Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Sandbox and the Railroad
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7469400" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>The problem with some sandbox-style campaigns is that the DMs forget that sandboxes have frames. </p><p></p><p>A frameless, seemingly unending "sandbox" is a desert, which can get boring--unless the DM has you fall into a sinkhole that drops you into the Great Pharaoh Tut'tut-goahnuh 'aveta Killyanaw's tomb. </p><p></p><p>For me, the best compromise is the have a railway network over the sandbox. Start with a large hex crawl map (Hexographer makes this silly easy) where you place all sorts of interesting places. Then have 2-3 overarching storylines and a handful of side quests that point players into various directions. Use random encounter tables sparingly and have them be location-specific so they add to the location's flavor. The best random encounters are indistinquishable from planned scenes and are easy to tie into whatever plot threads your players have decided to follow.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7469400, member: 6796661"] The problem with some sandbox-style campaigns is that the DMs forget that sandboxes have frames. A frameless, seemingly unending "sandbox" is a desert, which can get boring--unless the DM has you fall into a sinkhole that drops you into the Great Pharaoh Tut'tut-goahnuh 'aveta Killyanaw's tomb. For me, the best compromise is the have a railway network over the sandbox. Start with a large hex crawl map (Hexographer makes this silly easy) where you place all sorts of interesting places. Then have 2-3 overarching storylines and a handful of side quests that point players into various directions. Use random encounter tables sparingly and have them be location-specific so they add to the location's flavor. The best random encounters are indistinquishable from planned scenes and are easy to tie into whatever plot threads your players have decided to follow. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
The Sandbox and the Railroad
Top