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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 8082927" data-attributes="member: 22779">Sorry, those weren't &quot;side quests&quot;.&nbsp; Those were the main campaign.&nbsp; Or, to put it another way, all there was was &quot;side quests&quot; since none of the adventures are particularly linked (other than the three Saltmarsh adventures) by anything other than geography.&nbsp; There was no &quot;plot&quot;.&nbsp; And that's the point.&nbsp; AP's have a plot.&nbsp; They are linear because you will always be moving forward on the plot and, while there is some freedom and wiggle room (your example of Strahd is a good one since that module is about as sandbox as it gets) but, by and large, it's going to progress in a very predictable way.A non-linear campaign doesn't.&nbsp; There is no end goal.&nbsp; There is no over-arching plot driving play.&nbsp; We aren't battling giants to collect conch shells to allow us to teleport to the end adventure.&nbsp; We aren't disrupting rituals so that our final encounter with Tiamat will be do able.&nbsp; Let's be honest here, for the majority of tables, meeting and defeating Strahd will be the final encounter of the campaign.&nbsp; (Or very close to it).&nbsp; It would be a pretty rare group that will immediately head to Strahd's castle and defeat Strahd.&nbsp; They might do that and die - most likely.&nbsp; The general form of anyone playing Ravenloft will be - arrive in Barovia, ponce around Barovia for a while gaining enough levels/power - challenge Strahd.&nbsp; It's a fairly easy to predict line.&nbsp; I honestly cannot tell you what will happen the session after next in my campaign.&nbsp; I truly do not know.&nbsp; I have a number of smallish adventures scattered around, but, the players have already ignored that once in establishing a tavern.&nbsp; It's entirely possible they will go off in some other direction that I have no idea.&nbsp; That's the point of sandbox campaigns.&nbsp; You cannot predict with any degree of accuracy, what your PC's will do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 8082927, member: 22779"] Sorry, those weren't "side quests". Those were the main campaign. Or, to put it another way, all there was was "side quests" since none of the adventures are particularly linked (other than the three Saltmarsh adventures) by anything other than geography. There was no "plot". And that's the point. AP's have a plot. They are linear because you will always be moving forward on the plot and, while there is some freedom and wiggle room (your example of Strahd is a good one since that module is about as sandbox as it gets) but, by and large, it's going to progress in a very predictable way. A non-linear campaign doesn't. There is no end goal. There is no over-arching plot driving play. We aren't battling giants to collect conch shells to allow us to teleport to the end adventure. We aren't disrupting rituals so that our final encounter with Tiamat will be do able. Let's be honest here, for the majority of tables, meeting and defeating Strahd will be the final encounter of the campaign. (Or very close to it). It would be a pretty rare group that will immediately head to Strahd's castle and defeat Strahd. They might do that and die - most likely. The general form of anyone playing Ravenloft will be - arrive in Barovia, ponce around Barovia for a while gaining enough levels/power - challenge Strahd. It's a fairly easy to predict line. I honestly cannot tell you what will happen the session after next in my campaign. I truly do not know. I have a number of smallish adventures scattered around, but, the players have already ignored that once in establishing a tavern. It's entirely possible they will go off in some other direction that I have no idea. That's the point of sandbox campaigns. You cannot predict with any degree of accuracy, what your PC's will do. [/QUOTE]

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