Do you run or play in a Sandbox or Linear game

[Stormonu]

A bit of both for me. I'll usually do some opening adventure I've planned out and let the players expand in the direction they want to go, occasionally throwing plot hooks or adventures in their path as they go along. I always try to put at least 3 adventure hooks in front of the party; they can pick up on one (or more) or go in their own direction. Their actions tend to define what will come next, and sometimes the plots they ignore have consequences down the road.

Generally as the campaign rolls along I tend to tie more and more past events together until it looms into some sort of epic plot down the road, and my players often think I planned the whole thing from the beginning. Even though it's all been rather organic until the campaign climax.

 

[pawsplay]

I run a decidedly hybrid style. On the one hand, I like to draw long arcs and my players can usually figure out where the interesting stuff is. On the other hand, I am quite content to let them make whatever decisions they can live with. The more sandboxy side is that I usually plan session to session, based on the players' apparent interest. The more programmatic side are the grand events, if any, as well as any kind of scenarios I want to throw at them.

I remember one time I ran a quick flashback to explain a PC's absence from the last session and the odd events I put there to explain it. The player quite evidently was not interested in going the direction I had in mind, so I had to content myself with a resolution that put him in the right place at the right time. A real workout of my improvisational skills, and a lesson to be cautious about flashbacks.

 

[Snoweel]

my players often think I planned the whole thing from the beginning. Even though it's all been rather organic until the campaign climax.

Are you saying your game is a sandbox, where your players have the illusion of being railroaded?

So much awesome.

 

[pawsplay]

Are you saying your game is a sandbox, where your players have the illusion of being railroaded?

So much awesome.

It's a curious phenomenon. My players sometimes joke about "following the plot," clicking on the glowing NPC, etc., but I'm usually prepped for even some less than likely scenarios, just in case they came up. It's no skin off my nose if they choose to join the Dark Side or whatever.

 

[Jack99]

I am surprised that the top choice (linear) hasn't gotten more votes. Anyone running AP's (both WotC's or Paizo's) should fall in this category, right?

 

[Snoweel]

I am surprised that the top choice (linear) hasn't gotten more votes. Anyone running AP's (both WotC's or Paizo's) should fall in this category, right?

It depends who you ask.

 

[Jack99]

It depends who you ask.

Perhaps. I just can't conceive anything more linear or railroady than Paizo's and WotC's AP's.

 

[S'mon]

I voted "mostly Sandbox". In actuality I just completed running a 21 session 3.5e Linear campaign formed from 5 sequential modules (plus a 1 session intro adventure written by me). However I'm about to restart a 4e sandbox campaign (6 sessions in so far), and my previous D&D games were largely or entirely sandbox. I guess when I ran Star Wars, Call of Cthulu and Paranoia they were pretty much linear campaigns, but most of my GMing these past 26 years has been D&D.

 

[Snoweel]

Perhaps. I just can't conceive anything more linear or railroady than Paizo's and WotC's AP's.

Depends how you run them.

I recently finished the WotC AP and my group 'came off the rails' a few times. I was happy with that and was more than prepared to ditch the AP and write up one of the other plot hooks if the players ran with it, but end-of-the-world hooks have a way of grabbing most players and they kept coming back to it.

 

[Jack99]

Depends how you run them.

I recently finished the WotC AP and my group 'came off the rails' a few times. I was happy with that and was more than prepared to ditch the AP and write up one of the other plot hooks if the players ran with it, but end-of-the-world hooks have a way of grabbing most players and they kept coming back to it.

I can appreciate that, but if you let your players go off the rail of the AP, making up your own stuff, can you honestly still claim to be running the AP?