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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 8111441" data-attributes="member: 63">The last 'sandbox' I ran, I drew a map of the area, set up the important stuff I cared about, then pre-determined that about two-thirds of the hexes would have interesting stuff, with each hex being about 2 hours of travel. My method was to use a little-publicized link on WotC's database of Magic cards, Gatherer, which lets you pull up a random card. <a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?action=random" target="_blank">Stomping Ground (Guildpact) - Gatherer - Magic: The Gathering</a>I'd use whatever card queued up as inspiration. Most 'encounters' would not be combats, just some interesting phenomenon. Like if I got a 'Swamp' that showed a subterranean city, I might have a pathway to the Underdark, but no one visibly there. It's a mystery.Whereas if I got a 'Sky Swallower' flying leviathan, they might see this immense creature overhead, even see remnants of damage it has done, but it wouldn't be an immediate combat. Meanwhile a 'Living Hive' would probably show up with an early encounter with dog-sized insects trying to collect resources for the hive, which is itself an elemental that can move across the landscape.Do this enough times, and I came up with a loose history of the area to explain why all this stuff was where it was.</blockquote>