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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 4888442" data-attributes="member: 80487">Doug McCrae explained it very well!I would emphasize the virtues of starting small, though. That detailed example is, IMO, something to aim for after maybe a dozen sessions.As Doug noted, an "old school mega-dungeon" is itself a "sandbox" environment. The original D&D booklets recommend preparing at least six levels before the start of play, but I think that raises the bar needlessly high. For the first session, it should suffice to have just enough rooms so that the players can explore no more than 50% to 75%. Between sessions, you can add more -- and also sketch bit by bit the adventurers' home base and the surrounding region.It's great if you feel up to doing more, but start playing sooner rather than later! A "great campaign" that exists only as reams of notes never actually used in a game is a stillborn product, and one that too often results when perfectionism and procrastination kick in.Something "organically grown" over the course of extended play also tends in my experience to have a certain vibrancy and character usually missing from things planned out in isolation from the game process.Don't be afraid to "wing it"! Tables on which to roll, and just sundry lists of things, can be very helpful (which is why the 1st edition DMG includes so many). Sometimes, the players may suggest something that had not occurred to you, and you may decide to "make it so".</blockquote>

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