tabletop versions of crpgs

[CapnZapp]

Question: are you aware of any good efforts to bring classic computer rpg sandbox campaigns to the tabletop?

I'm wistfully reading up on various quests on the wiki sites of Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate (1 & 2) but also non-D&D games such as the Witcher series, Divinity Original Sin etc...

...and I am sad nobody has "tabletopified" any of these campaign locales, particularly so you could run a D&D 5E sandbox campaign using the lands, stories and NPCs presented in these games.

Most importantly: I want quality and comprehensive coverage. I can live with "stat-less" presentations.
No direct ports that don't take a full party into consideration. I don't have the patience for cross-referencing, so I'm looking for complete coverage. Essentially, "Neverwinter the campaign guide" as it were. (Obviously I'm asking about unofficial fan-made ports, since I'm not implying it's a good idea to make money off of someone else's IP)

For a good example, look towards how Northern Sword Coast / Dessarin Valley was presented in Princes of the Apocalypse / Storm King's Thunder. That is, the gazetteer parts, the sandbox parts, the overland parts. (D&D dungeons are a dime a dozen).

 

[CapnZapp]

I found this thread (over in General RPGs)

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?325801-Examples-of-good-sandbox-campaigns

...and was struck with how little there seems to be for the sandbox shopper (as opposed to DYIer).

Of the few sandboxes on offer, they are mostly small and/or seemingly lacking the direct rpg applicability of quests presented by crpgs.

What I'm looking for is the ttrpg equivalence of well written quests like what "mature" games such as Dragon Age or Witcher offers. Not just a town with dozen NPCs pointing to a dozen caves with some monster to kill, but more sophisticated quests.

I did have a look at Troll Games Yggsburgh, but my eyes glazed over from the noise to signal ratio - I'm sure there are quest nuggets buried in there somewhere, but it is far too dry reading.

I fondly recall Vault of Larin-Karr as a decent effort. Something like that for a recognizable property like Neverwinter Nights or Pillars of Eternity would be great. Or even Baldur's Gate even though I'm sure all my players played the computer game back when. (Once you have the background/sandbox you can insert new "main quests").

 

[Reynard]

One technique I have used successfully in the past is to treat the Official PRIMA Guide for a game as a campaign book. You have to know the system you are running well enough to improvise but if you do you have a huge amount of material to work with at your fingertips.

 

[toucanbuzz]

It can be done with a lot of labor. I converted the original "Pool of Radiance" setting into a campaign, using a mix of the original computer game journal, "jobs" on the board, updated (none 16x16 grid) maps found free (e.g. map-a-week), and with a dash of politics sprinkled in (had three factions vying for control of the council). Obviously had to tone down the # of battles, but otherwise felt we captured a bit of the sandbox freedom.