Scripted or Sandbox? What's your favorite way to CK/play?

[Piperdog]

What is your favorite way of playing and/or Cking. As a player, do you like to have a fleshed out adventuring area to freely wander and explore, and have the CK respond to your actions, or do you prefer a more linear, scripted out adventure? What about as a CK? Do you like to wing it most of the time, or do you have to have a meticulously plotted out course of events?

I enjoy a little of both I guess. Having played and also run both styles of game, it kind of depends.

Our group leans toward the open "Sandbox" style, sort of like the Haunted Highlands, where I have adventure locales and encounter areas throughout the map and just let the PC's wander where they will. Give some adventure hooks here and there and be prepared for them to snub some and bite on others and then run with it. I find it easy to wing it if I intimately know the npc's in the campaign, because the more detailed they are, with built in intrigues, prejudices and biased views, they sort of shape it for you. One of our gamemasters (a lawyer no less) has all this in his head. His storytelling and plot weaving are incredible, and yet he has only a half page of notes to himself that turns into 3 long sessions of play. Myself, I have to write out who is doing what to who and when, etc etc.

Scripted module style adventures are a blessing though in that, while linear and limiting to some degree, the poor CK can throw a session together with minimal prep time, and usually every one can get through it in a short time, many times in a single session or two. This is awsome for those of us who are Closet Gamer Career Professionals who are busy with work and family.

What style do you guys prefer?

[Omote]

Playing and CKing, I like to let the PCs wander and exlore what they like. I like giving the PCs the freedom to do what they want, and when they want in game. I always drop tons of hints, adventures, NPCs, red herrings, ect to make the world feel more visceral.

Of course, free-form styles of play like this sometimes get PCs into trouble, by ignoring and back-burnering adventures, quests, missions, etc.

I love this kind of play.

-O
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[Treebore]

I guess it would be defined as Sandbox.

I "script" with an outline, which allows me to allow the players a lot of freedom of direction.

Plus I don't stick to a script either. IF players go off in a different tangent I let them. If I can adapt my script to this new tangent, I do. IF not I scrap it and come up with a new one that caters to the tangent. If it "works" I bring them back to the old script later on, if not I just keep going with new material.

However a lot of players like scripts and modules, so I'm fine with that too. I still don't shackle myself with whats written. I go with what the players do as much as I can.

So my basic premise is:

I come up with a number of things going on in my campaign world in broad concepts/ideas, then I come up with a half dozen or so main plot threads for the specific area or areas my group is playing in. Then I build from there by having my world, and designated NPC's, respond to what the PC's do. It provides a much more "organic" feel, IMO, to my games, and gives me the flexibility I like in responding to player actions.

As an example I started my Monday night group out with Haunted Highlands. There was material that the module has, then there was what I came up with in addition by deciding on things certain NPC's were up to, in particular the Barbarian Chieften, the Orc KIng, the religion of Bowbe, and a few NPC's in the "pit".

I also had plots for the region, based around Unklar and what city states and Kingdoms of the area are doing to firm up their control, or even expand it for those NPC's who foolishly or correctly desire too.

Then, because my world contains the Wilderlands, Greyhawk, Faerun, and other lands along with Airhde I have several ideas as to what is going on between those lands. A lot of which has to do with what has been believed to be a land called the "Great Desert" is now a rich and vibrant land called Airhde. With this change only being less than a century old only the educated, well travelled, and influential are even aware.

Fewer still have learned that Airhde was always there. Even fewer still know that the "great Desert", which is west of the lands called Greyhawk, was a huge illusionary land created by an evil god named Unklar. Even fewer know that he is also known to go by other names, such as Tharizdun.

So I have all of this worked out in my head and advance it as the players do things.

By using as many settings as I can I am also able to answer, "What is over there? On the other side of those mountains or Oceans?"

My plethora of modules and other game resources, such as the Harn city books and free downloads from Lythia.com, I can quickly come up with detailed locations for the PC's to travel to, when and if they decide to cross those mountains or oceans.

So "Sandbox" definitely fits my DMing style best. I prefer to play in games that are that way as well.
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[Zudrak]

I used to prefer the "scripted" method where they could wander within a small area, etc. However, since I was forced to ad lib quite a few times in my 3e campaign, I have learned to enjoy it. I stopped worrying about whether it was going to be enjoyable for the players or not and simply allowed my imagination do the work. It's like being a kid again.

Now that I play C&C and it is more conducive for me to be creative than 3e was for me, I find ad-libbing to be a treat because I won't have to give the players a break while I stat out a new monster to fit a CR or EL.
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[Maliki]

Between the two, I prefer the sandbox approach, but do like to have some scripted events.
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[Rigon]

I tend to just have a few basic ideas that I want to cover in the game and mostly wing everything else. It seems to be working out fine for my group.

R-
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[Deogolf]

Depends on the situation. With a newer/younger group, I would go with a more scripted situation.

With the veteran group - sandbox almost all the way. I find veteran groups to be the most versatile and to be the kind to do something out of the ordinary. Of course, newcomers can throw a curveball now & then, but just not as often.
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[serleran]

I let the players play. They are the adventurers.

[Matthew]

I think it's usually something of a mix for me. I usually have plenty of adventure locales littered around and let the player characters do whatever they want, but there are scripted segments littered about. For instance, there might be an abandoned ruin in the area that is also the prison of a Demon. The adventurers might go there and 'accidently' free him, which spurs on a number of new events in the campaign area or they might ignore the ruin only to hear of his release at some other point (perhaps by a band of NPC Adventurers or by a Cult or whatever). They could, of course, somehow discover the Demon is imprisoned there and seek to reinforce his imprisonment. At that point the Demon is 'trapdoored' and some other NPC starts fulfilling the role that the Demon otherwise would have.
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[Aladar]

I usually follow the open sandbox approach.

I like to let the PCs go where ever they like. I set up an area with hooks, an abundance of NPCS & monsters, and small plots and let the players run with it. I usually like free form dungeon layouts as well, so the PC can explore. I sometimes repopulate and reset the traps in dungeons if they leave an area for to long.
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[Stuie]

Deogolf wrote:
Depends on the situation. With a newer/younger group, I would go with a more scripted situation.

That's what I'm dealing with. My group needs some definite guidance, so my campaign right now is semi-scripted. If they go off script I'll be extremely happy as it will show they are turning into better gamers.
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Laudir Agus Mir

[gideon_thorne]

I rarely use adventure modules, not until recently in fact. Generally, I'll make up some sort of 'area' for the characters to be in and then let them talk themselves into an adventure from that.

Just as easy to weave nuggets of character background into a story as it is to flip open a module.
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Peter Bradley

[Catweazle]

While I do like thee to be some story going on in the world, the PCs are free to act however they wish.

So, it starts scripted at the very beginning, but that's just the kick-off situation. After that it's all pretty freeform. I don't make the story; the players do that. They're the stars of the show, after all.
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[GameOgre]

Depends on who im playing with. Some of my palyers now and past need/like a more scripted style. Some people "new players often are like this" get lost in a wide world to explore with little to tell them what to do.

Now as long as i have people who like to break lose I will run a freeform scripted game.

I will almost always combine the two. I will work out ahead of time a lair for the bandits,trols,lich,orcs whatever and freeform attacks on towns,hunting parties in the woods,npc's in trouble,ect to get the party to it.

Hardly ever do i really free form DM with nothing worked out ahead of time. When I have done it most of those games formed a out of the box adventure.
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[Montague]

I sketch out a rough framework of "what's going on" in the PC's neighborhood, create a few important NPC's, then let them loose.

The PC's then pursue a hook (usually) and from then I improvise the first session, usually tossing a big battle or a few random encounters at them to get their feet wet combat-wise. Not coincidentally, that buys me time to more flesh out the portions of the adventure/world the PC's want to pursue. Then we play out that section, find where the PC's go from there, flesh that out after that session, so forth.

If the PC's want to go do something totally random I wing it as best I can - the 1st edition DM Guide tables being a wonderful thing.

[Piperdog]

It sounds like we all play and Ck pretty much the same way. It may be a maturity/ years spent role-playing type of thing.

New Players/Ck's = Much guidance and steering for players and Ease and Control for new Ck's through linear style adventures

Veteran Players/CK's = Cut loose the reigns and go with the flow, letting PC's tell their own story.

Really, sandbox only works with really good players. The ones who are new or "just don't get it" can put the breaks on any game that allows complete freedom of the PC's.

CK: Okay, what do you do?

PC: I don't know. What am I suppose to do?

CK: Whatever you want.

PC: Err, and what would I want to do?

CK: *rubs temple, pops advil*

[Eisenmann]

PIperdog wrote:
CK: Okay, what do you do?

PC: I don't know. What am I suppose to do?

CK: Whatever you want.

PC: Err, and what would I want to do?

CK: *rubs temple, pops advil*

LOL You nailed it. Luckily I've got a strong group of players who have a lot of gaming years under their belts.

I thoroughly enjoy the sandbox approach, myself. I've kinda taken that approach even early on. The Forgotten Realms was the first campaign world that I purchased but I never went beyond the boxed set. By the time the supplements came out I already had my own world built using their maps and NPCs. For me that's the fun.