D&D 5E Do You Prefer Sandbox or Party Level Areas In Your Game World?

So these are two approaches that campaigns can (and do) use. They have various names, but I'm using these names. I've used both approaches in the past.

Obviously there is more nuance than the definitions below, but these are two possible extreme ends of the poll when voting feel free to choose whichever end you tend towards, or embellish in the comments.

Sandbox -- each area on the world map has a set difficulty, and if you're a low level party and wander into a dangerous area, you're in trouble. The Shire is low level, Moria is high level. Those are 'absolute' values and aren't dependent on who's traveling through.

Party -- adventurers encounter challenges appropriate to their level wherever they are on the map. A low level party in Moria just meets a few goblins. A high level party meets a balrog!

Which do you prefer?

 

[iserith]

Sandbox. This makes it so ambitious parties can take bigger risks for bigger rewards if they so choose.

 

[Musing Mage]

Oh yeah, sandbox it!

And I mean true sandbox, not the fake kind where the DM has a story all laid out in detail and only pretends you have any choice in how it will play out.

 

[payn]

A few years ago id be firmly in the sandbox camp, but its eventually wore at my immersion and sense of narrative. I do like opportunities for the PCs to punch above their weight, but the PCs wandering into something they cant handle and getting TPK'd isn't terribly fun or interesting any longer.

 

[loverdrive]

In a game, where power level changes drastically over the game and high CR monsters wipe the floor with low-level PCs before they could have time to react? Party, of course.

 

[turnip_farmer]

So these are two approaches that campaigns can (and do) use. They have various names, but I'm using these names. I've used both approaches in the past.

Sandbox -- each area on the world map has a set difficulty, and if you're a low level party and wander into a dangerous area, you're in trouble. The Shire is low level, Moria is high level. Those are 'absolute' values and aren't dependent on who's traveling through.

Party -- adventurers encounter challenges appropriate to their level wherever they are on the map. A low level party in Moria just meets a few goblins. A high level party meets a balrog!

Which do you prefer?

Neither. Each area on the world map has a set difficulty and is thus somehow gated until the PCs are able to handle it. They cannot visit Moria at low levels.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I like sandbox but with story opportunities. For characters at any level.

The Troll Bogs are full of trolls, way too dangerous for 1st - 3rd Level Characters. But there are other exploration or social encounters they can have there, such as hiding from trolls, gathering strange plants that grow there, etc.

 

[Oofta]

I do a mix. I set events in motion and the player's are always free to pursue or abandon whatever thread they want. On the other hand, I'll make it clear if they are biting off more than they can chew.

I also dangle plot hooks and events for them to choose from that are level appropriate. I don't have a problem if they need to do a valiant retreat now and then, but I also want them to get a sense of accomplishment.

 

[Asisreo]

I actually do kinda both.

If I have setpieces, they'll be whatever level made sense when I created it. The Vampire is still CR 13 even if the party wants to challenge them at level 4.

But for stuff like random encounters or something I'm preparing a week or two in advance, I'll have things appropriately leveled so that the party doesn't randomly encounter the Elder Brain at level 1.

 

[Li Shenron]

So these are two approaches that campaigns can (and do) use. They have various names, but I'm using these names. I've used both approaches in the past.

Sandbox -- each area on the world map has a set difficulty, and if you're a low level party and wander into a dangerous area, you're in trouble. The Shire is low level, Moria is high level. Those are 'absolute' values and aren't dependent on who's traveling through.

Party -- adventurers encounter challenges appropriate to their level wherever they are on the map. A low level party in Moria just meets a few goblins. A high level party meets a balrog!

Which do you prefer?

Definitely sandbox, otherwise I'd rather just do the usual selection of adventures by level. But letting the PC wander randomly only to adjust the world around them is odd to my taste...