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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9329759" data-attributes="member: 42582">Given that a D&amp;D sandbox is close to the opposite of what [USER=6785785]@hawkeyefan[/USER] has in mind - and is much closer to [USER=6925338]@soviet[/USER]'s example of &quot;the setting is real, the PCs are just passing through&quot; - I think you have misunderstood what is meant. (I don't think it's necessarily PC creation choices, either, though those might be a factor. It's about the players contributing significantly to stakes and themes.)Yes, yes, yes!RPGs are a distinctive medium. In their typical (mainstream) play, one person is establishing a scene/situation, and another one or more persons are describing what key characters do in that scene/situation, and there is a shared process of working out what happens as a result. Of course this medium can be used for wargame-y or puzzle-solving play (a la Gygax); but when we're talking about stories we're looking at how this medium might be used to that end.Provoking action declarations and engaging the resolution system is the obvious way. If the core resolution system and the framing system are the same (ie &quot;GM decides&quot; - see DL, Dead Gods, much CoC, etc for typical examples) then the main method of player direction over fictional events will be low- or no-stakes actions where the GM doesn't get involved and the players sort it out themselves. In my experience this creates something like &quot;two games&quot; - the among-the-PCs game and the deal-with-the-GM's-stuff game.An alternative is a different core resolution system, which removes the &quot;two games&quot; syndrome and integrates player direction with the momentum of play.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 9329759, member: 42582"] Given that a D&D sandbox is close to the opposite of what [USER=6785785]@hawkeyefan[/USER] has in mind - and is much closer to [USER=6925338]@soviet[/USER]'s example of "the setting is real, the PCs are just passing through" - I think you have misunderstood what is meant. (I don't think it's necessarily PC creation choices, either, though those might be a factor. It's about the players contributing significantly to stakes and themes.) Yes, yes, yes! RPGs are a distinctive medium. In their typical (mainstream) play, one person is establishing a scene/situation, and another one or more persons are describing what key characters do in that scene/situation, and there is a shared process of working out what happens as a result. Of course this medium can be used for wargame-y or puzzle-solving play (a la Gygax); but when we're talking about [I]stories[/I] we're looking at how this medium might be used to that end. Provoking action declarations and engaging the resolution system is the obvious way. If the core resolution system and the framing system are the same (ie "GM decides" - see DL, Dead Gods, much CoC, etc for typical examples) then the main method of [I]player[/I] direction over fictional events will be low- or no-stakes actions where the GM doesn't get involved and the players sort it out themselves. In my experience this creates something like "two games" - the among-the-PCs game and the deal-with-the-GM's-stuff game. An alternative is a different core resolution system, which removes the "two games" syndrome and integrates player direction with the momentum of play. [/QUOTE]

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