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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5296703" data-attributes="member: 59082">This is a riff of <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/290013-sandboxing-bringing-wonder-unknown-into-dming.html" target="_blank">another thread,</a> but I wanted to get more specific and start a discussion on sandboxing. I have never run a true sandbox campaign and I am convinced that it suits my purposes for a few reasons. While there is a large up-front investment of time to prepare--about 24 hours work to get a basic sandbox setting going, according to <a href="http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-fantasy-sandbox.html" target="_blank">Rob Conley</a>--I feel that, with the right tools and well-chosen points of preparation, it can require less preparation down the line (or, I would imagine, it would come in bits and pieces as the sandbox grew).Furthermore, my players have fallen into a relatively passive approach, waiting for the next overly obvious adventure hook and then just following it. I want to inspire initiative in them, to make the world and gaming experience their own.And finally, I just think the general approach is very much conducive to the kind of sense of wonder and mystery that I want to find in myself.It is very inspiring and sounds like a lot of fun!All that aside, let's get to the focus of this thread. In some sense it is an expansion on my request for "Tools for Sandboxing" in the previous thread, but I have a few specific questions that I'm hoping to get answers for:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Examples of Sandbox Campaign Settings - these can be published or personal websites. But I want to see examples of settings that are specifically designed for, or at least very compatible with, the sandbox approach. I am already aware of the "uber-example," Wilderlands of High Fantasy, as well as Rob Conley's Points of Light. What else?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">References for Sandboxing - Whether in-print, PDF, or online, hopefully specifically gamer-oriented, and preferably D&D oriented. I do own a fair number of books, including Ultimate Toolbox and DMGs from every edition etc, so I have a lot of materials already. I'm talking about stuff like <a href="http://www.io.com/%7Esjohn/demog.htm" target="_blank">Medieval Demographics Made Easy.</a></li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Guides to Creating Sandboxes - I've found two really good ones: Rob Conley's <a href="http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-fantasy-sandbox.html" target="_blank">How to Make a Fantasy Sandbox</a> and Ben Robbins' <a href="http://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/94/west-marches-running-your-own/" target="_blank">West Marches.</a> Conley's in particular is so detailed that I may not need anything else as a general step-by-step guide, but I'm also interested in looking at different approaches.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Any Advice for a Sandbox Newbie! - Anything else you might want to impart by way of advice or tips. I would consider myself an "journeyman" DM in that I've been playing (and DMing) D&D in various forms for almost 30 years, but really only sporadically and with a few multiple-year hiatuses in between, which has not allowed me to really master the art of DMing.</li> </ol>Just a few comments about my campaign in order to help you answer the last question. I've been running a 4E campaign for about a year and a  half now, but it has been sporadic; we try to meet every other week and occasionally are able to do so for a couple months at a time, but then sometimes go a month or two without playing (especially during the summer). I would guess we've met around  30 times total. One appeal to the sandbox for me is that we've struggled with having everyone present at every session; my rule has been if more than two people can't come we cancel, but I'd like to have an option where those that can come can play other characters, which would work well with the sandbox approach. Due to time issues I've only really been able to run them through pre-published adventures but I want to break off into a more free-form approach (thus sandboxing), although I don't see myself as a "sandbox purist" in that I like to throw in larger plot seeds and "Big Happenings" in the world, but I see those as just more dynamic elements of the sandbox environment. But overall I see myself using a sandbox environment with occasional pre-published adventures.The PCs are currently 8th level and my plan is to develop the world--which I already have a solid foundation of--to the point where I can gradually shift into a more sandbox approach over the next couple months. I am thinking of integrating at least parts of Ari Marmell's Tomb of Horrors, and perhaps other pre-published adventures that look good,into the sandbox (for example, I just used the first part of Goodman Games' Deathdealer: Shadows of Mirahan where the PCs defense a keep from an undead horde, but I'm thinking of using that as a prelude for Tomb of Horrors, as part of Acererak's machinations, but I digress...).I look forward to your thoughts.</blockquote>

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