Too Many People in DnD Group

[Prosis]

So, I'm a DM for a group of DnD players. However, I've screwed up. We have too many players. Due to a series of mistakes on my part and various obligations, we now have 7 players. Which is way too many. I feel bad about kicking any of them out, as they've all played at least one or two sessions. Right now, I'm just scheduling games, and it seems that not everyone can make it. So far its been working, but I'm not sure if its the best solution.

The players are as follows:
My four roommates. Obviously I can't kick any of them out.
One of their girlfriends. She's the newest player, but I'm reluctant to remove her, as she's been the most involved in creating her character's background (putting the most effort into her character). Also, before she joined us, she would just sit around and watch us play, which I don't like.
One of their friends. We were down to three people for the summer, so she was invited to join us. Now, two of the players who quit (who are my roommates) are back.
Another friend. He has also been really involved in his character's background.

So, should I kick some people out? Should I just continue, hoping that not everyone can make the sessions? Do I split the party, and then alternate between parties each session? Or does someone have tips for handling half a dozen players?

 

[Geekiest]

This same thing happened to me in a game of the Dresden Files (which is even worse, oh god does that system demand you know your players' sheets). At it's worst the group popped up to nine players in one game (It was my first time GMing for more than a one-off session, so I hadn't developed my hard NO when it came to people).

This isn't an ideal situation. You probably want to broach it to your players so they can be understanding if sessions run a little slow or bloated, and hey, they might have some great ideas, or you may have some people who want to free up that time in their schedule and just didn't want to drop out for no reason.

Aside from handling it in-group, you have a few options I can think of. One: Split the party. Ideally, you want to actually ask from another GM for this to save you some work. This is what I did. I reached the end of the game for my players as best I could and since people wanted to keep playing the system I said 'great, if we get another GM we can do two games in the same continuity, with crossover episodes and everything. It'll be fantastic and dynamic and totally not involve your poor, burnt out GM planning for another Uber-party ever again'. Now with the numbers you have this will either require you to get MORE players (which is generally not hard, barring schedule issues. Almost everyone knows someone who knows someone aching for a game). Or you can double up. By doubling up I mean letting the really enthusiastic roleplayers or the ones with the most open schedules play both games to round out the parties. This also allows you to play around two different schedule groups. And hey, if you do get to corral someone else into GMing, you might even get to play in the other party's game! Keeping it same-continuity is a suggestion I'd make because I think it's fun despite some of the work it can be, hearing about your friend's (or yours) exploits from another character's perspective is great, and allows for the occasional climactic joint session or race to the same goal.

Now, other options... Kicking people out. Now, I've had to do this precisely once with a player (I'm phenomenally bad at excluding people, if this guy hadn't yelled at me and stormed out, I wouldn't have had the guts to do it). But really the key to it is to set your criteria and STICK TO IT. The best way to do this without hurt feelings is to be open about what you need from your players and if they can't meet that... Well, too bad, but you gave them an opportunity to try. The most un-personal of these is Scheduling. Stuff like "I'm sorry, but if you miss x many games in y many months... I just can't keep writing your character in and out like that." or "I want a fleshed out background for all the characters. I still don't even know if yours has parents let alone what they were like. We can work on that if you want, but if you don't or don't have the time..."

So those're the things you already knew were on the plate and options. I had one or two ideas else, but... Well, they're not very good ones. And you want to stick with what you think are solid doable things anyway. You have my sympathy, man. I know how rough this kind of situation is. Just don't let yourself think because you're the GM you take ALL the responsibility for it and have to just deal. Gaming is a group activity and the group is responsible for solving out-of-game problems like this too. You're in charge when it comes to game-on, but this isn't really that kind of issue.