How A Linear Campaign Can Work
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- When we present a sandbox style campaign to our players, sometimes it can be better to do this with a linear style story. I'll show you when and why.
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Player's Handbook 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
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amzn.to/4085L0... RPG systems are built around balancing encounters to match a party's current level. But this practice can create boring entounters and ignores a vital aspect of a fun campaign: player agency.
Join me on Discord: / discord
Check out my podcast with Daniel Norton of @BanditsKeep. We talk about D&D and being a GM and a whole lot more.
Monsters and Treasure Podcast
Apple: podcasts.apple...
Anchor: anchor.fm/mons...
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
Here are some of the products you can use to start playing D&D and create your own homebrewed campaign.
Player's Handbook 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/43xZaiU
Monster Manual 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3zTjr55
Dungeon Master's Guide 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3o9OOpn
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
amzn.to/3zX5i6Y
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse 5e
amzn.to/3zTjWft
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons 5e
amzn.to/3Uxfaxu
Xanathar's Guide To Everything 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3KrKJEs
Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3mtGsZf
Volo's Guide To Monsters 5e, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3MBpNgZ
Dungeons and Dragons 5e Core Rulebooks Gift Set, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/3oeOu8Y
Sword Coast Adventuring Guide, Amazon Affiliate Website Link:
amzn.to/4085L0K
A linear path to achieve a set result is fine. Where the sandbox is at its best is that the party can break off that path on go on a side quest then come back to the main adventure. There may be consequences to delaying, but they have the "perceived" freedom to choose when they engage the main story path. As they progress through the main arc, they can pick up places they want to return to after the arc is over. That is the beauty of the Sandbox.
I agree, though I sometimes will have a ticking clock sub-plot that prevents full exploration of some area. I try to avoid them but I also like the pressure on the players when they have to complete a task before something bad, or catastrophic, happens!
What about a campaign that functions as a linear sandbox?
The initial Kickstarter offering we will have is set in a secluded mtn valley where the PCs explore and as things unfold they discover secrets that one diety has. It has all 3 pillars and is built so the players just can't wait to get to the next section and at the end there's 5 different outcomes. Not a world-saving ending but an entire pantheon altering ending. This is what I call a "linear sandbox."
@@helixxharpell Sounds very cool!
@@helixxharpell The campaign sounds linear, the world can be sandbox if the players are free to drop and pick up the quest at will.
I pretty much always run sandbox campaigns, because I like sandboxes.
But look back at the classic Fallout game from the pre-Bethesda days. Both Fallout and Fallout 2 were big sandboxes, but each had certain things that needed doing, and there was an ending for each.
As the player's actions affect the various locations and NPCs, they change the world in both small and startling ways, and at the end of the game there's a review of what happened to XYZ town, etc.
You can have a pure sandbox while also having a BBEG, or even something like a plot at the same time. One of my games recently wrapped, and we've been spending some weeks talking about and preparing for the next one. We decided it will be a Traveller game, so that picks the system. And I'm kicking around a few setting flavors, but I told the players that I want each PC to start off with an arc that PC is pursuing, and I want the group to have a collective arc chosen by the players. So there's story progression baked in, but the players are responsible for setting the direction and tone.
I'll also provide them with some solid candidates for antagonists and other tropes to see what they latch onto, and the story/plot will continue to take on a form of its own.
But it will be a sandbox. They will have all the buttons and knobs in that sandbox to fiddle with. But I told them I'd like this campaign to last several months & reach a satisfying end, so they should pick things they can work toward steadily in that time frame.
That's another way to have a satsifying "end point" for a sandbox campaign: have the players establish goals for their characters. And sometimes the players will create them out of the action: in a recent campaign that wrapped up one of my players want to get a resurrect a player who died early on: he sacrificed his character for the other. And he achieved this right at the last session.
the more times a Dm says yes, the more sand they add to the campaign, the more 'No's' the more rails. All rails is a railroad that removes player agency, all sand is a sandbox that removes Dm agency. Balance is key ☯️
Agreed. Saying yes is critical to playing a satisfying RPG, and that's often why adventure paths and modules can't compare to a good home brewed campaign.
If you play with technicalities and consider a real life physical sandbox. A playground that has various types of playground equipment, yet it's base is covered with sand and has boundaries you can still technically call that a Sandbox.
So in a TTRPG sandbox campaign that has certain pre-designed areas/quests & lore yet still has plenty of player agency/choice is still a Sandbox Campaign. So you can have some clear lineation & structure without eliminating Player's free will/decisions.
For example: I designed a campaign (though lack a group to play with) that is mostly set in "The Forgotten Realms" and starts with a couple pre-written modules that I adjusted for more player choice. After those modules then it moves onto other areas of the Realms & established lore, YET there is still plenty of Player Choice as well as content I made up. Eventually there will be some Planar Shenanigans and the final BBEG is Tiamat.
As for the idea of a "Middle Earth" campaign with Player Characters, you could do a few different things depending on how much you understand & love the Lore. You could have it be that it takes place in the 1st or 2nd Age pre-dating Sauron, or you could have it take place directly after the Fellowship wins, or you could have it take place that the Fellowship failed so your Players are the new Fellowship trying to succeed, or finally it could take place in an age long after all that. Just to name a few ideas.
I think it can be a great idea to start a campaign with some modules if you are new to the group or system. Even though those are linear, if you adapt the personages to your world they will fit in when the players go out on their own. And you're right: creating a campaing in another age of the Tolkien lore won't have the over-riding impetus that the War of the Ring has for players to get involved, and be a more traditional sandbox.
You don't structure it like a video game. You structure it so there's a branching set of storylines that gives the players agency but at the same time they're finding themselves embroiled in any one of these 5 branching plotlines.
For NEW players, best to treat it as a short video game.
Have every player create six backup PCs and just rotate them at Save Points.
People Act like Their PC can't Die.
Facts are, you do die a lot in video games.
Better yet, like a cartoon.
TMNT.
My usual setup is 2 or 3 power centers, 1 or 2 mysteries and maybe whispers of some great discovery in the offing. The power centers are the leading individuals or groups in the world, the mysteries are lost temples, civilizations or just weird events, while the discovery is something that could change the way everyone looks at the world. That's why it's a rumor to begin with.
I like to do that with a brand new system as well.
@@krispalermo8133 With 5 character sheets waiting in the wings, where's the "death awaits at ever corner" feel? With that said, does sheet 2 know what happened with sheet 1? Does sheet 6 have all the knowledge that sheets 1 thru 5 had? That's exactly how a video game is played and if that's the style you like, I'm not gonna judge! Yes that is a viable playstyle but as a DM, my players know I'm not pulling punches and death awaits at every corner. I can't begin to tell you the level of "healthy anxiety" my players have felt when a TPK is about to happen. but damn.. Every single time it's about to happen and I roll dice out on the table the dice suddenly go bad and they're cheering..
That feeling is almost as good as great s*x! But hey @krispalermo8133, our playtest of Khor starts up next weekend. I'll bring your 6 pc sheet idea to our design group to kick around and will double back to K.R.'s channel and let everyone know their thoughts. But in the meantime if you want to take some time to elaborate on your idea, would love to hear them here and you can hit me up over on tweeter thru DM. @bindowndatrode.
My group is about to end a campaign structured like an open world video game after close to a year. We've grown to hate this type and style of game intensely. Our DM's background is mostly that of Bethesda RPGs and its made the experience so dry and the main story narrative and characters feel so bland and checkpoint-esk. Many side quests are essentially pointless to the narrative and yield little to no reward. The main narrative has little to no agency. We do get to pick what to do and what comes next but it just happens around us as we watch and fight battles against the same villains from session 1. We are going to do very different things in the future here because of how uninspired and frustrated the game has left us. DnD's strength lies almost entirely in its ability to be hyper flexible and not like a video game. Using video games as inspiration is fine for monsters or items but not for structure or systems.
Awesome content. To me a sandbox is giving the players choices on which way their heroes want to go or what they want to do. As a DM I give them the backdrop of what's going on around them, so, they choose which path to follow. I present a main quest, or two, and multiple "side" quests. We have fun. The sandbox keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. That being said their own choices could lead to a linear path, but, it's in the presentation, how and when to present information that is key.
P.S. All life, and our existence, in what we entertain ourselves with, is linear. No getting around the LINE.
And that last comment gets to the heart of why it's difficult to agree on a definition of a sandbox or player agency. It really is in the eye of the beholder. But that said, I do my best to run as true a sandbox as I can.
A linear sandbox is a bowling alley with bumpers.
You'd be surprised how many supposed sandbox campaigns are just that.
Excellent video. I also have a long-running campaign where there is an over-arching storyline for the characters to resolve, but plenty of things to wander about doing that are seemingly unconnected. If they just want to run around exploring, fine. If they want to resolve the big bad guy, that's fine too. Thanks for this.
Glad you enjoyed it.
cool video.
BTW I think of all the 5e WotC books, Storm Things Thunder is as close to a full sandbox as it gets. It feels more like a setting than an adventure. Nothing wrong with that, if it's what you're looking for.
That's what I was thinking during the video, but I couldn't quite remember if it was a sandbox. Good to hear I'm not going crazy!
This got me thinking about the idea of linear world w/ sandbox plot vs a sandbox world with a linear plot.
Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation are the latter. You can go where you want in the world, but the goal is clear cut. You must kill Strahd.
Apocalypse Now is a linear world. You can only go up river, but characters choose you what moral end they want to reach. Kill Kurtz? Join him? Usurp him?
Just an idea to flesh out. I like the video. We often make too much of a binary between linear and sandbox, as if they are mutually exclusive.
It's interesting how these terms can inspire RPG theory by thinking of how we define them and then applying those definitions to the tasks we see in RPG's or plot lines in movies and books. Game of Thrones had the fight for control of the kingdom but also the white walkers.
I feel Like my comment on the last video have an echo on this one, the 2 videos together make for a super interesting duo for all new game master.
really good video :)
Yours was one of the comments that inspired the video! Thanks!
To me sandbox is being willing, as the DM to 'YES AND...' anything the players could want and finding a roll to challenge their desire to complete the task. Some players like less creativity and more hardset guidelines like 'we're off to kill Strahd' . Part of being a good DM is asking what players want, and reading the vibe on how they reacted to played sessions.
Which is why there is no inherently style or system: it's what you and your players like.
Finally we get some linear continuity into this game. But jokes aside. I think abbaut this topic all the time. Now I will watch the video. Very interesting topic.
It came from comments ony last video.
I just ended a 8 month game because my old players said that they wanted a sandbox at sessions zero but when i as a DM just react to actions they got pissed over time that they didn't have any aim. So i gave them rails then down the road they got pissed again. Long story short the biggest metagame is that the players know they are playing a game. Games have objectives. Sandboxes the players create the objectives and Railroads the GM has objectives. Fighting over objectives is the main problem in either situation that causes problems at the table. When players forget the DM is a player and the DM forgets the players you are in for a bad time. The point of games is to test skill or witt. If you are not doing this you are just playing pretend. And that is the problem of modern gameplay it doesnt test skill or witt and everyone can do everything and just pretend for 3hrs. Go Larp and get it out of your system...
It can be tricky to balance player agency and the demands of a storyline. And it sounds like your players changed their tune!
@@DDHomebrew Human nature, drama social power plays at work/school slip over into after work social encounters.
Since they have no control at work/school, they control freak at home or some other hang out locations, bars, or gaming shops.
Some people don't grow out of their 13year old mental state. The one always picking verbal fights, want to give attitude and disagree with everyone. Even if you give in and agree with what they want. They have to turn and disagree argue with you over that.
When you have to live around at home, and then work with people. 13year old, 24year old, and 34year old all can have the same mind set. Whiny.
Players know they are lying and total B.s.
But their PC have to roll dice with level modifiers to know when the world is lying to them.
I got lost on a county road and had to stop for help.
The guy's brother walks in and holds out his hand, " Hi, I'm Clark Kent, welcome to Smallville Kansas."
I believed him at the moment.
It was a mind shifting experience.
.. wow ..
Slip the gaming group, any time they go into a new location. Have half of them role the n/PC locals.
The game is about Role playing after all. It helps them on their own DM skills.
In truth, D&D systems suck, dice pool Xp attribute/ ability, and skills work better. Old D&D PC stats never went up without magic. Others reflect life as if you carry more with proper rest your Str/Con will improve. So after dragging & half carrying the last survivor with a cripple leg back to where he lost his party. That is a physical workout marathon, not to mention of him have PTSD yelling/screaming dreams.
For me I do not have the time to simply wander the map, teavel or explore yes, but a linear campaign gives meaning to each session, each peeling away a layer or laying another stone towards a goal, building a path, but there can be multiple paths, thus "sandbox" but truly open? Not for me. I prefer the arc, a thread linking it all, its a "real" world with webs of connectivity. And at bottom, an end to pursue.
And so most sandboxes have several threads running, and which one the players follow is up to them. Either what they prefere or through some interaction with NPC's.
Thank you
Glad you enjoyed the video!
I present the setting first. The players then create their characters with backgrounds and drives inspired by the setting. Things are already in motion, and the players have chosen personal and group goals when play starts. Situations and goals develop further through play.
That is the classic sandbox setup.
@@DDHomebrew It’s classic because it works. I've seen too many sandboxes start with characters in a new location with only a name and a class.
@@emjtucson You have to put some work in at the beginning, but it's worth it.
Good video,
Thanks!
the fallout 4 comes to mind.
I don't know that game. The RPG is interesting but can get crunchy.
@@DDHomebrew the video game
@@mikko272 That's what I was referring to. I've never played it.
@@DDHomebrew ok