Recycling the DnD Sandbox: Faster Prep and a Richer World

[@YawdroGaming]

I always tell those in my DMing tree that prep is rarely wasted, it's just waiting to be used somewhere else in the future. Great advice, Earthmote!

[@Earthmote]

Thanks!

[@leonielson7138]

The great thing about Sandbox is that you can upcycle locations and materials - you've reached the end of a campaign, but not all the hexes are filled in, so you can start a new campaign in the same world (maybe even with the same players) and retread locations with different factions/groups occupying the location, or use them to demonstrate the passage of time. "Remember that cemetery outside the Dwarven stronghold in the mountains that was overrun by the undead? Well, the undead have been put to rest and there's now a thriving Dwarven settlement inside." "Remember that cave system you explored at level 15? Well, now a group of goblins have taken over, and we need someone to clear them out." "Remember that one tiny settlement that you helped establish ... Well, something happened and now it's a ghost town."

[@Earthmote]

Yeah, that's a nice way to have continuity between campaigns if you use the same setting!

[@davidmorgan6896]

This is a great approach, but I can't resist the urge to just start again.

[@C-Hirsuta]

Thank you for the video, you're really helping me prep for my upcoming sandbox campaign

[@georgelaiacona111]

Nature abhors a vacuum. The party might have cleaned out the dungeon once, but now it's free real estate for someone else to move in. Renew, recycle, reuse. Excellent advice.

[@Earthmote]

Yep, the world keeps moving!

[@torinmccabe]

From the quantum ogre to the traveling ogre

[@Subject_Keter]

It funny, that how one of my board game features would work. The game has you rushing across the realm to arm the survivors against the mutating horror named the Taint, all regions get slowly infected as it spreads and they creep into the dungeons. They can reduce or mutate the amount of enemies in a dungeon, alter the dungeon and potentially make it "easier" to break in. Like for exmaple, a necromantic kingdom has good rewards but e v e r y person in the kingdom is a skeleton so taking on the horde is ill advised. The Taint would reduce the amount of summoned dead but you may be paying a great cost for not clearing it up... or you already planned for it. 😂

[@couchcommander5280]

3:10 trigger warning I'm literally shook right now😮

[@nicholascarter9158]

I dont mind this theory of design, but i did once get feedback from someone who didn't like "how nihilistic" it was. They felt that having to retread the same locations multiple times left them with a sort of "adventuring is futile, it's a waste of time" feeling.

[@Subject_Keter]

It can be but i bet if you ask them how much They travel out of where they live, it will be funny. Jokes aside. You could always alter it or have it be totally warped. I think the player is mad that you arent his content slave. 😂

[@ScottRoste]

Watching these vids, i feel like I'm one of the few that doesn't like a sandbox method. If i prep an abandoned mine for our next session, the players show up knowing that's the adventure we are going to run. If they decided to skip the mine to explore the nearby hidden castle, then there would be no adventure unless I developed everything on the fly. Now after we finish the mine, if they say they want to scout the hidden castle next, then I'll prep that for next time. I don't get the appeal of this open sandbox environment where the players' choices are not likely to align with what the DM has prepped.

[@jriggan]

🥕

[@admorewarhammer5141]

🤓

[@tslfrontman]

Great points 🤌 reminds me a lot of various video game tricks for re-experiencing or remixing content (which, TTRPGs are falling WAY behind video games as far as ripping ideas from each other)

[@Earthmote]

Thanks! Yeah I think its a good idea to take ideas from other systems (video games, books, TTRPGs, movies, tv, etc.)