Skip to main content

Questions tagged [sandbox]

Sandbox role-playing focuses on promoting freedom in terms of player choice and influence within the game.

6 votes
1 answer
381 views

Help with motivations on Player driven games

I hope someone can give me some help. I've been running a sandbox campaign for a few sessions now, and I'm having the problem on how to explain to my players what are good character motivations. They ...
Malandro's user avatar
74 votes
11 answers
9k views

How can I run an open-world game with vast power differences, without resulting in constant TPKs?

I would like to run a game with an open world, where the party can explore unconstrained. I would like to do it in D&D 5E, but the power differences are very stark between levels. How can I make ...
gruszczy's user avatar
  • 2,125
26 votes
3 answers
3k views

I'm having difficulty getting my players to do stuff in a sandbox campaign

I've been a GM for about three years now. I've been GMing for this group for almost two years next month. I have an issue with motivating my players to take action. It's a sandbox campaign and they'...
Korthar's user avatar
  • 263
8 votes
1 answer
361 views

How does PC access to life-restoration magic affect a westmarchian game?

One of the hallmarks of a westmarchian game is danger, with a high likelihood of character death. From Grand Experiments: West Marches: The environment is dangerous. Very dangerous. That’s ...
Jack's user avatar
  • 36.4k
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

How much money do traders have to purchase PCs' goods?

In my setting money is fairly important, as I am running a West Marches style campaign. I don't want the one lowly trader in the village to be able to purchase everything the PCs wish to sell, but I ...
GPPK's user avatar
  • 3,374
15 votes
3 answers
3k views

How can I encourage player engagement between sessions in a West Marches style game?

I'm currently nine sessions into a West Marches style game with a pool of 20 players. The sessions are going well, and the players enjoying themselves, but I have a concern: One of the central ...
Ladifas's user avatar
  • 8,989
8 votes
3 answers
504 views

Running an Unstructured Narrative

What measures and pitfall should I consider when running an especially unstructured narrative in Pathfinder? In the campaign I am running that has started recently, I am attempting to run a fairly "...
Southpaw Hare's user avatar
6 votes
4 answers
985 views

Briefly resolving the pickpocketing of 10 gp a day

Context: A sandbox campaign with players having a stable of characters. One character of one player is kleptomaniac (has the envy drawback), which requires them to steal 10 gp (a large amount of cash) ...
Tommi's user avatar
  • 10.3k
14 votes
6 answers
3k views

Remembering to add tracks and signs of wandering monsters

When refereeing OSR sandbox game (using whatever rules; key parts are player-driven sandbox play with neutral referee, and rules as negotiable representation of fiction) I use random encounters: ...
Tommi's user avatar
  • 10.3k
19 votes
3 answers
3k views

How can I satisfy two groups who want the same quest in a West Marches campaign?

I recently started a West Marches style game because of our group's increasingly deteriorating attendance. We still wanted to play when we get a chance to get together but not everyone will be able to ...
daze413's user avatar
  • 28.7k
5 votes
3 answers
2k views

How well are low level PCs able to defeat high level NPCs in B/X D&D?

For a Basic/Expert game, I want to populate the campaign area with important and influential NPCs, who are doing their things independent of the player's activities. The goal is to have the players ...
Yora's user avatar
  • 3,948
5 votes
2 answers
20k views

What and How to Prepare In Advance For the Next Session? [duplicate]

So I'm starting a new campaign with a group this week, I'm the DM with 4 PC's (2 are long-time RPers and 2 are fairly new to D&D). I've got notes made for the first session, how the party meets, ...
Jamie Brace's user avatar
  • 8,492
19 votes
5 answers
6k views

What would the effect of removing death saves and just having characters die at 0HP be?

I am currently attempting to create a campaign, inspired both by West Marches, and earlier editions of D&D (mostly OD&D and 1e AD&D), but still keeping the 5e rules that my group are ...
Ladifas's user avatar
  • 8,989
9 votes
4 answers
450 views

How can I incorporate intrigue and inter-NPC-factional depth whilst maintaining speed & spontaneity in a sandbox game?

The scenario... My players are meeting lots of NPCs, and the galaxy around them is as deep as they desire... Whilst the flavour of our game is Action/Comedy (a little like Fifth Element) I'm ...
ajberg's user avatar
  • 213
15 votes
2 answers
1k views

Way to manage world factions and events

Abstract I have a loosely interconnected world where news travel slowly, but steadily so when a trader from a far off place comes visiting your place, what does he know? Whats his latest perspective ...
Angelo Fuchs's user avatar
  • 1,178

15 30 50 per page