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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 5123171" data-attributes="member: 151">Well, I don't think everyone has agreed on one definition, but I think that several people (including myself) have generally looked on <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/273514-sandboxes-forked-paizo-reinvents-hexcrawling-5.html#post5123000" target="_blank">Umbran's post up-thread </a>as being a pretty straightforward and generally accepted definition.For myself, I've always seen adventure styles working on a spectrum from Sandbox to Railroad, which most campaigns falling somewhere square in the middle.  A true railroad, at least as I knew them in then 1980s, was usually the providence of the DM who didn't know how to work off-script.  In this sense, railroad specifically referred to the fact that the players were FORCED to follow the pre-set plot, regardless of their actions.  Not always a bad thing, but generally only the best DMs could pull it off.  A classic example of a railroad is the classic 'A' series of AD&D modules, the Slaver series.  Either at the end of A3 or the beginning of A4, the party is captured, robbed of all their equipment and then traps them in a prison beneath a volcano.  If the DM uses the scenario as written (these were originally tournament modules), they have no say in the matter.  The railroad removes all freedom.  In home play, this would often translate into situations where the DM would do a terrible job of actively thwarting the players attempts to do anything except follow the DM's pre-ordained story.  Dragonlance was similarly targeted for modules that not only used pre-set stories, but used pre-set characters who HAD to follow the novel's plot...their fates entirely pre-ordained.A 'sandbox' game, which is a relatively new term that caught fire from Grand Theft Auto III, emphasizes the exact opposite, IME.  The DM provides virtually NO direction or guidance to the players, who are expected to move their own personal story along.  This does not mean the DM does not provide story hooks, detailed NPCs or actual adventures.  Merely that the players narrative is their own and they can weave in and out of events as they choose, regardless of how this might affect the DM's plans.  The characters may wander into a tavern, ask if there are any ancient ruins about and go straight to them.  Once there, they discover an ancient spirit that asks for their help and that there's a dragon below.  They may help the spirit.  They may ask the local lord for assistance in dealing with the dragon.  They may decide that no sane person would live within 100 miles of a dragon and head North to the big city on the map.  An overarching story may appear...may even be in the planning from the beginning; but the DM lets the players have unprecedented control of their destinies.  The world reacts to them.  If they kill a man in a town, they may get chased by the Sheriff and his men, but they chose to go to that town and how to handle that situation.If the Railroad is a novel and the sandbox is a 'choose your own adventure' book, then most campaigns fall squarely in the middle.  How well each group prefers that adventure style will vary.In many campaigns, the players want some degree of direction and story to drive their actions, but also want some degree of freedom to pursue their own agendas.  And likewise, the DM may expect or impose some limitations for the sake of meta-plot or meta-game.  The players, for example, may be told they are all in the employ of a rich merchant noble.  How and why may be left to them, but for the sake of getting the game going, they all accept this imposition on their freedom.  They may be told that the local lord needs their help...and then one player says he refuses.  The DM then comes up with a reason, in-story, for why the player's character must follow the plot.  The plot continues in this fashion, with players and DM shaping it like a piece of clay.Many of the classic modules, as printed followed one of the two extremes.  Many of the 'railroad' variety were, in fact, tournament modules.  They were meant to play with strangers at conventions in a matter of hours.  The setting of Greyhawk, by contrast, was the exact opposite.  Based on Gary's campaign, where players might be good or evil and would act as they saw fit.  They might hear of a tower and decide to go there...or they might not.  The game had 20 people or more playing in it, often in solo or small sessions.  Something like Castle Greyhawk would attract players who heard of it, but they would choose to go somewhere and Gygax would accommodate them.  I don't think this is a generational thing, at all.  Even people <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/1/6/" target="_blank">new to D&D</a> have found appeal in the approach <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/2010/1/20/" target="_blank">that works for them</a>.As far as I'm concerned, you can have fun with any position on the spectrum, if you've got a good DM and players who are on board.</blockquote>

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