Quote:
Originally Posted by Lord Pendragon  Sandbox style also relies heavily on players who are comfortable/interested in taking the initiative....
Know your players. Know whether they're the kind of players who like to drive the action, or the kind of players who'd rather follow a more pre-set path. This will save you a lot of pain. |
Yep, this was what I ran into. I was gung-ho to try a completely sandbox campaign, set in the Wilderlands. You know, random rumors and adventure seeds scattered here and there. Random encounter tables. And, the keyed Wilderlands hexes, of course.
I found out pretty quickly, though, that my players (who are mostly casual gamers to one degree or another) would rather have a general plotline and/or specific quests to follow. Not a railroad, mind you - just some fairly clear options to choose among, including the option to ignore them all if they wanted to.
It was a lesson learned.
As for prep work, I'd have to say that it's a very
different kind of preparation. I spent a lot more time learning about the world - including places they may never go. Whereas, running most adventures, you might spend a lot of time learning them inside and out; when I was doing sandbox-style stuff, I spent a lot of time making up random encounter tables, reading about nearby cities, and the like. And then, riffing off those in-game, making up most everything on the fly.
-O
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