Sandbox Setting?

[Ariosto]

Torog = groovy!

I am honestly curious as to what tradition Doug is riffing on with the "static" assumption, but it's foreign to my D&D (or any RPG) experience. In an isolated scenario, you can get away with having things "frozen in place" until the players directly disturb them, Ergo the Toothy perpetually gargling in Room #15. After all, the place itself dissolves into the ether after that single session.

In a campaign, that would be (to me) so bizarre as to make me wonder why this part of the world displays that characteristic; it must be some profound magic. A whole world like that? Unthinkable! (YMMV)

 

[LostSoul]

The Torog idea isn't mine; I heard it somewhere here, and I combined it with Philotomy Jurament's mystic underworld idea.

But yeah, it's very D&D.

 

[LostSoul]

Here's a question for you sandbox experts; I'm trying out the style for the first time.

In my game the players told me they were interested in some Quests that had to deal with the elves in Harken Forest, and the goblins giving them a hard time.

I came up with a bunch of stuff based on that - an elf lord who felt betrayed by Corellon, turned to Lolth, then despaired and killed herself. Now there's a bunch of Lolthborn Goblins and spiders causing havoc in the wood, worshipping a banshee who hates everything.

Due to other events in the campaign, the PCs have since decided to tackle the death cult of Orcus that TPKed a previous party.

How should I be basing my decisions about what happens to Harken Forest and the Woodsinger elves who live there?

Should I leave it as it is, or advance a "plot", as it were?

 

[AllisterH]

This may sound extremely silly but isn't the default adventure/campaign setting TSR/WOTC has produced lie closer to the sandbox side of the line rather than the "railroad" style?

Reading the "what is a sandbox game", the only campaign setting that doesnt lend itself to that would be Dragonlance.