Sandbox Campaign and Tying Things Together

[nakedonmyfoldin]

I'm planning on doing a sandbox campaign in my next game that I run. This is typical of most D&D games, but in this one, I really want to provide a wide variety of options for the PCs. Basically, I'll have a while to prepare before we start playing but after character creation, so why not outline a bunch of adventures and see where the PCs go. As they go, I'll fill the holes in the direction they are going with new material. However, I was wondering if it would be interesting or if it would undermine my entire goal, if I made most/all of the adventures/quests/odd jobs/whatevers connected to a main, greater quest somehow. Sure, each thingy will feel like its own little story arc, but maybe a small tidbit of information hinting at the overarching evil in the land. I feel like this could be very satisfying for both me and the players, but I also feel like it could fall short of my expectations.

What are some ways that I could (or that you have) done something like this, in which the big bad thingy going on in the area has cast a wide net of evil that has some hand in most everything the players do? What would you avoid when attempting something like this?

I don't have a defined setting or anything yet, nor do I have a defined party. I'm in total prototype mode, so any suggestion is valuable.

[Uncle Pine]

I've done something like this before. At the times I used a setting which was basically Skyrim 200 years into the future if the Dragonborn hadn't come. Basically giant dragons and muscular people everywhere because the inhabitants had to find a way to battle the dragons without having someone (the Dragonborn) doing it for them.
What I did was building random encounter tables for every terrain I put into the campaign (with a slim chance to meet a dragon in each table), decided a couple of major events and statted two or three important NPCs for each major city and decided how to replicate most of Skyrim's critters. Then I improvised at the table with what I had, adding details as the players acted. Having some backup adventures is a great idea: do it. I also recommend you to close sessions with a general idea of what the PCs are going to do next (unless you're going for a cliffhanger) as it helps with preparations: for example, if it's getting late and the players just defeated the red dragon inhabiting Mt. Rushless, call it a night and have them starting the next session traveling to the city to sell the loot and throw at them either an ambush or the city adventure you had the time to prepare.

Finally, sandbox campaigns (by definition, campaigns in which the player go wherever they want) can be really fun but I think they're a bit overrated: players should always be able to go wherever they want doing whatever they feel like to do if it's appropriate for the characters they play (and should also be prepared to face the consequences of their actions), you don't need a sandbox campaign to give players the benefit of free will. Nevertheless, even if you usually don't have "a Big quest" in a sandbox campaign, it's always nice when players discover that "everything happened for a reason" and apparently meaningless details are revealed to be part of a major scheme. In other words: don't worry about throwing a couple of big quests in between the PCs' journey. It makes things spicier.

[Red Fel]

What are some ways that I could (or that you have) done something like this, in which the big bad thingy going on in the area has cast a wide net of evil that has some hand in most everything the players do? What would you avoid when attempting something like this?

My favorite method? Your BBEG isn't a BBEG per se - it's a sort of intelligent, all-encompassing malevolence. It has already spread across the globe, and has been in place for centuries. Its influence is everywhere. As a result, anywhere the PCs go, anything they do, they will discover (if they recognize the pattern) its influence, causing whatever stuff they thwart (or whatever they end up joining in on, if they decide to be naughty). You don't have to give it an agenda, an intelligence, or any kind of structure - just a "negative influence" that has been inspiring baddies to do bad, consciously or otherwise. Take a hint from recent seasons of Doctor Who - have a little something at each major plot point, if they bother to notice it, a la Bad Wolf or the crack in the wall. Drop hints a la Buffy's "From beneath you, it devours," or Doctor Who's "Silence will fall." Or don't, and leave it enigmatic and ambiguous. If they decide to keep sandboxing perpetually, no harm; there's enough evil influence for a lifetime of adventures. On the other hand, if they notice the pattern, that's when it becomes fun, and here's why.

Have you ever played the board game Betrayal at House on the Hill? It's a horror game that plays differently each time, and here's why - players uncover the house room by room, square by square. Periodically, a player encounters an Omen, at which point they have to roll dice. On a specific roll, the evil of the game is revealed. The nature of that evil, however, depends upon what Omen was encountered when that particular roll was made, and in what room. In other words, it depends upon the players' conduct at the moment of the big reveal.

Use that. When (and if) the PCs decide to look for the cause of this widespread malevolence, look back on what they've done, what they've enjoyed, the NPCs and plot events that had the biggest influence on them. Pluck the choicest elements from those, and weave them together into something big. Was their favorite session the one involving the king and the intrigue in his royal court? The malevolence, long-dormant, is being stirred by the king's avaricious vizier. Was it the one in the crypt? Reveal that the malevolence is a force from the negative energy plane, and its presence is awakening undead across the continent. Was there a conniving scoundrel with whom the party repeatedly crossed swords? Reveal him to be the underling of the malevolence, enacting its final stratagem to materialize in this world. In this way, you make them already invested in the metaplot, because you're using the plot points they've enjoyed thus far.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

I've never played that game Red Fel, but I like where you're going with that evil force. It's an enemy without a face, which may be less rewarding for players. But at the same time, defeating a extraplanar force, or at least preventing it from tainting the material plane may make the heroes feel like cosmic heroes. The campaign of course would span from level 1 to as high as the players are willing to go.

My only reservations about a sandbox approach is that I don't really like "side quests" for the sake of XP. I want players to do things that contribute to the story arc. Maybe a complete sandbox isn't the right way to go. Perhaps a very loose aggregate of events that all have ties to a greater evil. The players will work on these smaller stories, maybe two or three when they realize that it's all the same thing. Thoughts?

[Red Fel]

My only reservations about a sandbox approach is that I don't really like "side quests" for the sake of XP. I want players to do things that contribute to the story arc. Maybe a complete sandbox isn't the right way to go. Perhaps a very loose aggregate of events that all have ties to a greater evil. The players will work on these smaller stories, maybe two or three when they realize that it's all the same thing. Thoughts?

Well, a happy medium isn't so much a sandbox ("This box is full of sand! It can be anything!") as a toybox ("This box is full of toys! Go ahead and pick one!"). Or, more specifically, rather than just creating a vast, featureless plane and saying, "Go nuts," you tell the players, "You are here. To the north is A, to the south is B, to the west is C and D, and to the east is X. What would you like to do?" And then come up with hooks for each location.

In the latter example, you're not giving them a perfectly open world, but you are giving them broad discretion as to where they want to go and what they want to do. Because you have plot hooks in every area, you can choose to (or not to) tie any given location or event into the metaplot. They still have the freedom to choose where they're going, what they're doing, and when (and if) to get involved in the larger story, but by defining the world just a bit more, you can better ensure that they stumble over the plot eventually.

Going the toybox route may also benefit your players in other ways. While I'm no advocate of railroading, I recognize that, as a player, I tend to get a bit paralyzed when presented with infinite possibilities. If the list of choices gets narrower, it's easier for me to choose. By keeping the players' choices both open and limited, you can ensure that they have enough choice to roam freely, but not so much that they grow overwhelmed.

Most importantly, however, you need to keep one thing in mind: Your players may never embrace the story arc. It's sad, but true, and it's why many DMs on these forums advocate more of a "wing it" approach to DMing - the PCs rarely, if ever, do what you'd like them to do, and no campaign plot survives contact with the players. Be prepared for the possibility that you manage to create an engaging, immersive world that leaves the players wandering from place to place, righting wrongs and fighting injustice, without actually getting to the point - a sort of high fantasy Quantum Leap or Sliders.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

Your players may never embrace the story arc. Quantum Leap or Sliders.

I agree there. That's why I was kind of hoping to trick them into embracing it by sticking everything to the story arc. Which is why your suggestion for an extraplanar malevolence is so nice. It can seep into the world and taint everything. The PCs won't be able to help sticking their nose into the taint :smallbiggrin:

[Lo77o]

The PCs won't be able to help sticking their nose into the taint :smallbiggrin:

Im not entirely sure thats even legal in all places. Just saying. Unless your a dog im sure it is at least frowned upon.

[nakedonmyfoldin]

These things are encouraged at my table.

I'm still open to suggestions from others by the by