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<blockquote data-quote="Li Shenron" data-source="post: 6506772" data-attributes="member: 1465">I am not sure exactly what is the definition of &quot;Sandbox&quot; but the way I see it, is &quot;a bounded location where you can do what you want without being told&quot;. (Note: the 'bounded' could really be as big as you want, as long as you can handle it)So the main difference I would expect compared to an adventure path (which perhaps is its opposite) is that it is up to the PC to decide what are their quests, instead of the quests coming up towards them.I would definitely start with a map, full of POI (&quot;points of interest&quot;), each of which might feature encounters, areas to explore, challenges, NPCs, traps, treasure, etc. I would certainly sketch the backstories about these POI. But I would let the PC decide where to go: at the beginning this might feel a bit random, basically they are choosing based on whatever inspires their curiosity... would you rather explore the &quot;Swamp of blood&quot; (monsters!!), the &quot;Forbidden forest&quot; (secrets!!) or the &quot;Pyramid of diamonds&quot; (treasure!!)? Then the story would unfold based on PC's decisions: there's a secret cult in the pyramid, should we try to stop them? Should we join them? Should we just sneak and take the treasure? Should we let them be and investigate how widespread their connections are?In a sense, the adventures themselves are the same. In fact, I would happily drop the Temple of Elemental Evil or the Tomb of Horrors into any sandbox... the difference is that the ToEE story isn't falling on the player's head, but it's rather the players who stumble upon the ToEE business and trigger the adventure!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Li Shenron, post: 6506772, member: 1465"] I am not sure exactly what is the definition of "Sandbox" but the way I see it, is "a bounded location where you can do what you want without being told". (Note: the 'bounded' could really be as big as you want, as long as you can handle it) So the main difference I would expect compared to an adventure path (which perhaps is its opposite) is that it is up to the PC to decide what are their quests, instead of the quests coming up towards them. I would definitely start with a map, full of POI ("points of interest"), each of which might feature encounters, areas to explore, challenges, NPCs, traps, treasure, etc. I would certainly sketch the backstories about these POI. But I would let the PC decide where to go: at the beginning this might feel a bit random, basically they are choosing based on whatever inspires their curiosity... would you rather explore the "Swamp of blood" (monsters!!), the "Forbidden forest" (secrets!!) or the "Pyramid of diamonds" (treasure!!)? Then the story would unfold based on PC's decisions: there's a secret cult in the pyramid, should we try to stop them? Should we join them? Should we just sneak and take the treasure? Should we let them be and investigate how widespread their connections are? In a sense, the adventures themselves are the same. In fact, I would happily drop the Temple of Elemental Evil or the Tomb of Horrors into any sandbox... the difference is that the ToEE story isn't falling on the player's head, but it's rather the players who stumble upon the ToEE business and trigger the adventure! [/QUOTE]

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