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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5022013" data-attributes="member: 22779">I have to admit that my understanding of a &quot;sandbox&quot; is far closer to The Shaman's that Raven Crowking's.&nbsp; So, I guess I've always thought of Sandbox as a Status Quo setting.&nbsp; First time I've heard that term, so, cool.&nbsp; I like learning new things.Like all things, I suppose, it becomes a spectrum.&nbsp; RC's sandbox leans considerably closer to Status Quo that what I'm proposing.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />&nbsp; See, I disagree that backgrounds amount to fanwank.&nbsp; They can, and I've certainly seen that, but, they don't have to.&nbsp; The best way to get away from backgrounds that are divorced from what's going on in the campaign is to create parties as a group exercise rather than a solo thing.&nbsp; The entire group works together to create backgrounds that are linked both to each other and to the setting as well.&nbsp; Out of those backgrounds, the campaign goals are defined (or it could be the other way around as well - campaign goals define backgrounds) and a Limited Scenario is born.Ariosto - hrm.&nbsp; What is meant by character depth.&nbsp; Well...&nbsp; I'd say character depth comes from connections between the main characters and between the main characters and NPC's.&nbsp; Depth also comes from the characters having a sense of history and a sense of direction and purpose as well.&nbsp; It's a bit nebulous I'll admit.&nbsp; The problem I see with the sandbox that RC is talking about, is the individual character's are pretty much replaceable.&nbsp; That's fine, if you want that, but, that's not always the case.&nbsp; I just watched Star Wars for the umpteenth time a few days ago.&nbsp; Now, if we were to do a Star Wars sandbox, based on the movie, then it shouldn't matter if Guido shoots Han.&nbsp; Han dies, Han's player rolls up a new character and maybe Luke teams up with Chewie and flies the Falcon away.But, what if I want a more specific storyline.&nbsp; What if I WANT those particular characters in the game?&nbsp; A couple more character death's and suddenly the storyline is pretty much in the garbage compactor.&nbsp; Luke gets killed in the Mos Eisley Cantina, thus the rest of the plotline for the next three movies goes down the tubes.Now, I'm pretty sure that RC would say, so what?&nbsp; Who cares?&nbsp; The new story, based on the replacement characters is just as compelling and just as interesting.&nbsp; And he's right.&nbsp; Or rather he can be right.&nbsp; That story with Leia becoming the Jedi Master could be every bit as interesting as the original one.But, it's not the story or the game I want to play.&nbsp; At least, not this time.&nbsp; Maybe next time.&nbsp; I want to play out the story of Luke Skywalker, teamed up with Han Solo.&nbsp; Sometimes, it's not a bad thing to have a more specific storyline in mind, so long as the players are on board before hand.Anyway, it's late, I'm rambling.&nbsp; This probably makes no sense.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />&nbsp; Gnite all.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 5022013, member: 22779"] I have to admit that my understanding of a "sandbox" is far closer to The Shaman's that Raven Crowking's. So, I guess I've always thought of Sandbox as a Status Quo setting. First time I've heard that term, so, cool. I like learning new things. Like all things, I suppose, it becomes a spectrum. RC's sandbox leans considerably closer to Status Quo that what I'm proposing. :) See, I disagree that backgrounds amount to fanwank. They can, and I've certainly seen that, but, they don't have to. The best way to get away from backgrounds that are divorced from what's going on in the campaign is to create parties as a group exercise rather than a solo thing. The entire group works together to create backgrounds that are linked both to each other and to the setting as well. Out of those backgrounds, the campaign goals are defined (or it could be the other way around as well - campaign goals define backgrounds) and a Limited Scenario is born. Ariosto - hrm. What is meant by character depth. Well... I'd say character depth comes from connections between the main characters and between the main characters and NPC's. Depth also comes from the characters having a sense of history and a sense of direction and purpose as well. It's a bit nebulous I'll admit. The problem I see with the sandbox that RC is talking about, is the individual character's are pretty much replaceable. That's fine, if you want that, but, that's not always the case. I just watched Star Wars for the umpteenth time a few days ago. Now, if we were to do a Star Wars sandbox, based on the movie, then it shouldn't matter if Guido shoots Han. Han dies, Han's player rolls up a new character and maybe Luke teams up with Chewie and flies the Falcon away. But, what if I want a more specific storyline. What if I WANT those particular characters in the game? A couple more character death's and suddenly the storyline is pretty much in the garbage compactor. Luke gets killed in the Mos Eisley Cantina, thus the rest of the plotline for the next three movies goes down the tubes. Now, I'm pretty sure that RC would say, so what? Who cares? The new story, based on the replacement characters is just as compelling and just as interesting. And he's right. Or rather he can be right. That story with Leia becoming the Jedi Master could be every bit as interesting as the original one. But, it's not the story or the game I want to play. At least, not this time. Maybe next time. I want to play out the story of Luke Skywalker, teamed up with Han Solo. Sometimes, it's not a bad thing to have a more specific storyline in mind, so long as the players are on board before hand. Anyway, it's late, I'm rambling. This probably makes no sense. :) Gnite all. [/QUOTE]

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