Sandboxing and bringing wonder and the unknown into DMing

[Mercurius]

A few things to cover. First, my situation: I'm the lone DM in a group of 6-8 players (5-6 regulars, with one or two occasionals and one or two potentials). One other player is interested in occasionally DMing, but is at this point an "occasional" and hasn't committed to regular DMing...yet. We've been on a couple month hiatus through the summer because of hectic schedules and while everyone else's lives are going to settle down a bit into a pattern, mine is going to get busier (I work at a private high school and school is about to start back up). We still want to keep the game going at its every-other-week pace, but I'm facing the dilemma of how to make it work, specifically how to plan and prepare a campaign so that I have the time to do it and will enjoy doing it.

So my job is very busy; I am married with two children; and I am working on a novel...so I don't have a ton of spare time! I have the bare-bones of a campaign setting that we've been playing in, using mainly pre-published adventures with some heavy tweaking. And, of key importance, I want to incorporate more "sandboxing" into the game.

Due to time and the simple ease factor I've been relying upon pre-published adventures. Some of that is okay, but I want to incorporate more of a sandboxing vibe for a couple reasons: One, I think the players would enjoy it and are ready for a more interactive, self-directed approach; two, I get bored running pre-published adventures and would enjoy more spontaneity. What I'm going for is a sandbox campaign, or "ocean", with many pre-published encounter and adventure "islands."And this brings me to the heart of the matter...

To inspire me to keep going with this, I want to feel the sense of mystery and exploration as if I'm adventuring along with them. A sandbox campaign seems conducive to this, while pre-pubished adventures after pre-published adventures starts losing it. To put it another way, I don't want to know everything that they are going to face before they face it; I don't want to always know what's around that next corner or what lurks in the fetid swamp, or even who built the ruined keep on the rocky knoll overlooking the lake. I want there to be a sense of the unknown for me, as the DM.

I remember staying up late summer nights in high school with the Random Dungeon Generator in the back of the 1ed DMG and having a blast for hours. Sure, it was masturbatory dungeoncrawling, but it wasfun, and I was able to create an imaginary picture of what was going on, even some sense of back-story and plot. There was this marvelous synthesis of randomness generated through dice and tables and my own imagination.

You could say that what I really want is to be a player and not a DM, that I get my world-building and story-crafting craving out in writing my novel--and that is partially, even largely, true. But I do enjoy DMing and the bottom line is that until someone else is ready to step up and at least share DM duties, I'd rather be the only DM and have a game than not play at all. So I'm thinking that for me to gather the amount of inspiration and energy I need to DM for five hours every two weeks, given my busy schedule, I need some of that sense of adventure, wonder, and the unknown.

What I'm looking for, and what I'm asking of the kind and wise folks of ENWorld, is any and all of the following, or whatever else you can think of by way of suggestion, but these give you a starting point:

***Tools for Sandboxing, especially oriented around time-saving. Random encounter tables, tips for window dressing, even ways to generate random plot points and as-you-go adventures (I do own Ultimate Toolbox but have only briefly skimmed it).

***Ways to Invite Mystery and the Unknown into my experience, that is how to make DMing feel like I am exploring the unknown as well. This is the key to my whole post, really. I can do this for them, especially if I am feeling it. But how can I, as the DM, also have a sense of mystery and wonder and not know what is around the next corner? (This is the main reason why sandboxing is appealing to me).

Given my busy schedule, I can probably only put in a couple hours of planning a week on preparation. We play every other week, so let's say 2-5 hours of prep between sessions. Some weeks it is hard to even fit in a couple hours--I have to prioritize my writing in terms of creative time and energy--but I feel that I need to at least commit to two+ hours of prep between sessions to make it viable. What I am hoping is that I can find the tools so that those two hours don't need to be spent on the tedium of adventure design or crunching numbers (both of which I normally enjoy, but are too time-consuming to be able to indulge in), but instead can focus on developing the setting itself, as well as thinking more conceptually about adventure seeds and such.

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your replies.

 

[The Shaman]

I like to be surprised by the unfolding events of the game when I'm behind the screen and I use a tremendous amount of random generation, so I suggest you take a good hard look at the Mythic GM Emulator. I'm pretty impressed by it.

 

[Gansk]

I also want to do something similar to what you're describing, but I think it will require at least double the time you're willing to invest.

At the outset, get a pre-published setting but don't read every detail regarding the geography. Then pick a spot at random and place the PC's in the nearest town. Then read everything you can regarding the area within a 30 to 50 mile radius.

Hopefully after reading, you'll have some adventure hooks that you can sprinkle in the characters' background history. You should have at least three hooks for the group, even better would be one per PC. If you don't have that many, gather as many 1st level modules that you can find and pick three at random. Then try to place them in the local area (use your creativity to tweak the module if it seems too hard). Don't read the modules front to back, just skim them so you know enough to place them.

During character creation, ask the players which hook they want to pursue. To cut down on your prep time, they will need to commit to the hook for at least one session. Then spend your prep time fleshing out the hook and play the session. After the session, ask them what they want to do next. Emphasize to them that it is perfectly OK for them to switch to another hook - that conveys the power of the sandbox.

Rinse and repeat as necessary. Use Ultimate Toolbox and other random generators to create hooks and interesting encounters. Roll them in advance during prep time - three at a time and pick the best one that inspires your imagination and creativity. Seed it in the next session, but don't fret if your players don't pick it. Just write it down and seed a reskinned version of it when they are higher level.

When the players say they want to travel to X, repeat the same process for the new area. Any new modules placed should be level appropriate, of course.

You'll also need to gather as many town and city maps that you can find, so when the players want to do city adventuring, you're ready. You don't want to waste your time on mapping. Just reading, creating, and adapting.

Most of the time the players will just pick the same module or hook that you have already prepped for. Use the downtime to catch up on your RL activities or if you feel like prepping, read up on an adjacent area and prepare a hook.

 

[Nameless1]

It really does sound like you want to play, but you have no one else to GM.

My solution would be to try a GMless game. There are several that are good and produce something like what you describe. Low prep and allows everyone to participate in the mystery of world exploration.

I have several games to suggest. The first is The Committee for the Exploration of Mysteries. There is a nice preview game to check out before you buy, and the game is really fun. The default is a choice between Victorian era or Indiana Jones style 1930s. It is easy to hack the flavor to anything that you would like, and there are people who use it for D&D style dungeoncrawling. It recreates the expidition to the dungeon style game really well. The best of my suggestions for dungeoncrawling.

The next that I would suggest is Hell for Leather. Very good game and very action oriented. Plays to completion in a few hours with no prep and can be expanded to be a serial if you would like. There is also a free version. It can easily recreate the quest sort of story arc, a la Fellowship of the Ring or Eye of the World.

The last is one I have yet to play, but it really seems like it would produce a great campaign. Remember Tomorrow is by default a cyberpunk game, but hacking the flavor is very easy. No free version, but for $5, it is almost free. This seems like it would be a great way to get a political sort of game, with multiple factions, well developed villains, and interesting heros. I could see doing superheros, a city campaign, or an Ebberon game really easily with Remember Tomorrow. I need to play this game to find out, but the designer is an award winning game designer.

Now if you are really dedicated to playing D&D, and you don't want a lot of prep, I am not sure that sandbox is the way to go. Sandboxes involve heavily detailing the world before play, and that goes against your desire for low prep as well as your desire to preserve the mystery for yourself. I think some of the indie games with player empowerment and minimal prep would accomplish what you want better than D&D.

Just my 2 cents though.

 

[Afrodyte]

Something I've done that players have really enjoyed is giving them a little bit of "DM Power." In other words, let the players create the world with you. In my case, I often invite them to take the narrative reins for a bit (within a few guidelines), especially when it's related to their characters. This requires being comfortable with improvisation and conveying important information through characters and dialogue.

A simple example: meeting a stranger on the way to the party's destination. Instead of you describing this stranger, you let the players do it. Then you take what they give you and flesh it out.

Another simple example: letting players narrate the results of a successful skill check, especially something physical like Acrobatics or Athletics.

 

[S'mon]

This mirrors my own situation! Except I only have 1 kid, but he's a very very big handful.

Hopefully I'll have more thoughts later, but things I have found to work:

Sketch out or purchase a starting locale of reasonable size, eg the Points of Light in Rob Conley's Points of Light I & II. Seed it with lots of little adventures - if it doesn't come with them included. They should mostly be of a level range doable by starting PCs, with a few tougher ones. Then let the PCs go where they want and do what they want.

One sandbox approach that worked great for me was taking a large number of short published rural-setting adventures from old 'White Dwarf' and drawing a map around them, then start the PCs in the middle of the map. I drew it at 10 miles/hex but now I think 5-8 miles/hex is probably better; Points of Light I & II use 5 mile hexes.

Published sandboxes I have used that work well:

Lost City of Barakus (3e) - a wilderness full of little dungeons & encounters, plus a megadungeon, plus a city with some plot-based adventures. This is great, highly recommend.

Vault of Larin Karr (3e) - a wilderness with villages and extensive Underdark beneath, seeded with lots of dungeons & encounters.

City State of the Invincible Overlord within the Wilderlands of High Fantasy (1e & 3e) - dangerous chaotic city, with lots of plots/rumours and lots of detailed dungeons in the Wraith Overlord expansion.

Useful techniques include: handy random encounter tables for inspiration (never be a slave to the table, though), predesigned 'floating' encounters without a set location you can use when desired (or randomly), 'floating' adventure-hooks that can be assigned to a variety of NPCs ("my nephews are missing" that lead the PCs to a suitable dungeon/encounter.

It's important to detail enough right off that the PCs always have options, that keeps things exciting & surprising for you as GM. OTOH do not try to prep the whole campaign in advance, you want to be a bit ahead of the players but able to riff off them and develop your material in whichever way they go.

 

[S'mon]

You'll also need to gather as many town and city maps that you can find, so when the players want to do city adventuring, you're ready. You don't want to waste your time on mapping. Just reading, creating, and adapting.

Unless the city will be a major adventuring location itself (like the City State of the Invincible Overlord) I don't think it's generally necessary to have maps of cities the PCs visit. A little bit of evocative description making the place sound different from the last city the PCs visit is much better than a detailed street map, IME. And you don't want to limit yourself in the adventures you may later want to set in that city.

 

[IronWolf]

There have been lots of great suggestions already in this thread, but I will try to add some thoughts as well.

***Tools for Sandboxing, especially oriented around time-saving. Random encounter tables, tips for window dressing, even ways to generate random plot points and as-you-go adventures (I do own Ultimate Toolbox but have only briefly skimmed it).

The Ultimate Toolbox should be quite useful at providing tables for details on the fly. You could also look at the Game Mastery Guide from Paizo which also has tables and such that can help with details on the fly. The PDF version is quite affordable if you wanted to go that route and you don't necessarily have to be playing Pathfinder for it to be useful.

I would also still keep a supply of short modules on hand and a passing familiarity with what is in them. Then you can drop them in as events unfold and if you find yourself needing a small dungeon, temple, etc. You might have to rip out a lot of the backstory from the module and adapt what is currently happening in your campaign to the module. But once you get good at that they can be quite the time saver, you just have to get comfortable with adapting on the fly which takes practice.

***Ways to Invite Mystery and the Unknown into my experience, that is how to make DMing feel like I am exploring the unknown as well. This is the key to my whole post, really. I can do this for them, especially if I am feeling it. But how can I, as the DM, also have a sense of mystery and wonder and not know what is around the next corner? (This is the main reason why sandboxing is appealing to me).

This can be tricky as DMs tend to be one step ahead of the players. But my suggestion would be to start by throwing some hooks and interesting NPCs out there for the characters to interact with. Then let their decisions help mold the direction of the game and lead you to the areas that will get further detailed.

 

[Nameless1]

Something I've done that players have really enjoyed is giving them a little bit of "DM Power." In other words, let the players create the world with you. In my case, I often invite them to take the narrative reins for a bit (within a few guidelines), especially when it's related to their characters. This requires being comfortable with improvisation and conveying important information through characters and dialogue.

This trick has many permutations, but I think that my personal favorite is called "The Mountain Witch trick."

In short, introduce a feature to the fiction in only the loosest details, then ask a player to flesh it out through in-game description.

EX: "You see a figure dressed in foreign cloths of a type that you are all too familiar with. He is coming out of the General Store across the street from you. His presence makes you uneasy. What makes you uneasy about the figure, and what in your past links you to the country from which the stranger hails?"

EX: "A grand tapestry hangs above the mantle. You hope that the other characters do not pay too much attention to it. What is depicted in the tapestry that you want to remain hidden?"

EX: "The Bard's song floods you with memories long fogotten, and the lyrics give you inspiration as to the next step in your quest. What is the Bard singing about? Where is the song telling you to go?"

This can bail you out of having to be creative, having to pre-plan everything, and will also allow you to be surprised byt he direction that the fiction goes. Liberal use of this trick may actually be all that you need to fulfill all your goals.

 

[malcolypse]

It's kind of a long term solution, but you should teach your students the game and give them an assignment to write short adventures for you.

They should turn them in in manilla envelopes with a brief plot hook that can be given to the players to see if they bite.

When the party plays through their adventure, you should give them some kind of bonus grade. Maybe let your players vote for extra credit for a better story.

My cousin and her husband are the folks who got me into gaming in the first place. They're both english professors at their local college. I've sat in on some of their classes where they taught students conversational english by running a murder mystery where they have to interview suspects, and it's taught me that gaming and education are a natural match.

Let your students learn and entertain you at the same time.