One of the things that made me hesitate is that the pronoun would usually be plural "they" rather than singular "it".

So long as you avoid the pronoun, singular works fine:

"The party arrives at the inn and orders beer."

But if you want to use a pronoun you have to go plural:

"The party arrive at the inn. They order beer."

You wouldn't say, "it orders beer"?

@strangequark I think the pronoun there is They though, I can't remember why and it might be different between US and British English. I think it's something to do with objects and ideas vs groups.

I suppose "A Party" can be either the idea of one or a group of people though.

@strangequark For example "the party" (gaming term) is an it. It's a concept I think.

but "the party ordered drinks" is a they - group of people.

There's a subtlety about party in RPG I think there. You can legitimately use it as an IT, but also as a THEY depend on the level of abstraction.

I think "the party encounters a troll" is an it form

They attack the troll is the players/group.

@Printdevil @strangequark Yes, this is all kind of tricky because English speakers regularly switch context on the fly without specifying.

So, "the party" is singular; when the party (specifying the grouping itself) is the subject, the verb is singular. "The party stands before the king. It is made up of a ranger, a druid, and a monk. It is bound to fail the mission because it does not include a cleric for healing."

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