How Large should a Sandbox be?

Shades of Green · Jan 3, 2010

I'm thinking about prepping for a sandbox campaign using my Wounded Gaia setting. A question I'm pondering about is how large should such a sandbox be? Would a relatively small mountain valley (say, an area of 180 by 180 miles including the mountains around the valley) with a few towns and several dungeons (and even more lairs) suffice for a whole sandbox campaign? Or would a larger area be preferable, such as, say, a small group of islands (each about 180 by 180 miles in size)?

I want the campaign to go at least from level 1 to about level 9-10, if not longer. So how big should the sandbox be?

Snoweel · Jan 3, 2010

lol

Erm, the size of the area should be in proportion to the fastest mode of transport you intend to allow.

An area with all land 'borders' and either no roads or no horses can be a lot smaller than a region which has one or more borders cutting through coastline.

Nagol · Jan 3, 2010

That's a really tough question to answer.

It should be small enough that the DM is comfortable running it. It should be large enough to allow freedom and choice from the players.

I've run sandbox campaigns exclusively inside a single city. My typical size is the continent of Greyhawk and a few extensions to the map.

Since the setting sounds very points-of-light in style, my advice would be to pick a small area (30-60 mile radius) surrounding the starting point. Expand as needed and only as needed.

Levels aren't as telling as they used to be. What system are you thinking of using?

The primary concern for me is how much strategic movement capability will the party have? Low-levels should want to avoid extensive wilderess travel; it isn't rewarding, it takes a long time, and it is dangerous.

Mid-high level groups are much better equipped to handle distance travel and are much more likely to go hither and yon. (Mid level in this case is defined as ~7-10th in 1E -- 3.5E).

Shades of Green · Jan 3, 2010

Nagol said:
Levels aren't as telling as they used to be. What system are you thinking of using?

I intend to use BFRPG, which, IIRC, is a bit similar to BECMI.

Anyhow, what I want is an area for a dynamic enough campaign; maybe 2-3 baronies or city-states so that the setting will have politics, a few towns and villages, several medium dungeons and a lot of wilderness/ruins to explore. Breaking it into multiple islands could also be an option to make things more interesting, add sea travel and expand the map without creating too much prep workload.

Umbran · Jan 3, 2010

I've done successful "sandbox" play in a single city, only a few miles across.

As the old saying goes - size doesn't matter, it's how you use it that counts. Make sure there's some match of expectations, and enough material to interact with inside the "box", and it can be whatever size you want.

Snoweel · Jan 3, 2010

Umbran said:
Make sure there's some match of expectations

Fair point.

With some explicit agreement from the players that they won't take their characters 'off the map' until you're ready, the map can be as small as you like.

S'mon · Jan 3, 2010

Your concept sounds fine to me. Be aware though that a 9th level BFRPG Magic-User can Teleport, AIR.

Mark · Jan 3, 2010

Let's not forget that a sandbox also excompasses planes and time.

Sadrik · Jan 3, 2010

Shades of Green said:
A question I'm pondering about is how large should such a sandbox be? So how big should the sandbox be?

Big enough for you to put in enough interesting hooks and threads to make it interesting. That generally means at least a small town. Start small and expand as needed.

Also I think it can be a good idea to have a theme for a campaign, it does not have to have one but a long term enemy goal or even an allies goal can really enhance both your understanding and motivations of NPCs and what the heck is going on off stage.

Shades of Green · Jan 4, 2010

I'm torn between two opposed approaches which both appeal to me on some level.

On one hand I could probably go with a small setting (say, about 500 square miles in size), maybe a valley or small island with a few small towns and villages and a few medium dungeons. The advantage of this approach would be the ease of preparing it, as well as the ability to detail it pretty heavily in a relatively short period of time. The main disadvantage would be the limited scope of the setting and the limited variety of terrain and climate types.

On the other hand there is a possibility of a larger setting (say, about 180 by 270 miles, similar to the Isle of Dread), with more varied terrain and climate, allowing naval as well as land adventures. The main advantage of that approach would be its greater variety and the ability to stage longer wilderness treks, as well as the larger-scale politics which could be interesting for higher-level characters. The main disadvantage of such a setting would be its scale and the time needed to prep it (though this could be mitigated a bit by spreading the important locations a bit on the wilderness map).