When players split up...

[roguesquad]

edit-my mistake.
_________________
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:3

[Argamoth]

I think it mostly depends on how often the group can meet. On a college campus, all the players can reasonably meet 1 or 2 days of the week for a while, so splitting up isn't that bad for the others. If transportation is more of an issue, then players not doing anything is mostly time wasted.

[entropy]

If the group's actions are affecting one another, I don't see them as having split up. If four guys run up the street to blow up the crime boss' casino as a distraction while the others slip into his house and grab what they're after, that's fine. But when one or two characters go off on their own little mission, the rest of the players just sit there bored. That can lead to a boring game session for people.

To use a movie example, look at Episode V. In the Hoth scene, the players are in different locations, but they're performing related actions. That's fine. But then Luke runs off to Dagobah while the others go to cloud city. I wouldn't have done that unless the player running Luke had to miss a couple sessions or something.

[Vanion]

I see that the majority of posts here either support or have no problem with the group splitting up. We play once a week, every Thursday. Because some of us have jobs and families, we only end up playing about a total of 4 hours/week.

We played last night and two of the guys showed up late in the middle of an adventure. The were plit from the group by nobody's fault or design... once again it caused problems!

Last week we had stopped in the middle of a climatic battle... for the sake of a great cliff-hanger. Last night those two guys had to pick up during a fight... had to be resolved ingame. The fight didn't take that long... but then, the two had to link up with the main body of the groop... the whole thing took almost an hour. That was one of our only four hours that we can play in a week... it was an hour in which the other players were getting increasingly upset at being sidelined. They could make no progress on the adventure until the others caught up... and there was nothing in the house to do or go pick up while the others played. All they could do was wait.

Splitting up continues to be a thorn in my side!
_________________
"Life is not measured in years, but by deeds"

[Volar the Healer]

4 hours a week!? That's not enough to satisfy my Star Wars fix.

Splitting a group can work if the Director can alterante between the two groups back and forth - kinda like two scenes occuring at the same time in a movie. Among good players, the non-playing group will use their "down time" to plan. Inexperienced players may need some guidance that they should be using this time.

Sidelining a group while another plays - that's rough. I don't have a good answer for that. Anyone else on the list have an idea? The best I can come up with is food.
_________________
Know Jesus, Know Peace.
No Jesus, No Peace

[garhkal]

I agree, in part, that splitting can be a problem, especially for the time challenged groups. BUT to my experiences, unless gaming for less than 4 hrs, it does not cause more problems than benefits it gives.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Jedi Skyler]

I say that if you, as GM, have definite, definable problems that you can site for your players, then by all means ban the splits- at least until they, as a group, have the kind of cohesion that allows them to function as a group while in little cells here and there.

If they're not at a cliffhanger, as was the case the last time, then you could have had the two lollygaggers out picking up supplies; perhaps have them spend some CPs to gain cash to buy blaster packs, disguises, something that the party's determined that they need to pick up. That way, although they lose some CP for tardiness, their characters still got to contribute to the mission in some small way. Plus, if they roleplay their hearts out, they could possibly gain back the lost CP. Or not- it's YOUR world!

[KageRyu]

Yes, indeed, I agree that groups splitting up can be very difficult sometimes. However, I never would prohibit such actions, I merely try to make them learn by their mistakes. I can understand how it can affect a time constrained game. My group, as well, only meets once a weak, but we usually go for about 6-8 hours a game. When my group does split, they have, on occasion, noticed or found clues they could not make sense of as the person who woul dhave understood was with the other group...or they had met oposition they could not defeat alone. This has led to a number of setbacks for my group, but has also helped shape the timeline and structure of my campaign, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When groups split up, often they do start vying for attention or feeling left out, and I tell them they just have to wait, and continued interuption will only make it take longer. That's just the way it is. I do try to give each group equal time, though it doesn't always work. I absolutely prohibit cross-chatter, banter, and suggestions between the two (or more) groups unless they have comlinks, and will penalize them CP for it (just as I will for the sudden "I need to find the others" that another GM mentioned). I will admit, it is not for every GM, and it is well within the GMs perogative to try to keep the players from fragmenting. One trick is to have an unexpected encounter or event to keep them together (this works well when done right).
_________________
"There's a set way to gain new Force Points and it represents a very nice system, where you're rewarded for heroism, not for being a poor conductor to electricity." ~Jachra