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Re Building the Halls of the Undermountain
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<blockquote data-quote="fireinthedust" data-source="post: 5890594" data-attributes="member: 51930"><p>I'd like to, but the Wizards boards are down. yeesh!</p><p></p><p>I'm designing a big sand-box adventure area right now, and I have to admit that I learned a lot from playing 4e that I hope translates to other gaems that I run. The Encounter as the structure of a game night really helped me as a GM to design a game. The idea that the heroes should be doing something at all times is something I learned when in a teaching course, and having them sit and watch me talk about stuff is boring for them.</p><p></p><p>Sandboxes are hard, though, because you're really dealing with adventure locations rather than events. A dungeon works because you can have them run into a "trap event". Otherwise you're stuck: what's the likelihood a group of monsters will be in perfect formation at 4am on a tuesday? You don't get a good encounter mix because no one's really standing around waiting for adventurers outside of a dungeon or a context.</p><p> </p><p> What I find works is giving them a mission to accomplish and letting them choose which location they go to in order to accomplish one part first. The Mission allows the location to take on the "event" quality 4e needs. It allows me as a GM to design mini linear adventures to place into the larger Sandbox setting. They can leave, start their empire-building or whatever, but when it's time they can go adventure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fireinthedust, post: 5890594, member: 51930"] I'd like to, but the Wizards boards are down. yeesh! I'm designing a big sand-box adventure area right now, and I have to admit that I learned a lot from playing 4e that I hope translates to other gaems that I run. The Encounter as the structure of a game night really helped me as a GM to design a game. The idea that the heroes should be doing something at all times is something I learned when in a teaching course, and having them sit and watch me talk about stuff is boring for them. Sandboxes are hard, though, because you're really dealing with adventure locations rather than events. A dungeon works because you can have them run into a "trap event". Otherwise you're stuck: what's the likelihood a group of monsters will be in perfect formation at 4am on a tuesday? You don't get a good encounter mix because no one's really standing around waiting for adventurers outside of a dungeon or a context. What I find works is giving them a mission to accomplish and letting them choose which location they go to in order to accomplish one part first. The Mission allows the location to take on the "event" quality 4e needs. It allows me as a GM to design mini linear adventures to place into the larger Sandbox setting. They can leave, start their empire-building or whatever, but when it's time they can go adventure. [/QUOTE]
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