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<blockquote data-quote="Mark CMG" data-source="post: 6832817" data-attributes="member: 10479">Yeah, but from your description, it is way at the other end of the sliding scale away from being a sandbox.&nbsp; Too often I see folks describe a supplement (module / adventure) with just a handful of sandbox elements and calling it such.&nbsp; I'm guessing such folks have never seen an actual sandbox or played in one, let alone run one.A sandbox is a wide open design which allows for ALL player choices to matter and allows players to do anything and go anywhere. This can be done with a ton of prep work or by a GM who is good enough to wholly improvise, perhaps with the help of encounter tables and random dice rolling. A sandbox shouldn't feel as if no choice matters but rather that ALL choices matter.&nbsp; A sandbox is ultimate player agency.&quot;Skim?&quot;&nbsp; No.&nbsp; &quot;Expecting a detailed read of every part before playing?&quot;&nbsp; Yes.&nbsp; Of course.&nbsp; Retain it all?&nbsp; No, not a chance.&nbsp; No one equates reading with memorization or expects that.&nbsp; Folks that can memorize at a glance could actually get away with skimming.&nbsp; But absolutely &quot;Yes,&quot; a GM is expected to have fully read and understood what they are going to run.&nbsp; Man, oh, man, this is what happens when the general gaming populace is led to believe that just any old person can GM a game. Yes, yes, I know.&nbsp; &quot;Get off of my lawn&quot; and blah, blah, blah, but GMing an RPG is not like officiating a minis skirmish game.&nbsp; It takes work, the least of which is reading the materials in advance.&nbsp; The LEAST of which.&nbsp; I can't believe this is even a conversation.&nbsp; I'll be back to this later but I have some stuff to prep for Gary Con next weekend&nbsp; My god!&nbsp; He'd be rolling over in his grave . . . <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue&nbsp; &nbsp; :p"&nbsp; data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mark CMG, post: 6832817, member: 10479"] Yeah, but from your description, it is way at the other end of the sliding scale away from being a sandbox. Too often I see folks describe a supplement (module / adventure) with just a handful of sandbox elements and calling it such. I'm guessing such folks have never seen an actual sandbox or played in one, let alone run one. A sandbox is a wide open design which allows for ALL player choices to matter and allows players to do anything and go anywhere. This can be done with a ton of prep work or by a GM who is good enough to wholly improvise, perhaps with the help of encounter tables and random dice rolling. A sandbox shouldn't feel as if no choice matters but rather that ALL choices matter. A sandbox is ultimate player agency. "Skim?" No. "Expecting a detailed read of every part before playing?" Yes. Of course. Retain it all? No, not a chance. No one equates reading with memorization or expects that. Folks that can memorize at a glance could actually get away with skimming. But absolutely "Yes," a GM is expected to have fully read and understood what they are going to run. Man, oh, man, this is what happens when the general gaming populace is led to believe that just any old person can GM a game. Yes, yes, I know. "Get off of my lawn" and blah, blah, blah, but GMing an RPG is not like officiating a minis skirmish game. It takes work, the least of which is reading the materials in advance. The LEAST of which. I can't believe this is even a conversation. I'll be back to this later but I have some stuff to prep for Gary Con next weekend My god! He'd be rolling over in his grave . . . :p [/QUOTE]

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