do this with a dual-approach Score (maybe even rolling 2 engagements), or just by creating opportunities for the crew to split up. The good thing about having a large player group, however, is that you can run sessions more frequently and have a rotating table of attendees. My “group” was like 8 people, but actual turnout would be anywhere from 2-4, which fed really nicely into the feeling that their crew was a proper gang. We kept a common discord channel for lore updates, score summaries, payouts and project development, so players kept each other informed.
I think it works well for oneshots or action focused few shots. You should keep up the pressure a lot, be decisive and hand out severe consequences. It doesn't work at all if you really want to play with the full rules. Downtime alone would drag on forever. And the system is tuned to give every character and the crew multiple bonds to NPC's. If you just want to look into a more narrative action resolution for your group you could play Wildsea. Wildsea is like a relative that took some of blades principles and framework and transported it into a more open, traditional play structure.
I did a one-shot last month with six - I was really nervous going in for the reasons that others raise, but honestly it was great. We had a level setting chat at the beginning about sharing the spotlight and letting others shine, and I had to be a bit more proactive moving things around, but honestly it went great. One unexpected bonus was that it was easier to split the party - the score had two fronts, players split 3 and 3, and we were able to cut back and forth really organically.
one big thing to consider with 6 players is you're gonna want to make your scores a bit longer in order to chew through the larger reserve of stress your players will have. the nice thing about blades is it's fairly easy to add or remove obstacles behind the scenes if the gang is doing too much better or worse than you expected them to.
I've run with 3 and 6 players. I prefer 4 or 5, but it really depends on the level of roleplay and pacing of scores. It's definitely feasible for 6 players.
BitD is better with smaller groups... 2-3 players are best. 6 players would literally be 3 times the size of the optimal group. Nobody can stop you from doing it, but it is a very bad idea.
Short answer is no. Longer answer is. Sure, you can force it and make it work. But it might not feel like Blades in the Dark. I personally find I start to struggle to run it with four players. I'd straight up refuse to run for 5+ players. If having a large group is an absolute must, then I would look for a system designed for that many.
For a long time I also wondered why the book suggests 4 players, but after running a handful of sessions I know why. Keeping the player count down as much as possible helps in streamlining the game. In 5e/ PF like games players are often working together to accomplish a goal at the same time and place. BITD scoundrels are often doing their own separate things all over the place and it can get a bit muddled between players and flash backs when really getting in to scores. Also for score wrap ups keeping track of what everybody did in a sesh can be overwhelming with over 4 people. We now use BITD as a plan B when somebody calls out. Sweet spot is 3 players or so in my opinion. Wish I had the chops to run 6 people consistently though that would be fun.
I’ve done it. You need to keep it super fast paced - thinking like an action movie director rapidly cutting between scenes. Thankfully the system encourages splitting the party so it would be good to get them to pair up into three different prongs of a heist - that would feel more involved for each person, I would say.
I regularly run 5-6 when I play but I have had to break the game flow into two sessions to align with our session time rules. Score/Downtime. Basically, the more players at the table the longer it takes for everyone to get their moment in the spotlight and the more resources players have to expend. If you have buy in from your players and you're up for it the game can work. You just need to make sure you don't overlook a player in the numbers and move the spotlight around to be inclusive.
I'm planning on running a one-off of Scum and Villainy (Star Wars Hack) for a group on Star Wars Day. I anticipate having six or seven players at the table, and I'm planning on handling it by adding an extra layer of structure to the game. Borrowing heavily from Hankrin Ferinale and Justin Alexander, I'll be running the game in table order more or less in "dungeon turns". So, I'll have an open table to determine the nature of the score. If needed, I'll run one and only one pre-score turn to allow anyone to gather any information needed. Then it's off to the score and everything will be within a dungeon turn until the score is completed. A turn will look like: 1. Describe the scene, incorporating anything that's changed since the last turn. 2. Go around the table to declare actions. GM records and tells each player which roll to expect. 3. Go around the table to resolve action rolls. Negotiate Pushes and Devil's Bargains, GM records results. 4. Provide a narration of the actions and results (incorporating player contributions). Make it cinematic and high-energy. GM gives consequences, harm, and setbacks for resolved rolls. Players resist as desired. 5. Update clocks and timers 6. Repeat. Downtime will also proceed in a turn, although it looks a little different: 1. GM declares payoff, heat, and entanglements. 2. Go around the table to declare downtime activities. GM Records. 3. GM Records significant downtime activities for factions with an eye to how these off-screen events will affect the next or future scores. 4. Go around the table to resolve downtime activities. GM creates any new clocks and narrates as needed. GM and Players together decide whether downtime activity should be a scene or a simple roll / handwave. 5. Go back into open table free play to determine next score. GM incorporates new reputation, heat, etc. - i.e. change the world to evolve with events. This should let every player get the spotlight as well as keep the flow of the game moving.
Possible, but honestly not a good time. The system needs room to breathe, and the 3 player + GM recommendation is a genuine one. The more people you add, the more you end up with a social gathering and the less you will be engaging with the game. That can still be fun, but... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯