Sandbox-style: What's your opinion?

[Melan]

1) I've been told adventure writing is an art, but if you are simply following the direction of PCs does it require even more skill to pull off?

No, just a willingness to improvise, to run with the ideas the players give you and spin them into adventures. You need fairly active people to pull it off, though, so if the players are more into following a plotline, sandbox games are not the best solution. Much of sandox gaming is based on the recipe of provocative open situation --> action --> reaction, with a random component thrown in to spice up and complicate things.

2) Does it dramatically increase the preparation time needed? (You may take this question however you feel.)

Hard to say, but it did not increase mine. It could increase it if you compulsively detail everything. On the other hand, if you work from a few sketchily written adventure hooks, random encounters and small adventure sites, you should be okay. Basically, you want to avoid overextending yourself and eventually not using the majority of what you have written. So small, modular parts might work better. I have done a lot of these for my Wilderlands campaign: see Isle of the Water Sprites or The House of Rogat Demazien for examples which were originally vignettes at about three or four pages each plus some maps. No great work to write, and it was not a big waste if some of them did not end up in play immediately (I only ran Water Sprites last weekend, in fact).

3) Would you recommend it to new DMs? And why or why not?

I would, since I ran what is now called a "sandbox campaign" when I started DMing at the ripe old age of 13, and did it for about two years without writing more than about 20-30 pages of adventure text in the meantime (sadly, this also means much of that campaign is lost to forgetfulness... - all I have is the maps and a few sheets of in-game notes). It doesn't take an "experienced" or "qualified" DM to run a sandbox game, just one willing and able to make up stuff and run with the ideas the players give him. Also, practice makes perfect, and improvisation is a skill that's pretty easy to build up.

 

[Shades of Green]

Also, thinking in terms of 4th edition, should I draw up maps for every possible dungeon, but still keep the actually encounters contained therein random? Or should I just have a few very basic maps that I can reuse (say by turning it upside down for one dungeon as opposed to another or something like that) and just improvise or randomly generate details?

You should probably design three main kinds of dungeons:

1) Plot dungeons, well-detailed and with solid adventure hooks planted in the settings for the players to find and follow if you wish to. In a sandbox campaign always present the players with more than one choice; if they choose to ignore that particular dungeon, nothing bad happens; you could probably recycle 90% of it (map, monster placement, probably most of the plot) if you change the hook and twist the plot a bit.

2) "Mobile" dungeons, reasonably large but not tied to any given geographical location. Relatively generic dungeons - i.e. "goblin layer", "castle", "haunted catacomb system" and so on would do great in this category; just keep them varied and alter them enough when you recycle them to avoid repetition. Create (or find in published modules/the net/your notes from older campaigns) several of these when you have spare time, but don't place them on the map. These would be used (and placed on the map) when the players are looking for adventure where you haven't planned for. Once placed on the map, of course, they should remain there.

3) Small dungeons, typically lairs, small caves/tombs, and similar affairs, usually with a few rooms and containing a small number of encounters (probably one or two). These would serve to flesh out random wilderness encounters, especially for characters with exploration abilities/skills; instead of just "an ogre emerges from the shrubbery and attacks", you could let the players find an ogre's lair from time to time.

Don't just plan your own dungeons - in addition to crafting your own, also borrow, steal and rip from anywhere you could find them: notes from previous games you've run, published adventures, computer games (especially ones with strategy guides available online), internet sites, even non-fiction books (I once even found a very cool map of a bronze-age copper mine in a high-school chemistry textbook). Some - such as ones from computer games or non-fiction books - would need monster placement, others - from older edition material - would need stat conversion, but each of these sources would make your life easier.

 

[Mallus]

But there's a difference between the game scaling because the players seek out adventures that challenge them and scaling because the DM mandates that all encounter are +/- 2 "levels" within the party's level.

Oh definitely. But I've the only DM I've ever met that scaled difficultly so rigidly was the code behind Oblivion...

 

[Set]

I do a kind of 'half-sandbox' thing. I come up with a starter area, and a few encounter types that I'm comfortable with, and then leave clues around. The party can choose one of these hooks, and end up going on the undead-bashing missions or the wolf/werewolf-fighting arc or whatever. If they want to totally leave the area, I can still use the *encounters* (although I might tweak them to suit the flavor of wherever they do end up), even if the location and 'storyline' might be different.

On the other hand, if my players up and said something like, 'Hollowfaust sucks, let's move to Mithril!' I'd have to pretty much toss my prepared characters and make some more suitable for that region (Orcs, Proud tribes, blood sea mutants, etc.).

I think of it less as 'sandbox' style and more as 'buffet style.' There are multiple dishes available, but still only from the assortment I put on the table.

 

[Obryn]

Oh definitely. But I've the only DM I've ever met that scaled difficultly so rigidly was the code behind Oblivion...

Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul is a wonderful thing.

In fairness to Bethesda, though, when you're creating a game to appeal to a wide variety of players (both casual and serious), your best bet is to scale it. I am glad there were plugins for other options, though.

-O

 

[gizmo33]

1) I've been told adventure writing is an art, but if you are simply following the direction of PCs does it require even more skill to pull off?

(Everything IMO): No, not more skill, just different skills. A good scripted adventure that is complicated is not trivial to "pull off" either. The answer to this question is also a matter of player expectations. The first adventures I ran as a 10-year-old were essentially sandbox games (as pretty much all old-school adventuring was, as I understand the definitions).

2) Does it dramatically increase the preparation time needed? (You may take this question however you feel.)

I've played in games where I've been bored but the other players have had a good time. While I personally thought that the DM should have prepared more, the other players would have probably disagreed. So I think this is related to question 1: it really depends on your players expectations. If they expect complicated tactical situations (combat, social, whatever) or deep, rich settings, etc., then that stuff takes work. But how much of that stuff your players require depends on them.

3) Would you recommend it to new DMs? And why or why not?

A new DM with new players, or with experienced players? I don't want to cop out like i did on the first two questions, but my first answer is basically the same. If I tried though, I'd say this: I'd recommend sandbox to a new DM because that's basically what we played when I started at age 10 and it was a blast.

 

[Raven Crowking]

If you are seriously considering a sandbox, I would encourage you. Then I would tell you to read Reynard's blog entries...all of them.

RC

 

[Delta]

...He crashed through the window, knocked over a priest who was christening a baby, caught the baby before it could hit the ground, announced that the child would be named Tyrus (the PC's name), and then sprinted out the back door...

LOL. Now that's good D&D.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Originally Posted by Angrydad View Post
...He crashed through the window, knocked over a priest who was christening a baby, caught the baby before it could hit the ground, announced that the child would be named Tyrus (the PC's name), and then sprinted out the back door...

LOL. Now that's good D&D.

...and a future PC being born.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Sandbox style, run well, can be the most awesome RPG experience you'll ever have.

Sandbox style, run poorly, is boring as sand.