The many types of Sandboxes and Open-World Campaigns

[Yora]

Historically speaking, a sandbox is three dimensional representation of an environment for oppperational planning.

When running a wargame or early proto-RPG in a sandbox, the defining characteristic is that players have full 360 degree freedom in moving their units/pieces to chose where they want to engage or avoid engagements.
In RPG terms, picking the sites and situations the players want to engage with seems like a pretty good analog. It's not just that players can choose between adventures for their next activities, but that they can pick a spot on the map and go there, and also aren't compelled to see anything through to the end once they engaged with it.
Obviously it would be good form for players to not say they want to explore the giant black tower of evil spikiness next week, and when the GM shows up with a stack of dungeon plans decide that the first hall is too spooky and go somewhere else. But taking that into consideration, they still could.

This is something quite different from when the GM asks at the end of an adventure if the players want to play Adventure B or Adventure C next.

 

[Reynard]

Obviously it would be good form for players to not say they want to explore the giant black tower of evil spikiness next week, and when the GM shows up with a stack of dungeon plans decide that the first hall is too spooky and go somewhere else. But taking that into consideration, they still could.

That's never a problem I have encountered. more often, the problem is:

GM: Where do you want to go?
Players: Where should we go?
GM: That's the thing -- you can go anywhere! You could go to the bandit camp you guys heard about from the smith, or to that weird obelisk on the horizon. Anywhere!
Players: So, you want us to go to the bandit camp?
GM: [prepares random dragon attack against party]

 

[payn]

That's never a problem I have encountered. more often, the problem is:

GM: Where do you want to go?
Players: Where should we go?
GM: That's the thing -- you can go anywhere! You could go to the bandit camp you guys heard about from the smith, or to that weird obelisk on the horizon. Anywhere!
Players: So, you want us to go to the bandit camp?
GM: [prepares random dragon attack against party]

Yes, the sandbox can have a two sides of the screen problem. The players who are not proactive and want to be lead around, and the GM that offers no hooks.

GM: Where do you want to go?
Players: Where can we go?
GM: That's the thing -- you can go anywhere! East, West, North, or even South.
Players: So, you want us to just wander until something happens?
GM: I thought you wanted a sandbox campaign!?

 

[Reynard]

Yes, the sandbox can have a two sides of the screen problem. The players who are not proactive and want to be lead around, and the GM that offers no hooks.

GM: Where do you want to go?
Players: Where can we go?
GM: That's the thing -- you can go anywhere! East, West, North, or even South.
Players: So, you want us to just wander until something happens?
GM: I thought you wanted a sandbox campaign!?

Yup, that too.

 

[Malmuria]

Well, the classic motivation to do anything was (and still can be) treasure. There can be other motivations, but players have to bring that to the table via their character. Stopping or helping a faction could be it’s own goal, with the dm not having a pre-set path on you the players can/should accomplish that.

 

[kenada]

Something I do to mitigate the “What do we do now?” problems is solicit goals from players. I use both individual goals and group goals (referred to as missions for clarity) to help direct play. I also tie completion of both into XP rewards.

Individual Goals: What you want to accomplish in the session. A good goal should be something concrete and attainable. If the group thinks a goal is inappropriate, you should replace it with a new one.

Group Mission: What everyone wants to accomplish in the next few sessions. A good mission should change the status quo. Adopting a mission requires group consensus.

 

[Malmuria]

Something I do to mitigate the “What do we do now?” problems is solicit goals from players. I use both individual goals and group goals (referred to as missions for clarity) to help direct play. I also tie completion of both into XP rewards.

Individual Goals: What you want to accomplish in the session. A good goal should be something concrete and attainable. If the group thinks a goal is inappropriate, you should replace it with a new one.

Group Mission: What everyone wants to accomplish in the next few sessions. A good mission should change the status quo. Adopting a mission requires group consensus.

Do you have set XP rewards or do you make them up depending on the quest?

 

[kenada]

Do you have set XP rewards or do you make them up depending on the quest?

I have set XP rewards. Gaining a level requires spending new level × 5 XP. I’ve used variants of this in different systems. Sometimes I’ve scaled it to the system’s native XP progress, but I don’t feel it’s worth the effort unless one really wants it. Those below the median level of the party receive double XP for the session.

Individual Goals: Reward 3 XP at the end of the session when you complete either (or both) of your goals. You also gain 1 XP for each goal you help someone else in the group complete. The group can give you feedback on your decision, but you decide what counts as completed for your goals and helped for other goals.

Group Missions: Reward 3 XP at the end of the session when the group completes its mission. The group (excluding the referee) determines by consensus whether a mission was completed.

 

[Yora]

Yes, the sandbox can have a two sides of the screen problem. The players who are not proactive and want to be lead around, and the GM that offers no hooks.

GM: Where do you want to go?
Players: Where can we go?
GM: That's the thing -- you can go anywhere! East, West, North, or even South.
Players: So, you want us to just wander until something happens?
GM: I thought you wanted a sandbox campaign!?

The answer to that is to not give the players a blank sheet of paper with only one circle that says "you are here". With that setup, you really only can wander off into a random direction and wait for the GM to tell you that you found something.

At the very bare minimum, you need a circle that says "you are here" and an X saying "dungeon". But if you really want to give players agency, there should be three Xs that don't just say "dungeon", but rather have an evocative name that suggest something interesting, and the locals in You Are Here should be able to provide some more information about them when askes. And all three should sound meaningfully different. "Haunted Grave Mounds", "Monster-spawning abanoned mine", and "Bandit camp in the Spider Woods" for example.

However, all of this only works if the players have made characters who are looking for places that are crawling with monsters and promising treasures. Which brings up another important differentiation of sandbox campaigns:
"Are the PCs exploring the land or are they trying to accomplish something?"
A sandbox that provides plenty of opportunities to find ancient treasures has to be designed quite differently from a sandbox that provides opportunities to found a new settlement. You can even have a quest based sandbox with the established goal of "Free the land from the rule of the evil sorcerer lord." If it's up to the players to gather allies and weaken the sorcerer's forces, that'd still be very much a sandbox. But it would require a very different kind of setup in regards to what sites and people populate it.

 

[Reynard]

Also, a good sandbox isn't static. It's a living thing with multiple powers interacting with one another regardless of the existence of the PCs. This not only helps you figure what to do when the PCs wander off in a random direction, it also gives the PCs things to do that aren't just location based. There's a shadow war between the Assassin's Guild and the Necromancer Academy? Pick a side!