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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 4708328" data-attributes="member: 467">I don't think this is the distinction between either "situations" and "adventures" or "sandboxes" and "serial" games. As I stated early on, the "situation" is different than the "adventure" simply in that it is a collection of existing conditions upon which the PCs may act of their own accord and in whatever manner they choose, or not. An "adventure" presupposes involvement, often in a particular way.Both situations and adventures have "hooks" -- being the means by which the DM invites the players and their characters into them.  The difference is, the "adventure" relies on at least one of the hooks beging grabbed on to -- otherwise there's no adventure.  Situations become adventures when the PCs get involved (and stories once all is said and done, but that's another issue). It might be a long, involved adventure or a short foray.  But PC involvement is what makes it an adventure.And this is the ultimate difference between the "sandbox" and "prescribed" campaign models. In the former, there's no presuposition about the nature of the adventures aside from the inherent aspects of the setting. In the latter, there's a "plot" that's assumed to be followed for some length of time (an adventure path, for example) and no matter what other choices the players have regarding *how* they do things, *what* they do is essentially already set.But the level of prep in any given encounter is not relative to whether we're talking about sandbox play or anything else.  Given infinite free time, I can detail every possible random encounter on my charts and any number of likely or presumed responses to any number of likely or presumed PC actions by any number of likely or presumed NPCs in my sandbox game. By the same token, given very limited time, I can detail very little except page numbers in the MM and DMG on the side of the sheet of paper that has my Hook, Goal and Reward written down for my prescribed adventure, running everything on the fly.And in neither case is there a distinction between homegrown and borrowed/purchased.  I can build a sandbox by from entirely pre-built elements -- campaign setting book and a pile of modules, for example.  As long as the PCs are the ones determining where to go, with whom to interact and how to go about it, it's still a sandbox. The thing that defines a sandbox is player freedom (and therefore, by extension, a wide variety of options).  In a perfect world, in a sandbox game the PCs can jump on a boat in the middle of another "adventure" and head for the Mystical East. Of course, the DM has to respond -- and in this case should likely respond with "Okay. That's it for this week, because I need time to detail *a whole nother continent, you bastards* before we can continue." That the DM needs to take some time to define said Mystical East doesn't mean it's not a "sandbox game"; it just means he's human and can only do so much.I think this is where a lot of people get overwhelmed by the idea of running in the sandbox style -- they think they need to have a whole world and a million adventures made up before they can even begin play. You can easily start a sandbox campaign in a relatively small geographical area.  There's only so far a party of 1st level PCs can walk in a session, and judicious use of random encounter charts and NPC interactions can preserve the freedom of the game while buying the DM time. Many old school dungeons are themselves sandboxes -- they have multiple avenues of entry and exit, discreet areas, interesting environments and, perhaps most importantly, a very vague Endgame if any at all. They exist to be explored and looted in whatever manner the players desire, to whatever extent they desire.One final note: Do not be surprised if your sandbox campaign transforms into a more serial one; in fact, hoper for it because it means some element of play, some aspect of the setting has captured the players' imaginations enough to cause them to focus their characters' careers on it if not solely then primarily.  A totally open sandbox game can easily turn into a "adventure path" when the players decide that Duke Dunderhead must be removed from power or Jade Jaws cannot be allowed to continue to terrorize Hometownburg.  When this happens, rejoice. Not only do your players actually *care* but such a sharp focus of their adventures likely means that your setting will be preserved for the follow up campaign, with many of your "situations" still in place.  Just remember, wanting to take down the evil Duke or the great wyrm is not the same as doing it, and its quite possible the party in question will become just another "background story" for the next cast of characters.</blockquote>

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