D&D (2024) DMG 2024: Is The Sandbox Campaign Dead?

Reynard

aka Ian Eller
Supporter
I was reading through the 2024 DMG Adventure and Campaign chapters and something occurred to me: the DMG does not include player driven sandbox campaigning as mode of campaign play. The campaign framework that the DMG describes in detail and strongly advocates for is one of prepared adventures and established campaign throughlines. It offers some support for travel and exploration, but not a focus of play. Similarly, it mentions player goals in passing, but otherwise does not spend any time of establishing what this looks like as a way to play the game.

(As an aside, there is a surprising lack of support for dungeon play in general given the name of the game, and absolutely nothing about long term dungeon exploration.)

Why does this matter? Because this DMG is clearly designed to be the onboarding product for new DMs, and as such its lessons are going to have a long term impact on the culture of play. The advice in the DMG, especially coupled with the structures and premises of the evergreen adventures new DMs are likely to run, establishes a D&D campaign as a television show with a series long narrative and "season" stories.

I am not saying that this is a bad structure for a campaign. It is a good structure, in fact. But it is not the only structure, and player driven sandbox exploration wherein "stories" emerge from play is a foundation, important and still excellent way to play the game. I am afraid that new GMs will not be exposed to that style of campaign and eventually it will mostly die out (in the same way that the megadungeon mostly died out in official D&D).

I am sure many of you will think I'm nitpicking, being negative or just plain wrong. If the latter, what in the 2024 DMG do you think advocates for and helps support the sandbox playstyle? With any explicit example, how will new DMs discover and produce sandbox campaigns?

Even if you agree with me: what would you add for DMs for sandbox play? How would you alter or add to the Adventure and Campaign chapters, or elsewhere?

ALSO: Let's agree to not center a discussion around the idea that experienced DMs can just ignore the advice and run a sandbox game. Of course they can, but that isn't the point. This is about new DMs.
 

log in or register to remove this ad




Sandboxes are hard to keep interesting if you don't have the power of the players matching their desires.

I see sandboxes as either
  1. Lower power strategic struggles against the world
  2. Middle power explorations in new wonders
  3. High power pure power fantasy power trips
1 fell out of favor with modern or younger D&D players.
2 is hard to monetize and to keep thinking up new cool things.
And 3 gets boring to most people eventually. And video games do it better.
 


It may be because sandboxes are the hardest for a newer DM to run. The openness and requirement to improvise frequently is difficult.
If a new DM asked me to join a sandbox I'd be wary
Doesn't that suggest that the DMG should spend MORE time on it. After all, campaign adventures like Strahd or Rime tell the GM how to run that kind of game. The DMG section on that could be short. But without a official sandbox campaign, the new DM is relying on the DMG.
 

Doesn't that suggest that the DMG should spend MORE time on it. After all, campaign adventures like Strahd or Rime tell the GM how to run that kind of game. The DMG section on that could be short. But without a official sandbox campaign, the new DM is relying on the DMG.
The campaign advice, as described, accomplishes two goals for WotC: it makes newbie DMing easier, and it focuses DMs on new WotC products.

Level up enough times, and a DM doesn't need advice on sandboxes. But let's also note that this leaves the door open for an Advanced DMG. "Buy, buy, buy, spend more money!" - Maynard James Keenan
 

Hopefully it is supported by an adventure that lays out how it works. There is a chance the Keep on The Boarderland reboot box set does this.

The Caves of Chaos where and incredibly claustrophobic sandbox of sorts. Spread out the caves over a big area and you got a decent sandbox with factions and such. Add a dragon and a few more adventures sites and boom done.
 

I have always seen campaign setting books as sandbox guides for DMs. The 3rd edition Forgotten Realms book was very good for this purpose, with adventure ideas for almost every region, and I wonder if we'll see similar in the new FR book for DMs this year. Both the Starter Set and the Essentials Kit had sandbox-style adventures included so I think it is quite possible that the new one will as well.
 

Trending content

Remove ads

Top