How would you teach someone how to run a Sandbox campagin?

[Rob Lang]

I am currently polishing the GM guide for the next version of Icar and one of the things I'm describing is how to run a sandbox game. I have some very tight ideas about how I do it but when I try and write those down, they seem a little, well, fluffy. I hate fluffy advice. I only want to offer advice that is practical and can be acted upon.

I have come up with a series of GM tools that are very real things I use to plan, control and re-evaluate all the different threads of plot and NPCs. Describing how to apply these tools to actual play is quite a challenge.

Do you run sandbox games? How would you teach someone else how to run sandboxes? What tools would you provide?

Let's get some practical tips out there.

[koipond]

See, the only practical tip I can give for any sandbox game is have an understanding of the consequences of actions. If a player does something, what kind of consequence will it have. It doesn't even have to be negative.

Examples:

Player A killed a guard during a combat. Consequence, if there were witnesses who can describe Player A, they are now wanted by the City Guard with posters up everywhere.

Player A fulfills a contract to the letter. Consequence, they start to get a reputation as someone who can be relied upon.

It might sound fluffy, but keeping track of the major actions and their consequences goes a long way to helping you understand how the sand will react when that character steps in.

[kumakami]

I've always found sandbox style to be fun, but very fluffy in general..... mix too many things together and the batter gets a little airy

[Groffa]

[Rob Lang]

Superb links, Groffa. That's really handy. Thanks for sharing!

[Groffa]

Doing some necroposting and dropping a useful link that just popped up in my RSS-reader (for my future self that wants to use this thread as a resource):

[Chainsaw Aardvark]

I probably should figure this out too, given the nature of the Anarchy Zones. So far I've included two bits of advice in edition FFS-MkII (due out sometime in February), though I think they're more general GM tips.

One is to categorize NPCs the same way Sun Tzu categorized spies (Native, Internal, Doomed, Converted, Returning). Each type of non-player character has its set purpose - establishing background elements, serving in the character's party as a suggestion/vote, giving quests, dying to show danger, and being a reoccurring villain/element to give them familiarity. (One of these days I'll write Sun Tzu's Art of Gaming...)

The other is to treat campaign creation like character creation. You start by discussing with your players - game expectations of the roles you would like them to play, and the type of scenes they want to take part in. When players are picking attributes for the character, you should be prioritizing attributes of the game and choosing aspects that support those (ie types and amounts of enemies, price of space travel, power of magic items etc.). And so on and so forth through the steps.

[BubbaBrown]

I typically run sandbox campaigns. Sandbox is about giving players enough freedom to make significant choices about their character's destinies.

If I was going to teach someone how to run a Sandbox campaign:

Lesson One: Outline and nothing more.

In a more linear campaign, it pays to have detailed notes about everything that's going to happen to the characters. Sandbox campaigns, you are going to have to learn to run with a loose outline. Anything more, you'll go insane after 5 pages of storyline notes are rendered moot for the third time in a night. Instead of depth, focus on breadth. A good sandbox campaign outline is more about outlining the possibilities rather than organizing what is going to happen. As for those details? You prepare to fill them out on the fly.

Lesson Two: Ad-lib and On-the-fly

Your players are going to subconsciously find ways to ravage your planned story. You need to learn how to let the story unfold and build upon it. One common tactic: Use players' out loud thoughts or chatter that you like and run with it. You'd be surprised how an epic adventure is started with a voice player suspicion.

Player talking to others: "I bet the thief headed to the forest."
GM thinking: "Sounds like a reasonable enough idea to me."

Player again: "What bad guy leaves the door unlocked to his hideout?"
Another player: "Yah, it's like the guy is expecting us."
GM thinking: "... He is now."

Learn improvise and run with it. It's not the easiest skill to learn, but understand... as GM you control reality. As long as what you are presenting as reality doesn't clash with what the players have been informed as such so far, they won't be the wiser.

Lesson Three: Modular pieces and plugins

Make your random encounters, locations, and NPCs modular to a certain extent. This allows them to be moved from areas the players are moving away from to areas of they are moving towards. This doesn't mean they have to be generic, they just have to feasibly fit more than one place. Some things are easy: For example Gas Stations; roughly the same concept, but can be customized to the region. Some things that have too many plot specific bindings can't be moved. NPC's vary, but nothing a few tropes can't fix. Every village has an idiot, right?

Lesson Four: Real options

The key to a good sandbox game is to give players real options. Not just choices of how to get to set piece A. You have to give them choice between adventure A, B, C, D, etc... and the ability to leave those adventures when they want. If they decide to investigate some missing villagers, follow a trail to a cave, and see the horrific creature casually grind a pleb to hamburger... Be prepared for the party to double-back, inform the village elder, and run to the next town as quickly as possible. It can be annoying at times, but what side adventure they leave early one session can be re-crafted to come back to bite them in butt next time.

I've got a few more lessons, I'd teach, but don't want to get too wordy for a post.

[junejazz]