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Message: <blockquote data-quote="robertsconley" data-source="post: 9674902" data-attributes="member: 13383">No.No more than what a party of 50-point GURPS characters can do.In my Majestic Fantasy RPG, here’s how I handle this, from page 67 of the Basic Rules:A better comparison is a group starting in the City State of the Invincible Overlord, who are aware of the Forest of Dearthwood, once the elven kingdom of Silverwood, now an orc-infested wilderness.[ATTACH=full]407495[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]407496[/ATTACH]City-State is located in the lower left corner (the red dot).The reality of Dearthwood:[ATTACH=full]407497[/ATTACH]If a party of 1st-level characters (or 50-point GURPS characters) decides to enter Dearthwood “just because,” their chance of dying is high. But if they treat themselves as beginners, do their research, and seek out help or intelligence, they may uncover something within reach, like the <a href="https://www.batintheattic.com/downloads/Elf%20Lord%27s%20Temple.pdf" target="_blank">ruins of an Elf Lord’s temple</a>. That’s where opportunity lies.As I mentioned earlier, everything in my setting creates ripples. I put a great deal of effort into making the world plausible, even within a fantastical framework. I don’t wave it away with “it’s fantasy”, I follow the implications. One of those is that, even in a dangerous world, there are always opportunities for the inexperienced to find adventure and wealth. Like anything else, adventuring develops a culture around it, one that novice adventurers can learn from, tap into, and use to discover opportunities appropriate to their capabilities.A common criticism of this approach is: “Why bother? I only have so much time, just skip to the good stuff.” Or “I feel like I’m playing Mother May I or playing Twenty Questions.” My response is that getting to the good stuff is part of the fun. And it isn’t handled through dry procedures or filling out spreadsheets, as classic roleplaying is often depicted; it happens through interacting with NPCs, through roleplaying, and through interacting with the World in Motion and NPCs' personalities. The process of navigating that, matching your character’s goals to the agendas of others, uncovering information, and making decisions in uncertain circumstances, is what makes the journey as compelling as the destination.It works a lot like mountaineering. Novices don’t tackle Everest first; they train, plan, learn, and practice on mountains more suited to their skill levels. Or better yet, consider deep cave exploration, where dangers are real and not always obvious.  Inexperienced cavers will tackle easier, more shallow caves first before tackling more difficult ones.  Preparation is key; it is no different with adventuring.Plus, one thing that leaps out at me when reading the accounts of mountaineers and cavers is not just the technical elements of their craft, but the stories of the people they interact with. Many mock this as unnecessary drama, but to me, it makes everything they write about more human and relatable. For a tabletop roleplaying campaign, it is an invaluable resource for elevating something that would otherwise come across as a dry and technical series of procedures into a deeply engaging experience.My experience says otherwise. And I’m still in the process of documenting that experience, so I understand the skepticism.The system only constrains a sandbox if you treat level as a script; if you treat it as an indication of life experience, then it's just one more part of how players make informed choices in a dynamic world.</blockquote>

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