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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8240914" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>I build a foundation. Then I talk to the player about what they want to play. Then I weave.</p><p></p><p>My foundation will have two to five storylines. At least one of them will run from levels 1 to 20. The others will run for just a few levels, and might be planned to start at first level, or much higher levels. The key features of these storylines is that they are externally driven. There are things already in motion that will spring events into play, regardless of what the PCs do. There might be a Demon Lord locked behind a door that will open at a specific date. There might be a natural disaster that will bring about a conflict between two nations. Some of these are more of a railroad, but others just move around all the puzzle pieces and create a new normal for the PCs to explore. </p><p></p><p>Then I talk to the players about the PCs they want to play. I ask them about their favorite stories. I collect raw elements from them that I can either interweave into my foundations, or weave into additional stories that will develop out of their contributions. For these, I don't usually have a conclusion in mind. Instead, I let the story tell itself. Usually, I take the elements the players give me, and I twist them in an unexpected way so that the story tends towards a direction they do not expect. However, sometimes I dive right into what they set up and run it straight at the PCs just as they'd expect. </p><p></p><p>Often, the start of a sandbox is a railroad. That railroad will take the PCs to a place they do not know, leaving them in unfamiliar lands, with no contacts and emerging objectives. Then, the floor drops out and they get to decide what options they wish to explore. There is no way they have time to do everything. Some things they don't touch go bad and feed future stories. Others get addressed by other hero types. Then, when the time is right, we upset the applecart with those later developing foundation storylines. By the time we get to ~17th level, the field of options begins to narrow again until the ultimate foundational storyline that has been foreshadowed, developed and threatened for the entire campaign busts open and carries them to the finish line.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 8240914, member: 2629"] I build a foundation. Then I talk to the player about what they want to play. Then I weave. My foundation will have two to five storylines. At least one of them will run from levels 1 to 20. The others will run for just a few levels, and might be planned to start at first level, or much higher levels. The key features of these storylines is that they are externally driven. There are things already in motion that will spring events into play, regardless of what the PCs do. There might be a Demon Lord locked behind a door that will open at a specific date. There might be a natural disaster that will bring about a conflict between two nations. Some of these are more of a railroad, but others just move around all the puzzle pieces and create a new normal for the PCs to explore. Then I talk to the players about the PCs they want to play. I ask them about their favorite stories. I collect raw elements from them that I can either interweave into my foundations, or weave into additional stories that will develop out of their contributions. For these, I don't usually have a conclusion in mind. Instead, I let the story tell itself. Usually, I take the elements the players give me, and I twist them in an unexpected way so that the story tends towards a direction they do not expect. However, sometimes I dive right into what they set up and run it straight at the PCs just as they'd expect. Often, the start of a sandbox is a railroad. That railroad will take the PCs to a place they do not know, leaving them in unfamiliar lands, with no contacts and emerging objectives. Then, the floor drops out and they get to decide what options they wish to explore. There is no way they have time to do everything. Some things they don't touch go bad and feed future stories. Others get addressed by other hero types. Then, when the time is right, we upset the applecart with those later developing foundation storylines. By the time we get to ~17th level, the field of options begins to narrow again until the ultimate foundational storyline that has been foreshadowed, developed and threatened for the entire campaign busts open and carries them to the finish line. [/QUOTE]
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