Running Large Groups

As of this post, I have run two games in my current campaign. The characters are great, the setting is standard enough to be accessible to both veterans and newcomers, and there are plenty of surmountable challenges to keep the players on their toes.

However the current adventuring party is made of 12 player characters. This has made problems arise at an alarming rate.

• Combat takes longer (especially when factoring 12 players and then 4-8 monsters)
• The dense collection of characters don't give the players time to explore properly
• It is easy to lose focus while waiting for your turn in combat
• The game can get a bit loud as many players vie for attention from the DM

And while all of these problems can seem daunting, there are things you can do to alleviate these headaches. 

• Get rid of initiativerolls, just go clockwise around the table to speed up combat encounters
• use random rolls on specific party members too keep them in the action.
• Do not spend too long on any one object and keep the story going.