Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf 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 Nest
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!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
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
*TTRPGs General
What makes a Sandbox?
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="Umbran" data-source="post: 5041922" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>In the past, the dichotomy was between "Tailored" and "Status Quo"</p><p></p><p>In a Tailored game, all encounters and adventures are presented with the PCs in mind. If the PCs run into a rumor that there's a haunted house, and they go to investigate, that haunted house will be things the PCs might be expected to deal with, in terms of power. If they are first level there will be zombies and skeletons. At higher levels, there will be vampires or liches, to suit. </p><p></p><p>The effect here is kind of like Ye Olden Days, when we'd play modules rather than making up our own adventures. The DM would pick a module that was of appropriate level for our PCs. When we were 10th level, we picked modules for PCs 9-12th level. We no longer ever did modules of 1-3rd level, and we avoided the modules for 18+ level. We played whatever module the DM picked, and if we tried to do otherwise, the game kind of broke, because the DM only had the one module prepped.</p><p></p><p>Taking the idea a step further, in a very strongly Tailored game, there is a preordained Plot Arc, entirely for the PCs - the world is merely a backdrop, and all events worth looking at are centered on their story. The Plot Arc is the central concept, and the world subordinate to it, so the PCs cannot choose to opt out of the plot arc. The DM has chosen the Adventure Path or series of modules ahead of time, and the players are expected to follow along.</p><p></p><p>In a Status Quo game, the world is pre-seeded with stuff, independent of the PCs. The world has it's own distribution of things, low to high power, and the PCs are dropped into it and wander around as they see fit, and do what they want. </p><p></p><p>The effect is rather like the DM has chosen locations for all those modules, and you look around and try to find them. The DM puts out information for the PCs to use to make decisions, but it is entirely possible for a low-level character to wander into a high-level module, and get creamed. The DM does not stop them from doing so, and does not alter the module so the PCs have a chance. </p><p></p><p>There is no preordained plot arc in a Status Quo game. The only "story" is what you piece together out of the PCs wanderings after the fact. Elements in the world are not sitting around waiting for the PCs, and will move forward on their own accord. If the PCs missed the important bit that means the bad guy ends the world, then that's how it is.</p><p></p><p>These days on EN World, the term "Status Quo" has largely been replaced with "sandbox".</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 5041922, member: 177"] In the past, the dichotomy was between "Tailored" and "Status Quo" In a Tailored game, all encounters and adventures are presented with the PCs in mind. If the PCs run into a rumor that there's a haunted house, and they go to investigate, that haunted house will be things the PCs might be expected to deal with, in terms of power. If they are first level there will be zombies and skeletons. At higher levels, there will be vampires or liches, to suit. The effect here is kind of like Ye Olden Days, when we'd play modules rather than making up our own adventures. The DM would pick a module that was of appropriate level for our PCs. When we were 10th level, we picked modules for PCs 9-12th level. We no longer ever did modules of 1-3rd level, and we avoided the modules for 18+ level. We played whatever module the DM picked, and if we tried to do otherwise, the game kind of broke, because the DM only had the one module prepped. Taking the idea a step further, in a very strongly Tailored game, there is a preordained Plot Arc, entirely for the PCs - the world is merely a backdrop, and all events worth looking at are centered on their story. The Plot Arc is the central concept, and the world subordinate to it, so the PCs cannot choose to opt out of the plot arc. The DM has chosen the Adventure Path or series of modules ahead of time, and the players are expected to follow along. In a Status Quo game, the world is pre-seeded with stuff, independent of the PCs. The world has it's own distribution of things, low to high power, and the PCs are dropped into it and wander around as they see fit, and do what they want. The effect is rather like the DM has chosen locations for all those modules, and you look around and try to find them. The DM puts out information for the PCs to use to make decisions, but it is entirely possible for a low-level character to wander into a high-level module, and get creamed. The DM does not stop them from doing so, and does not alter the module so the PCs have a chance. There is no preordained plot arc in a Status Quo game. The only "story" is what you piece together out of the PCs wanderings after the fact. Elements in the world are not sitting around waiting for the PCs, and will move forward on their own accord. If the PCs missed the important bit that means the bad guy ends the world, then that's how it is. These days on EN World, the term "Status Quo" has largely been replaced with "sandbox". [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
What makes a Sandbox?
Top