Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="rogueattorney" data-source="post: 5041865" data-attributes="member: 17551">I find it interesting that the term &quot;sandbox&quot; even needs to be used.&nbsp; Prior to 1984, there was no need for any term beyond &quot;D&amp;D campaign.&quot;&nbsp; Basically, with the advent of the Dragonlance series of adventures, it became common practice to create one's campaign based on a pre-planned series of events that would occur over the course of that campaign.&nbsp; Certainly, elements of that style of campaign existed before Dragonlance, but after Dragonlance that became the assumed norm, and with rare exceptions has really been the only form for published adventures for the last 25 years.Products that I'd say portray sanbox campaigns:Judges Guild's City State of the Invincible OverlordJudges Guild's Wilderlands series of productsB2 Keep on the BorderlandX1 Isle of DreadI1 Dwellers of the Forbidden CityL1 Secret of Bone HillT1 Village of HommletGoodman Game's Points of Light seriesI think sandbox campaigns ideally grow in scope with the ambitions and abilities of the players and their characters.&nbsp; But ideally, they begin with a relatively local focus.&nbsp; The actions in sandbox campaigns are character driven.&nbsp; That is to say, the sandbox campaign assumes proactive and ambitious player characters with goals who will, when left to their own devices, seek out these goals.&nbsp; The &quot;unlikely/unwilling hero&quot; character concept is not a good fit for the sandbax campaign.&nbsp; Sandbox games are location based and not event based.&nbsp; The DM and his world are more reactive in response to the actions of the pcs than he is proactive in prodding the characters in one direction or another.&nbsp; That isn't to say that the sandbox campaign is a stable environment but for the pcs.&nbsp; Rather, the DM sets up a scenario and then largely stands back and watches what happen.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rogueattorney, post: 5041865, member: 17551"] I find it interesting that the term "sandbox" even needs to be used. Prior to 1984, there was no need for any term beyond "D&D campaign." Basically, with the advent of the Dragonlance series of adventures, it became common practice to create one's campaign based on a pre-planned series of events that would occur over the course of that campaign. Certainly, elements of that style of campaign existed before Dragonlance, but after Dragonlance that became the assumed norm, and with rare exceptions has really been the only form for published adventures for the last 25 years. Products that I'd say portray sanbox campaigns: Judges Guild's City State of the Invincible Overlord Judges Guild's Wilderlands series of products B2 Keep on the Borderland X1 Isle of Dread I1 Dwellers of the Forbidden City L1 Secret of Bone Hill T1 Village of Hommlet Goodman Game's Points of Light series I think sandbox campaigns ideally grow in scope with the ambitions and abilities of the players and their characters. But ideally, they begin with a relatively local focus. The actions in sandbox campaigns are character driven. That is to say, the sandbox campaign assumes proactive and ambitious player characters with goals who will, when left to their own devices, seek out these goals. The "unlikely/unwilling hero" character concept is not a good fit for the sandbax campaign. Sandbox games are location based and not event based. The DM and his world are more reactive in response to the actions of the pcs than he is proactive in prodding the characters in one direction or another. That isn't to say that the sandbox campaign is a stable environment but for the pcs. Rather, the DM sets up a scenario and then largely stands back and watches what happen. [/QUOTE]

Verification