The many types of Sandboxes and Open-World Campaigns

[Bedrockgames]

This is an aspect where system really starts to matter a lot. In theory, you can tell players that they can do whatever they want. But in practice the mechanics of the rules system influence what kinds of behaviors are beneficial or detrimental to the players. Character advancement being the obvious number one. Players will gravitate towards behaviors that increase the rate ot character advancement, like doing things that get them XP. Establishing clear rules for what will get them XP and how much is a very great tool to guide the campaign without ever giving the players any directions in where to go and what to do.

Another good one is supply consumption. In a campaign where food supplies are tracked for all PCs, hired NPC, and animals of the party, and running out of food has meaningful mechanical impact, many situations can play out very differently from a campaign in which food is not a mechanical factor. Lack of water or freezing or being burned to death outdoors are even more severe versions of that.

One thing that is notable about these two examples is they are very easy to stack on to just about any system. XP rewards you can tailor to you campaign. Tracking things like supplies, hirelings, doesn't necessarily need a system, just good note taking, but if you want a system approach, it is pretty unobtrusive to introduce that from another system into one that doesn't have it usually.

But the XP reward system is going to steer the campaign (unless you have a very neutral and or broad one: i.e. giving chunks of XP for vague accomplishments).

 

[kenada]

This is an aspect where system really starts to matter a lot. In theory, you can tell players that they can do whatever they want. But in practice the mechanics of the rules system influence what kinds of behaviors are beneficial or detrimental to the players. Character advancement being the obvious number one. Players will gravitate towards behaviors that increase the rate ot character advancement, like doing things that get them XP. Establishing clear rules for what will get them XP and how much is a very great tool to guide the campaign without ever giving the players any directions in where to go and what to do.

Another good one is supply consumption. In a campaign where food supplies are tracked for all PCs, hired NPC, and animals of the party, and running out of food has meaningful mechanical impact, many situations can play out very differently from a campaign in which food is not a mechanical factor. Lack of water or freezing or being burned to death outdoors are even more severe versions of that.

Also weather. I find there’s often a lack of attention to weather and the effects that can have on play.

 

[payn]

One thing that is notable about these two examples is they are very easy to stack on to just about any system. XP rewards you can tailor to you campaign. Tracking things like supplies, hirelings, doesn't necessarily need a system, just good note taking, but if you want a system approach, it is pretty unobtrusive to introduce that from another system into one that doesn't have it usually.

But the XP reward system is going to steer the campaign (unless you have a very neutral and or broad one: i.e. giving chunks of XP for vague accomplishments).

One of the things I really liked about resource tracking was Forbidden Lands. They use a die system. So, lets say the PCs spend a few hours cutting wood to make torches. They mark a D12 on their sheet. Any time they use a torch they roll the die. If a 1 or 2 results, they move down to a D10, D8, D6, none. When your die is none, you are out and start facing the penalties (darkness, hunger, thirst, etc...)

Some might find it not sim enough or too in favor of the PCs. I think its just right in that you only have to worry about things when you have to worry about them. The mental space is kept down, and harvesting materials when you need to because a mini game thats not time consuming.

For GMs who would like the loss to occur more often, you can always make dropping a die a condition of being soaked by a water elemental, or a condition of the environment, etc..

 

[Mannahnin]

Looks similar, though it seems more GM-directed. The GM has no say in the system I’m using, and that’s intentional. It evolved out of Dungeon World’s end of session questions and GTD, though the idea for group missions came from one of XP methods proposed by Worlds Without Number.

Not GM directed, to my understanding. Players pick their own goals/ambitions, though the GM is essentially asked to pick which xp system to use- purely gold, purely ambitions/goals, or a hybrid of the two.

 

[John R Davis]

One of the things I really liked about resource tracking was Forbidden Lands. They use a die system. So, lets say the PCs spend a few hours cutting wood to make torches. They mark a D12 on their sheet. Any time they use a torch they roll the die. If a 1 or 2 results, they move down to a D10, D8, D6, none. When your die is none, you are out and start facing the penalties (darkness, hunger, thirst, etc...)

Some might find it not sim enough or too in favor of the PCs. I think its just right in that you only have to worry about things when you have to worry about them. The mental space is kept down, and harvesting materials when you need to because a mini game thats not time consuming.

For GMs who would like the loss to occur more often, you can always make dropping a die a condition of being soaked by a water elemental, or a condition of the environment, etc..

It's called a Usage Dice and it's been around a while.
I find them really good and use them in all my Black Hack derived games. ( Very cool for a Ring of Wishes!)

 

[payn]

It's called a Usage Dice and it's been around a while.
I find them really good and use them in all my Black Hack derived games. ( Very cool for a Ring of Wishes!)

Thank you for giving me a name for this mechanic.

 

[kenada]

Not GM directed, to my understanding. Players pick their own goals/ambitions, though the GM is essentially asked to pick which xp system to use- purely gold, purely ambitions/goals, or a hybrid of the two.

Ah. I was thinking who decided completion. I’ve played in enough games where the GM had a different idea about what I was trying to do that I ended up getting no XP for my aspiration/goal/whatever that I know how much it sucks. When I saw how BitD handles it (the player decides), I was like: yes, this is correct. I had already been using group consensus for individual goals, so it felt like a natural evolution.

 

[Yora]

One thing that is notable about these two examples is they are very easy to stack on to just about any system. XP rewards you can tailor to you campaign. Tracking things like supplies, hirelings, doesn't necessarily need a system, just good note taking, but if you want a system approach, it is pretty unobtrusive to introduce that from another system into one that doesn't have it usually.

But the XP reward system is going to steer the campaign (unless you have a very neutral and or broad one: i.e. giving chunks of XP for vague accomplishments).

Well, with system I don't mean anything particularly complicated. Just "every character needs 1 ration per day or gets the Starving condition". This still becomes relevant when players have to consider making detours to buy more food, interrupt their journey to hunt for several days before trying to cross a wasteland, or taking a risk and hoping they will reach the next food source before their supplies run out.

Some might find it not sim enough or too in favor of the PCs. I think its just right in that you only have to worry about things when you have to worry about them. The mental space is kept down, and harvesting materials when you need to because a mini game thats not time consuming.

What do you mean by that? In what cases would players have to worry about something when they don't have to?

Also weather. I find there’s often a lack of attention to weather and the effects that can have on play.

You mean just as a means to create some variety in encounters, or as something that affects things on a larger scale?

I guess seasons could be a substential component in long term planning. You could have varrying odds for encounters and availability of food, different needs for shelter, and even affected movement speed from mud and snow. Postponing planned adventure to next year to wait for spring, or risking wilderness travel in winter when time is an issue could be significant factors in decision making. You could even have situations with players deciding to stay in place for the winter when they get trapped by unexpected snow, and staying put where food is available might be safer.

 

[payn]

Some might find it not sim enough or too in favor of the PCs. I think its just right in that you only have to worry about things when you have to worry about them. The mental space is kept down, and harvesting materials when you need to because a mini game thats not time consuming.
What do you mean by that? In what cases would players have to worry about something when they don't have to?

I mean worrying about food weight and capacity, torch length of burn time, amount of water per sip. Some games get way too bogged down into that minutia and I would rather abstract it like a usage dice system does. YMMV.

 

[kenada]

You mean just as a means to create some variety in encounters, or as something that affects things on a larger scale?

Both. It also creates complications when setting up camp. If it rains during the night, and you didn’t build shelter, then that’s going to diminish the quality of your sleep (e.g., prevent preparation of spells or recovery of slots). If it’s cold and you don’t provision a source of warmth, same thing.

I guess seasons could be a substential component in long term planning. You could have varrying odds for encounters and availability of food, different needs for shelter, and even affected movement speed from mud and snow. Postponing planned adventure to next year to wait for spring, or risking wilderness travel in winter when time is an issue could be significant factors in decision making. You could even have situations with players deciding to stay in place for the winter when they get trapped by unexpected snow, and staying put where food is available might be safer.

Exactly. It increases the decision matrix for the players. They can’t just be worried about looting the dungeon. They have to consider environmental factors along with all the other things in motion at the time.