Good starter advice. I've only come across you in the last month or so and I'm now catching up on your older videos. I like the presentation - it cuts through to me and is reassuringly clear. Good advice, good detail and dished out in consumable bites. I hope this channel builds.
Great advice here. You might go into this deeper later in the series, but I think it’s important for GMs to think about it at the outset - you don’t have to know every detail of your factions, locations, etc. before you begin play. You may end up designing things with which the players never interact. Having a good general overview of the setting and some solid details of the area in which the PCs begin is good. You can follow your players’ lead and begin to flesh out the things in which they take an interest. Make sure to get a solid read of the players’ intentions at the end of each session, so that you know where to spend your prep time before the next game.
Yes, all great advice here! Start the sandbox small and build as you go. I like to have some semblance of what the region will be and what the main themes will be. But as you said, if your players are interested in certain aspects, then engage and build out those for them.
Solid advice! I totally agree with all that. One resource that has helped me immensely in prepping my sandbox game is "The Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master" by Sly Flourish. The prep of the area, nouns, NPC's their factions and motivations needs to be very briefly noted with lots of secrets to be discovered. With hooks, throw them out to the players and see which ones they bite on. Its so much fun seeing where it leads, in my current campaign the vague notes and ideas were the ones they latched onto, so I expanded them out between sessions. The more detailed ones I kept running in the background and then the consequences would play out with sometimes shocking results (to the players) not in terms of hurting or changing their goals, but more like "Wow, we did not see that coming, the world is much bigger than we realized." Makes for very entertaining games that we build up together (DM & Players)
Great insights! I'm actually currently working on a video reviewing The Return of the Lazy DM and giving my thoughts on how it translates to OSR style play/prep.
That's awesome.....it's a great resource, I recently got "So You Want to be a Gamemaster" by Justin Alexander, I plan on giving it a review on my blog....
I've found that sandbox is how I naturally run a campaign as a game master. And I think a part, but not the entire reason, of why I am so thoroughly disenchanted by 5e style rulesets, is the passive player mindset it endorses. Yes, you can get players who actively interact with your world, and will drive the story, but most of those are happier playing in the older editions that reward active participants more.
All good points, but to general. I'd like this video to be more detailed and focus. I was hoping to "get" something I don't know yet, but it is possible, that I'm not the target. Cheers!
Good starter advice. I've only come across you in the last month or so and I'm now catching up on your older videos. I like the presentation - it cuts through to me and is reassuringly clear. Good advice, good detail and dished out in consumable bites. I hope this channel builds.
Appreciate the video!
Great advice here. You might go into this deeper later in the series, but I think it’s important for GMs to think about it at the outset - you don’t have to know every detail of your factions, locations, etc. before you begin play. You may end up designing things with which the players never interact. Having a good general overview of the setting and some solid details of the area in which the PCs begin is good. You can follow your players’ lead and begin to flesh out the things in which they take an interest. Make sure to get a solid read of the players’ intentions at the end of each session, so that you know where to spend your prep time before the next game.
Yes, all great advice here! Start the sandbox small and build as you go. I like to have some semblance of what the region will be and what the main themes will be. But as you said, if your players are interested in certain aspects, then engage and build out those for them.
thnx, great advice and really encouraging. I am building up courage to start my first campaign. this really helped
Glad it was helpful! Start small and go from there. Good luck, you'll do great.
I like the cut of your jib. Subbed.
These are great videos for newbs or vets. Good times. Thanks.
Thanks! Welcome aboard the Earthmote
I like this Earthmote video.
Solid advice! I totally agree with all that. One resource that has helped me immensely in prepping my sandbox game is "The Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master" by Sly Flourish. The prep of the area, nouns, NPC's their factions and motivations needs to be very briefly noted with lots of secrets to be discovered. With hooks, throw them out to the players and see which ones they bite on. Its so much fun seeing where it leads, in my current campaign the vague notes and ideas were the ones they latched onto, so I expanded them out between sessions. The more detailed ones I kept running in the background and then the consequences would play out with sometimes shocking results (to the players) not in terms of hurting or changing their goals, but more like "Wow, we did not see that coming, the world is much bigger than we realized." Makes for very entertaining games that we build up together (DM & Players)
Great insights! I'm actually currently working on a video reviewing The Return of the Lazy DM and giving my thoughts on how it translates to OSR style play/prep.
That's awesome.....it's a great resource, I recently got "So You Want to be a Gamemaster" by Justin Alexander, I plan on giving it a review on my blog....
Great stuff!!!!!
Thanks!
Solid advice for sure! I'm hoping to get my most sandboxy game underway pretty soon so these are all helpful reminders.
Glad to hear it! Good luck with your game.
@@Earthmote Thank you!
This is very detailed and laid out nicely. Definitely one of my favorite videos when it comes to sandbox.
I've found that sandbox is how I naturally run a campaign as a game master. And I think a part, but not the entire reason, of why I am so thoroughly disenchanted by 5e style rulesets, is the passive player mindset it endorses. Yes, you can get players who actively interact with your world, and will drive the story, but most of those are happier playing in the older editions that reward active participants more.
All good points, but to general. I'd like this video to be more detailed and focus. I was hoping to "get" something I don't know yet, but it is possible, that I'm not the target. Cheers!