This topic is for people who are stumped on how to do a sandbox. The community here will like to offer wisdom on the hows and whys certain things are done -- and show by example by creating a basic Sandbox. Ideally we want this process to be clear and directly applicable, so feel free to ask questions and not just listen to veteran advice.

In beginning let me quote members' foundational advice:

Quote from: estar;536333The biggest reason sandbox campaign fail is lack of context. Context is need so that players can make meaningful decisions for their characters. Without an initial context the player might as well throw darts at a board for all the meaning their decisions have. In my experience most players dislike that situation intensely and why it is why many sandbox campaigns fail[...]

The job of the referee during this is to TEACH the player the basic background of the setting[...]

With this the referee should encourage the player talk about what he wants to accomplish in general terms using stereotypes of the genre. The referee then works with him to refine it and fit it into the setting[...]

Quote from: Benoist;536365The best way to go about [a group to get the sandbox play style] is for the characters to have a generic goal at the start of the game. The basic assumption of the D&D game that level 1 characters are basically searching to explore the unknown or get missions to strike it rich and not die trying is basically the mother of all goals here.

Quote from: SineNomine;552560Whatever you do, don't overprepare. Overprep is one of the two big campaign-killers for sandboxes, along with PC aimlessness and frustration. It's all too easy for a GM to exhaust herself mapping out far more than she needs for the next session. [¶]

Whenever you work on a sandbox campaign, you need to ask yourself two questions- "Will I need this for the next session?" and "Am I having fun making this?" If you can't answer yes to at least one of those questions, you need to put it down and go do something more fun before you burn yourself out.

With that done, next post I'll set theRPGSite sandbox tutorial foundational setting context and group goal. This is often known as establishing setting familiarity, campaign premise, and starting goal. And I'll try to not over-prepare!

(Posters in the future may want to brainstorm their own characters to fit such a world! We'll see.)

OK, I'm being deliberately tongue-and-cheek here, but it's for a good cause and works with the shared community knowledge (especially that of this website).

I'm going to base the setting roughly on:
medieval fantasy Europe (because of the popular familiarity to the RPG 'big daddy', D&D),
a burlesque of theRPGSite's fora tropes (because I'm evil ),
and
a grittier player character scope of power (Welcome to Fantasy f***in' Vietnam, baby!).

1. Establish Basic Setting Context! Not for the world, just for one small corner of it.

It all starts in a locale called... The'arr-Peegee Site. It is a bastion of civilization upon a hill of great import (critics say of it's own import to the inhabitants, supporting locals say of the justified battles hard fought). It stands high amongst a broad expanse.

There is a central town atop the hill with supporting farms and homesteads around. Within there's several squares where people gather, and as decreed for the sake of clarity, each square was given to be the rightful place to speak of certain topics. There was also repositories of learning, whole systems of truth, and along with all commentaries upon these said learned creations of the ages, available for all -- 'Site-izen' or visitor alike -- to peruse.

And in this town the populace was lead by the lord of the domain here, known only by his title (and he shall only be known by his title!), the Pundit. (Being as there might be other lesser pundits confused with him, locals clarify his position as The'arr-Peegee Pundit.) He first spotted this area, saw that it was good, and settled it with his hands and funds, and established its laws.

One of the greatest challenges this land endured was incursions of new raiders. Normally people coming into the civil squares and disagreeing was considered an acceptable and healthy occurrence. Unless visitors (some of whom stay and become 'Site-izens' themselves) become plainly destructive to any and all around, there was a general live and let live quality to civic life.

However these new raiders came in and ripped up the very foundations of reality around. They verily changed the natural laws by calling things not by their names; darkness became light (or any shade of grey in between), choice became preordained, circles were now squares, time skipped only to climaxes, and people were being poked in their aspects to elicit responses. I say unto thee plainly, shit was fucked up.

The Pundit hearing of neighboring lands around being besieged now saw it happening before his eyes, in his own nurtured community. It was a rapacious consuming of as much around, regardless of palatability, and then excreting of a muddled mess upon that which was not consumed in the orgy, defiling what it touched. It was as a porcine feeding frenzy he witnessed as a child was becoming a living nightmare for all. He had enough! He has drawn a line against... the Swine.

Quick Summary:
A civilized land atop a hill surrounded by more level terrain.
A town at the top of the hill. It has many topical squares for shared thought.
The power structure is topped by one leader, who is also the locale founder.
A great challenge to this order are marauders known as the Swine!
These marauders don't just abuse civic life, they tear down the very fabric of reality and contaminate the remains.
The leader places himself in opposition to these reality defilers.

It is in this community we start the sandbox. We now have a place which players can develop a contextualized relationship.

Posting the better to follow this via "New Posts".

Quote from: Opaopajr;610348It all starts in a locale called... The'arr-Peegee Site.

*cringe*

Quote from: The Butcher;610367*cringe*

The reek of cheese, also known as the smell of god's own foot, has many a follower...

Besides it has unnecessary punctuation with both an apostrophe and a dash, therefore it fulfills medieval fantasy naming conventions.


I'm promising this guide to be useful; there's no promising to be tasteful.

Quote from: The Butcher;610367Posting the better to follow this via "New Posts".



*cringe*

ditto.
been part of a few of these...can't hurt.  I think.
get in quick bust...there is no such thing as overprepping....

Campaign premise:

You are Site-izen of The'arr-Peegee (the puns, they burn!). The raids by the Swine has left the outskirts of the community atop the hill heavily damaged. However the raids have strangely abated of late. This is a time to take advantage of the calm to assess and prepare.

Shared Goal (your party gathers to one of these choices):

1. The southern outskirts of town are the most damaged and in need of rebuilding and healing. Triage the damage in the southern half of the hill and begin repairs.
2. A perimeter patrol is needed in the farm-wilderness borderlands, and also an investigation to determine where the Swine came from.
3. The main path to the 'Network' -- an entrance to the elaborate underground tunnel system (or series of tubes) connecting civilized regions to each other -- needs to be assessed for any damage. It's roughly a two day's journey north of the hill. The other 'Network paths' can be checked after.

Well, I got two comments! Yay!

Would either of you, The Butcher or LordVreeg, like to offer advice on the next step for crafting a beginner's sandbox?

Or would you like to submit a creation or two for consideration into this sandbox?

No communal guide is complete without the assistance of others. This is like the 'sandbox that watches you'! Add something!
:popcorn: