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<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 6743261" data-attributes="member: 40177">Sandboxing is fun.&nbsp; I'm in league with a few other posters on this thread - AaronofBarbaria and Discosoc in particular.&nbsp; Basically, I drop three hooks, give the players (not pcs) a very rough idea of the adventure, and then let the PCs choose where and what they want to do.&nbsp; I keep my setting small, so that PC actions can have a ripple effect on the world.&nbsp; I make sure most NPCs have a method for travelling, so I can re-use the ones that &quot;click&quot;.&nbsp; And I drop references to previous adventures into the current adventures to allow for greater continuity.PCs join organizations - and I have those organizations ask for favours relating to whatever adventure they pick, so that there's a metaplot that begins to form that is shaped by player choices.&nbsp; It's maybe a bit sandboxy (whatever adventure you pick, you know your guild contact is going to ask for you to do something hard).&nbsp; But I don't require players to make certain choices (you don't have to LISTEN to your guild contact - whichever way you choose, there will be repercussions).&nbsp; I plan ahead, and foreshadow adventure hooks that may show up in the future.&nbsp; I particularly highlight adventures I'd personally like to run as a GM by making those hooks really ring out.&nbsp; I've done this for a bunch of dungeon modules that will be coming up - particularly &quot;Chadranthar's Bane&quot; and &quot;Vesicant&quot;, which I'm pretty sure will get picked up on by the PCs after they leave the Forbidden City.I don't rely on tables unless I've got the luxury of having one in front of me.&nbsp; Usually, when players ask a question on choices of action, I just stop and ask myself a few questions:1.&nbsp; What would fit with the world?2.&nbsp; What is a good result for the PC's roll or ability that is being used?3.&nbsp; What would be open to new ideas and isn't closed off?4.&nbsp; What is FUN?And go from there.&nbsp; Players will have incomplete information, will start to speculate, and their speculations will inform me on what they're worried about and (usually) problems I haven't seem coming - it used to be called &quot;Chumming the dungeon&quot;.&nbsp; While they're planning, I'm throwing together mini-encounters I can run while I try to figure out which way the adventure is coming.All of this, by the way, requires world knowledge.&nbsp; Because of this, I keep my world small.&nbsp; There are nine deities, and that is IT.&nbsp; I know them inside and out.&nbsp; Every time I need a deity, it's tied to one of the nine.&nbsp; There are only a few nations, and they're small and relatively weak - I can use them when needed, and know who they are and how they run (and their goals).&nbsp; There are few power sources, nine organizations that can really move the PCs around, and a few metaplots that I can draw upon when I need to.&nbsp; The world is relatively loosely defined, though, so if I need a magical forest, ruined lighthouse, or haunted swamp, I can place one on the map with little trouble.&nbsp; And because it seems that I always pick adventures with cults, it's lead to a setting that's rife with the blighters.&nbsp; Which is kind of fun, too.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wik, post: 6743261, member: 40177"] Sandboxing is fun. I'm in league with a few other posters on this thread - AaronofBarbaria and Discosoc in particular. Basically, I drop three hooks, give the players (not pcs) a very rough idea of the adventure, and then let the PCs choose where and what they want to do. I keep my setting small, so that PC actions can have a ripple effect on the world. I make sure most NPCs have a method for travelling, so I can re-use the ones that "click". And I drop references to previous adventures into the current adventures to allow for greater continuity. PCs join organizations - and I have those organizations ask for favours relating to whatever adventure they pick, so that there's a metaplot that begins to form that is shaped by player choices. It's maybe a bit sandboxy (whatever adventure you pick, you know your guild contact is going to ask for you to do something hard). But I don't require players to make certain choices (you don't have to LISTEN to your guild contact - whichever way you choose, there will be repercussions). I plan ahead, and foreshadow adventure hooks that may show up in the future. I particularly highlight adventures I'd personally like to run as a GM by making those hooks really ring out. I've done this for a bunch of dungeon modules that will be coming up - particularly "Chadranthar's Bane" and "Vesicant", which I'm pretty sure will get picked up on by the PCs after they leave the Forbidden City. I don't rely on tables unless I've got the luxury of having one in front of me. Usually, when players ask a question on choices of action, I just stop and ask myself a few questions: 1. What would fit with the world? 2. What is a good result for the PC's roll or ability that is being used? 3. What would be open to new ideas and isn't closed off? 4. What is FUN? And go from there. Players will have incomplete information, will start to speculate, and their speculations will inform me on what they're worried about and (usually) problems I haven't seem coming - it used to be called "Chumming the dungeon". While they're planning, I'm throwing together mini-encounters I can run while I try to figure out which way the adventure is coming. All of this, by the way, requires world knowledge. Because of this, I keep my world small. There are nine deities, and that is IT. I know them inside and out. Every time I need a deity, it's tied to one of the nine. There are only a few nations, and they're small and relatively weak - I can use them when needed, and know who they are and how they run (and their goals). There are few power sources, nine organizations that can really move the PCs around, and a few metaplots that I can draw upon when I need to. The world is relatively loosely defined, though, so if I need a magical forest, ruined lighthouse, or haunted swamp, I can place one on the map with little trouble. And because it seems that I always pick adventures with cults, it's lead to a setting that's rife with the blighters. Which is kind of fun, too. [/QUOTE]

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