D&D 5E D&d is not a good sandbox?

[Rune]

How do you prevent too many long rests. How do you allow just enough short rests?

First of all, I don't worry about it. I accept that it is likely that the PCs will only have (at most) one or two combat encounters per day in certain environments. I also accept that not all combats are meant to be challenges. Sometimes the pace is better served by giving the players an outlet for badassery. (I also don't tie leveling to combat, which is not necessary, but helps me establish the play style I like). Sometimes the combats will be overwhelmingly difficult. I don't worry about their resources.

Instead, I try to give them hard choices, which sometimes include balancing whether or not they should jeopardize the accomplishment of their goals in time against the possibility of failure through attrition of resources. Because, running a sandbox does not mean running a game that is in a time-vacuum. NPCs have agendas and they will work toward them.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

BTW, anyone who's interested in sandboxes and wandering monsters should definitely read this post: http://retiredadventurer.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-procedure-for-wandering-monsters.html

Also, be sure to check out the example (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BznYauJBmGDJU2d5aHhUX3V6S00/edit) linked from that post, as inspiration.

 

[GlassJaw]

Is it a problem if the players enter every scenario at full strength? If not, why not?

Resting really is only an issue when a) something else in the world that will affect the PCs is on a schedule or b) you want to wear down their resources through a series of multiple encounters.

If a), then clearly communicate to the player the consequences if they take too much time then let them decide. That is the epitome of the sandbox. If b), then things like wandering monsters, the location continually gets restocked or the bad guys start to come after the players.

Stopping to rest to recover resources needs to feel like an important choice, otherwise players will always want to be at max strength. In some situations though, that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I know some people really like playing d&d as a sandbox. However it seems to me that the rest mechanics have never worked well for that style of play. Am I missing something or are some people just trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?

You may be missing some of the implications of the style. It's not just that you wander about at random, encountering a mix of contemptible, appropriate, and instantly fatal encounters, it's that you mindfully explore the setting, seeking out reward and weighing risk. That includes timing rests. Depending on the players, that might often come down to resting after every combat, even if that means going to some lengths to engineer the opportunity to do so, sure. And, yeah, that 'breaks' the game in certain senses - but that may well also be part of the point of choosing that style.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I know some people really like playing d&d as a sandbox. However it seems to me that the rest mechanics have never worked well for that style of play. Am I missing something or are some people just trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?

Nah, it's fine.

Use random encounters. Roll every hour or half hour. Your PC's will not be inclined to rest in the wilderness or in dungeons if they can avoid it.

 

[ninjayeti]

To me the biggest mechanical issue for running sandbox adventures in D&D is the huge power difference even a couple levels makes. If you are running a true sandbox, then low level parties are likely to get into encounters they can't handle. The only real solution is metagaming by players ("That's a CR5 creature, we can't beat it. Lets go kill some goblins and come back here in a couple of weeks when we have leveled up."). Using LMoP as an example, a second level party can potentially bypass most of the encounters and reach the final area. Their reward for smart play is likely a TPK, or at best retreating to do some busy work in order to level up and come back later.

That's not to say you can't or shouldn't run sandbox adventures using D&D, but they work better in systems without such a steep power curve.

 

[Sacrosanct]

To me the biggest mechanical issue for running sandbox adventures in D&D is the huge power difference even a couple levels makes. If you are running a true sandbox, then low level parties are likely to get into encounters they can't handle. The only real solution is metagaming by players ("That's a CR5 creature, we can't beat it. Lets go kill some goblins and come back here in a couple of weeks when we have leveled up."). Using LMoP as an example, a second level party can potentially bypass most of the encounters and reach the final area. Their reward for smart play is likely a TPK, or at best retreating to do some busy work in order to level up and come back later.

That's not to say you can't or shouldn't run sandbox adventures using D&D, but they work better in systems without such a steep power curve.

I don't think I really agree with this. I've been running, and playing in, sandboxes for 35 years. And there doesn't have to be any metagaming at all. For example, a CR5 creature is probably going to leave clues around that an observant party will find long before they ever run into it. That might be rumors of ogres in the hills, nothing alive in a swamp area, but plenty of bones and remains, or finding out that the goblins are all working for a much tougher boss. Part of a living world is that all the creatures interact with each other as if...in a living world. You're not going to have that vampire lair over there without everything within miles of it being affected in some way.

 

[TerraDave]

Well, if you go with the suggestion of one long rest per 24 hours, that solves itself. Also, in a sandbox, you can easily set up the assertion that a long rest can only occur in a place of safety ...

Clear "rest areas" can definitely add another dimension to an exploration oriented adventure, and help with some of these other issues.

 

[Rhenny]

There are so many great responses in this thread.

For me, as long as the game world is dynamic and seems "living" most of the "when to rest" issues fade away.

At its core, the party gets only 1 long rest in a 24 hour period.

The short rests don't bother me at all. Depending on the situation they are in, sometimes they take a short rest after 1 or 2 encounters, sometimes they have to push on through 4,5,6 or even more. Sometimes time is not an issue. Sometimes they need to hustle and get places or get through areas as quickly as they can so time does become an issue. As DM, as long as they want to give up 1 hour of game time, it doesn't bother me in the least if they rest. I know that even if they are rested, one deadly encounter can knock them down and make them fear. The key is variety of encounters and situations that they deal with even when they are in a sandbox. Just because they are free to go in any direction or take on any challenge does not always mean that they don't have to race against time, and many times they are going to find themselves in more dangerous situations than if they were progressing through an adventure in a linear fashion so the fear factor helps too.

 

[Tony Vargas]

To me the biggest mechanical issue for running sandbox adventures in D&D is the huge power difference even a couple levels makes. If you are running a true sandbox, then low level parties are likely to get into encounters they can't handle. The only real solution is metagaming by players ("That's a CR5 creature, we can't beat it. Lets go kill some goblins and come back here in a couple of weeks when we have leveled up.").

If the danger the creature represents is well-known that's not exactly meta gaming. OK, the killing goblins to go up a level is...

That's not to say you can't or shouldn't run sandbox adventures using D&D, but they work better in systems without such a steep power curve.

Another option is to place potential encounters status-quo, but tailor presentation. So if there's a Dragon on Mt Crumpet, there's a dragon there, whether the PCs climb it at 3rd level or 13th. At 3rd level, though, the challenge is 'hide from the dragon' as it flies overhead on its way to something more interesting, while at 13th, it might be 'kill the dragon.'