[quote=@Onarax]
I mean personally, I’m not sure if it would be awful to start with 12 or so characters, if nothing else because RPs on guild typically don’t have the best retention rates. I struggle to think of many games that don’t drop like half their players in the first few weeks. Ultimately though it’s your decision, just figured I’d give my thoughts. 
[/quote]

You're still dealing with 12 players at the start though. It's a mess on the players' front, too, because who do you interact with? The first few pages are going to be bloated with all these disparate character interactions and somebody might not even show up on a page if they're a bit unlucky.

Personal experience has left me as not much of a fan, but it's Inedible's choice in the end. I can see my position is in the minority anyway, as from what I can tell, everyone here is assumed or hoped everyone got in.