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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 5406092" data-attributes="member: 1210">First of all, in a discussion with a large component about making the definitions, your "so, so wrong" is really out of line IMHO. If you want to wave the "I do it right and you're having badwrongfun" flag around, I'll rapidly disengage from discussing this stuff with you. Likewise, if you assert that your definitions win!!1!!eleventyone!! without discussion, that's fine- you win the thread, go home.But I'll assume that you want to have a meaningful discussion, so I'll go ahead and respond this time. I said: So let me give more specific concrete examples, using published adventures.An example of a sandbox published adventure is the Secret of Bone Hill, which presents a region of an island, a full town, several dungeons and other adventure areas, etc. There are various plot threads running through the module- but there is no overarching mission that the pcs must engage in, there is no "end boss" or end goal to the module, etc. The clerics running the temple of gambling have as much detail as the npc spy in town; the assumption is that the pcs will move through the module interacting with various persons and creatures, exploring locations, etc., but there is no stick whacking them if they stray off the path.I think we can all agree this is a sandbox adventure.A linear adventure is just that: 1-2-3-4. There is a distinct sequence of events and the pcs cannot deviate from that sequence and still 'finish' the adventure. Good examples include many delves, A story-based adventure is one where the considerations of the story outweigh the input of the players. The early DragonLance modules are especially egregious this way, but there are other examples too- hello Avatar trilogy!A linear adventure can be set in a sandbox and work just fine as long as the pcs have the option to disengage from it. If the pcs are going into a delve with 3 rooms that are sequential, 1-2-3, and the pcs decide not to venture into room 2 after finishing up room 1, that's a sign of sandbox style dming. In a story-based linear campaign, the pcs wouldn't be able to accomplish anything else until they got the macguffin that they were after.A story-based non-linear campaign is one where, instead of going 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, the pcs starts at 1 and ends at 8 but the stuff in the middle is largely up to the players. For instance, Red Hand of Doom can be a good example of a non-linear story-based campaign. The test is, Can the pcs walk away from this adventure? If the answer is yes (even if the decision later comes back to haunt them), I smell sandboxery. If the answer is no- then I smell a story-based campaign, where the dm's story is more important than the free choices of the players.So: Linear is a style choice related to but not the same as railroading/story-based games/adventure paths/what have you.As in all cases, none of these things are strictly one way or the other, or at least it is very rare to see a campaign that is "all sandbox all the time" or "completely story". YMMV etc.</blockquote>

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