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General Tabletop Discussion
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Campaign structure: combining the sandbox and adventure path
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<blockquote data-quote="CydKnight" data-source="post: 7151400" data-attributes="member: 6873462"><p>My experience both as a player and a DM has been that most campaigns incorporate a balance of both sandbox and railroad. How far the scale is balanced to one or the other will depend on the style of the DM and players. </p><p></p><p>The game I regularly DM has been pretty evenly split down the middle. As a DM I find that railroading the party some helps me with preparation because I am not very good at improvisation. The players on the other hand seem to want a choice of railroad tracks to follow so I typically give them four or five paths to follow. They typically choose one, stick to it until the end, then move on to the next one. I sprinkle in a few random encounters here and there. </p><p></p><p>When the story paths start to dwindle or they seem less interested in a few of the choices, I add a few more to choose from through role play. I just have to make sure I am familiar and comfortable enough with a handful of smaller adventures so I am always prepared for whatever they choose. This isn't too difficult for me since I only choose adventures that I would be excited to run. Not one of them are an original idea from me. All are borrowed from written campaigns, mostly the DM's Guild. I alter them as I feel is necessary to fit into the on-going campaign, as well as, the parties strengths and weaknesses.</p><p></p><p>This works for our group but yours may require more sandbox or more railroad. I am sure there are also other ways to achieve a similar balance to the one we have.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CydKnight, post: 7151400, member: 6873462"] My experience both as a player and a DM has been that most campaigns incorporate a balance of both sandbox and railroad. How far the scale is balanced to one or the other will depend on the style of the DM and players. The game I regularly DM has been pretty evenly split down the middle. As a DM I find that railroading the party some helps me with preparation because I am not very good at improvisation. The players on the other hand seem to want a choice of railroad tracks to follow so I typically give them four or five paths to follow. They typically choose one, stick to it until the end, then move on to the next one. I sprinkle in a few random encounters here and there. When the story paths start to dwindle or they seem less interested in a few of the choices, I add a few more to choose from through role play. I just have to make sure I am familiar and comfortable enough with a handful of smaller adventures so I am always prepared for whatever they choose. This isn't too difficult for me since I only choose adventures that I would be excited to run. Not one of them are an original idea from me. All are borrowed from written campaigns, mostly the DM's Guild. I alter them as I feel is necessary to fit into the on-going campaign, as well as, the parties strengths and weaknesses. This works for our group but yours may require more sandbox or more railroad. I am sure there are also other ways to achieve a similar balance to the one we have. [/QUOTE]
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Campaign structure: combining the sandbox and adventure path
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