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No, what makes it not a sandbox is that the amount of work required to create all that precludes the game from ever happening at all because the DM just doesn't have the time. And, if your game needs all that work just to be able to run the sandbox, then a game where you can do all that without...

I mean, if you want non-linear sandbox games, might I recommend any of the better 4X games out there? Stellaris is about as non-linear sandbox as you could possibly play. There's a million end states, non of which could be predicted from the outset and the path to those end states are too...

No. At least, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that D&D is not a very good sandbox game. It certainly can be done. Obviously since people do it. But, it takes a freaking MOUNTAIN of work to pull it off in anything other than the most facile way. If you'll notice that most of the...

well, put it this way. How many hours do you spend developing your sandbox? I spent 15 minutes preparing for a three month campaign. That's it. I had three months of play prepped in about 15 minutes. Maybe half an hour because I like my game to be pretty. You have an NPC wizard. How long...

Oh, very much so. My Ironsworn game started with a village that had exactly one NPC made. Everything else was 100% developed during play. I might have made suggestions from time to time, but, pretty much the players had complete freedom to do anything they liked and the system 100% supported...

No, this was a hypothetical situation, not a play report. Ahh, that might explain why you are failing to understand.

Again, I think your autocorrect is having its way with you. :D Sigh. This does nicely illustrate why the conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting. 1. Example of sandbox play is a clear example of linear play. 2. Deny that it's linear repeatedly, despite being proven that it's linear. 3...

Nope. Games like this already exist.

Considering the example presented you are just wrong here. There were no other options. This wasn’t a “possible” first stop. It was the ONLY first stop. And you MUST progress through the stops in the proscribed order. Good grief. How is this not linear? The players must proceed though the...

Maybe I just dreamed that.... I thought I saw something that they were talking about rebooting the show after this series. Taking it right back to the beginning. But, my quick google fu search failed to turn up anything, so, maybe it was just something I imagined. Sorry.

One of these days I'm going to sit down and rewatch the sequels back to back. Enough time has passed now that I can watch it with fresh eyes. When I did that with the prequels... Phantom Menace was certainly the best of the three to be fair, but, wow, that's a seriously low bar. Revenge of...

No. Absolutely not. That is wrong. The players go to see the sage because they need the sage to find the portal. Without the sage they cannot progress. They need the portal to travel. Without the portal they cannot progress. They need to go to nexus because there is nowhere else they could...

Not sure why you think I’d disagree. But the argument is that because the dm can say yes to player suggestions that suddenly makes it a sandbox and non-linear. I’m not sure how that works, but apparently it does. 🤷

But, there is no actual reason for the GM to say yes. After all, the GM is "preserving his setting". So, if the players ask for anything that the GM feels doesn't fit, then the answer is automatically no. So, the players begin playing 20 Questions to determine where that border is, and, once...

Whereas to me, this is just a DM curated menu. The DM can always just say, "no, there are no celestial plume dealers here". After all, the original example was, "No, there are no Spelljammer ships here".

Then it would be absolutely a non-linear series of adventures. But, now you're shifting the goalposts. The scenario as presented isn't this. It's a lockstep, linear series of scenarios that the GM offers to the players. The players cannot skip any of the steps since each step is needed to be...

Nope. You’re right it’s working exactly the way it should. A linear series of steps authored by the Dm. Why are you arguing with me? I agree with you. Sandbox is largely an illusion of choice when in fact, lockstep linear resolution is the “way this is supposed to work”.

No I’m simply pointing out that the difference between sandbox and, say, Adventure Path, is one of degree not kind. Sandbox may have a bigger menu, but the players are still constrained to bartering from that menu and cannot substitute anything unless the dm feels like it. Whether you have one...

No, they are not. The players have declared they want to go to a Spelljammer ship. The DM provides every step along the path that leads them from where they are to where they want to go. They go to this sage because the DM tells them that they need someone to help them find a portal to the...

Well I never said I ran it completely as written. :)