Need some help and advice for an ongoing Pathfinder game

[Auro70392]

Hello Escapists! I have emerged from my den of ubiquitous lurking seeking assistance. I'm running an ongoing pathfinder campaign and I am hitting a few stumbling blocks that I would like advice with.

First Some background is probably in order. I'm running a homebrew political/nobility based campaign. The nobility consists of multiple factions of humans (and one dwarf noble house cuz dwarfs yo) vying for increased power and prestige in the wake of the crowning of a new inexperienced emperor after the death of the previous one. While the commoners and other races that aren't humans and dwarfs dissatisfied with the corruption of the nobility and their lot in life rally behind a masked freedom fighter fighting for equality and an end to the empire.

TLDR; Greedy nobles, inexperienced emperor, unruly commoners

Enter the party. Originally consisting of a Human Rogue, Half-Elf Ranger, Half-Orc Cavalier and a Human Cleric. They had all met at some point or knew the now-Emperor who has elevated their status and brought them on as advisers. The party has done this job fairly well, as a mix advisers and enforcers of the emperors will.

Then things started to go a bit off. Now I run fairly open-ended games. I let players approach a variety of situations and scenarios and I love seeing what they come up with, but some things im not really sure how to handle which is why im posting this topic.

I'll post my issues in a list of no particular order and if anyone wants me to elaborate further please say so (This post is getting too long as is lol).

1) My group size doubled in a week with friends returning from college

2) A small group of three players have decided to start working toward usurping the empire and nobility and claiming control of the continent. I'm afraid PVP and inter party conflict might get out of hand since the party s very divided on support and loyalty to the various factions

3) I have a new player who is playing a Witch that I have no idea what to do with story-wise. Everyone else is important and has their place but I have no idea where to fit in a Witch since magic in the world is looked down upon and even outlawed in certain places.

4) One of my players (Half-Orc Cavalier) is getting too min/maxy for my tastes. To the point of looking at the Witch players spell list (which I helped her with cause of lack of experience) and insisting on letting him fix it so it was more "optimal". This kind of stuff bugs me to no end, but is this a me problem or a player problem?

There are other issues i'm having but these are the ones that stick out in my head. I'll discuss more in the topic if it ever picks up steam. I welcome and appreciate any advice you are willing to give fellow Escapists!

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well considering the player numbers are high and they are at odds with each others maybe you should split them up into two sessions, should also prevent PvP.
Or you get a co-DM that helps out managing everyone and prepare for a high stakes showdown where conflicting parties get wiped out, also don't allow them to come back with some sort of vengeful characters. And obviously mister min-max is the best choice for DM help since he is the one that cares enough about the technical side.

For the Witch... actually hard to say without details, but giving someone the main role in a major quest is usually good character building/bonding material, perhaps direct them what sort of magic is still doable in a covert way, could have an old friend or mentor NPC come in as part of the quest while also guiding their abilities.

 

[Auro70392]

Well considering the player numbers are high and they are at odds with each others maybe you should split them up into two sessions, should also prevent PvP.
Or you get a co-DM that helps out managing everyone and prepare for a high stakes showdown where conflicting parties get wiped out, also don't allow them to come back with some sort of vengeful characters. And obviously mister min-max is the best choice for DM help since he is the one that cares enough about the technical side.

For the Witch... actually hard to say without details, but giving someone the main role in a major quest is usually good character building/bonding material, perhaps direct them what sort of magic is still doable in a covert way, could have an old friend or mentor NPC come in as part of the quest while also guiding their abilities.

I've considered splitting up the groups, cause a player run conflict with a high stakes showdown at the climax sounds freaking awesome from my DM point of view. Ideally this should work, however i've found in playing in other games run by myself and others where we have had to split the groups that people make their little clique groups and it stifles the roleplay somewhat. Might be a side effect of have high school and college age players.

I'd consider letting the min/maxy player help with DM'ing but he already is Dm'ing two separate groups (one of which i'm a part of) and doing some weird solo thing with another player who is supposed to be the Big Bad.

Giving the Witch player a role in a major quest sounds like a great idea. I'll start brainstorming for that! Though i'm open to ideas if you have any!

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Players who min/max might be really good in certain situations, but they're bound to be weak in others, so make sure to mix up the encounters to keep them from dominating. Don't completely cut out the moments for the player to shine, but don't be afraid to have a side chat with them about it. One thing though, don't let him tell the Witch player how to pick spells. If the Witch player is new to the game and doesn't know the spell list, have the group ask the player what kind of Witch they want to be (a kooky hedge sage, a cackling classic witch with a cauldron, a helpful healer who lives in touch with spirits, an oracle of sorts) and then have the group help the Witch pick out spells.hard