Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Victories and No Defeats in D&D
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="KesselZero" data-source="post: 5843251" data-attributes="member: 6689976"><p>Hm, I disagree. Buzzword or no, part of the "sandbox" playstyle is that some options will be more or less dangerous than others. A well-run game should give the players information about their various options so they can make meaningful choices; perhaps they want to clear out low-level challenges first, perhaps they want to face level-appropriate challenges, or perhaps they want to take on tougher challenges in the hopes of reaping more reward. A well-made sandbox should also include multiple options at each level of difficulty, so the players don't only have one option that's level-appropriate at any point.</p><p></p><p>In addition, getting defeated by a challenge the first time makes beating it later all the sweeter. In my pirate-ship example, the party was around level 2. Now they're around level 5, and if they decide to take on a ship full of foes again, they'll have a much easier time of it, since the enemy ship doesn't level up with them. I expect this will be extremely satisfying for my players when it happens, since getting nearly TPKed is a story they're always talking about at the table.</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, I think that having only level-appropriate options can be as restrictive as railroading, though of course in a different way. If the volcano and the pirate ship are both perfectly-balanced challenges, then the two choices are basically the same, outside of flavor. This removes meaningful player choice about the risk/reward balance they want to take on, and therefore doesn't reward thoughtful play. It also (for me, at least) pulls me out of the immersion if the volcano increases in difficulty as the party levels up so that it'll be an appropriate challenge whenever they decide to tackle it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="KesselZero, post: 5843251, member: 6689976"] Hm, I disagree. Buzzword or no, part of the "sandbox" playstyle is that some options will be more or less dangerous than others. A well-run game should give the players information about their various options so they can make meaningful choices; perhaps they want to clear out low-level challenges first, perhaps they want to face level-appropriate challenges, or perhaps they want to take on tougher challenges in the hopes of reaping more reward. A well-made sandbox should also include multiple options at each level of difficulty, so the players don't only have one option that's level-appropriate at any point. In addition, getting defeated by a challenge the first time makes beating it later all the sweeter. In my pirate-ship example, the party was around level 2. Now they're around level 5, and if they decide to take on a ship full of foes again, they'll have a much easier time of it, since the enemy ship doesn't level up with them. I expect this will be extremely satisfying for my players when it happens, since getting nearly TPKed is a story they're always talking about at the table. Ultimately, I think that having only level-appropriate options can be as restrictive as railroading, though of course in a different way. If the volcano and the pirate ship are both perfectly-balanced challenges, then the two choices are basically the same, outside of flavor. This removes meaningful player choice about the risk/reward balance they want to take on, and therefore doesn't reward thoughtful play. It also (for me, at least) pulls me out of the immersion if the volcano increases in difficulty as the party levels up so that it'll be an appropriate challenge whenever they decide to tackle it. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Victories and No Defeats in D&D
Top