The Four Pillars to a Great DnD Sandbox Campaign
Source: The Four Pillars to a Great DnD Sandbox Campaign
Author: @Earthmote
Notes
🌱 A world that waits for the players is not a sandbox but a theme park
🌱 One of the joys of a sandbox campaign is seeing the impact PCs have on the world
🌱 There are four tools that enliven a sandbox world
🌱 Catalyst-Events are pre-planned happenings that happen regardless of player action
🌱 Catalyst-Events change the status quo
🌱 Catalyst-Events force players to react to a new reality
🌱 Factions are the actors in a campaign or sandbox
🌱 Factions act as agents of change
🌱 Factions should have friction and conflict between each other
🌱 Timers introduce urgency into a sandbox
🌱 Timers can be hidden or open
🌱 A sandbox should not wait for the players
🌱 If the PCs don't interact with a faction's plan, the plan should still happen
🌱 Slow burn timers have a certain amount of vagueness to when they finish
🌱 Specific timers are precise in when they finish
🌱 Using timers requires tracking time
🌱 Secrets are unrevealed truths about the world
🌱 Secrets pull the PCs out of safety
🌱 The four pillars of a sandbox form a loop
🌱 Events answer "what" happens
🌱 Factions answer "who" does something
🌱 Timers answer "when" something happens
🌱 Secrets answer "why" something happens
🌱 Sandboxes should respond to the players presence as well as absence