Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 5122893" data-attributes="member: 54846">I have trouble believing either of those distinctions. BEcause they are so radically off the reservation in what I understand.Because with the first, if the PCs just say &quot;No, Mr Mysterious guy in the tavern, we aren't interested&quot;, or they attack that guy because they think he's suspicious, then the game's over, everyone pack up your dice, the plot is gone.Meanwhile, the other - I don't even understand how something can have &quot;no plot&quot; and be a game. So it's just a series of 'here be monster lair, enter and kill monster'? The PCs stumble across a cult who are doing something. THAT IS A PLOT. Something is happening. They can choose to ignore the cultists and keep on truckin', but those cultists are DOING something, and the PCs, deciding tog do something about it, that is a plot. I mean, in a Sandbox game there are missions everywhere, but those missions ARE MISSIONS, implying therefore, plot.If ther'es no plot, and it's just the PCs wandering everywhere, not only is everything therefore in stasis, everything the PCs interact with has no motivation beyond just interacting with the PCs. The way you're describing it, it sounds just like sight seeing.I have no clue what is going on in sandbox sessions, because after people get to &quot;You go where you want&quot;, it all sounds like the description of Seinfeld - &quot;It's a game about nothing!&quot; I don't think these definitions are realistic to how people play RPGs. Either the terms need to be better defined, or it's like saying &quot;There's two flavors of ice cream: Vanilla, which is only ice cream harvested by blind virgin nuns who churn the icecream by hand and ship it by pigeons to your grocery store, or Chocolate, which is only ice cream harvested from cocoa plants in southwestern Brazil and churned by monkeys and delivered by a guy named Fred&quot;. The definitions are so narrow and extreme that the terms lose any real practical meaning in usage.If the choice is &quot;15-30 level Plot vs. Sight Seeing Tour Where Nothing Happens&quot; and &quot;everything in between&quot;, that's... just not helping the discussion at all.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rechan, post: 5122893, member: 54846"] I have trouble believing either of those distinctions. BEcause they are so radically off the reservation in what I understand. Because with the first, if the PCs just say "No, Mr Mysterious guy in the tavern, we aren't interested", or they attack that guy because they think he's suspicious, then the game's over, everyone pack up your dice, the plot is gone. Meanwhile, the other - I don't even understand how something can have "no plot" and be a game. So it's just a series of 'here be monster lair, enter and kill monster'? The PCs stumble across a cult who are doing something. THAT IS A PLOT. Something is [I]happening[/I]. They can choose to ignore the cultists and keep on truckin', but those cultists are DOING something, and the PCs, deciding tog do something about it, [I]that is a plot[/I]. I mean, in a Sandbox game there are missions everywhere, but those missions ARE MISSIONS, implying therefore, plot. If ther'es no plot, and it's just the PCs wandering everywhere, not only is everything therefore in stasis, everything the PCs interact with has no motivation beyond just interacting with the PCs. The way you're describing it, it sounds just like sight seeing. I have no clue what is going on in sandbox sessions, because after people get to "You go where you want", it all sounds like the description of Seinfeld - "It's a game about nothing!" I don't think these definitions are realistic to how people play RPGs. Either the terms need to be better defined, or it's like saying "There's two flavors of ice cream: Vanilla, which is only ice cream harvested by blind virgin nuns who churn the icecream by hand and ship it by pigeons to your grocery store, or Chocolate, which is only ice cream harvested from cocoa plants in southwestern Brazil and churned by monkeys and delivered by a guy named Fred". The definitions are so narrow and extreme that the terms lose any real practical meaning in usage. If the choice is "15-30 level Plot vs. Sight Seeing Tour Where Nothing Happens" and "everything in between", that's... just not helping the discussion at all. [/QUOTE]

Verification