[gurps] sandbox / open world campaigns

[Susan Koziel]

Seeing as sandbox games are the only sort I run, I suggest:

1)Know the world.... by this I don't mean you need to obsessivly plot out the world, that doesn't work - but you need to have an idea of the history of the world and the stuff that is happening around the PCs. I usually have historical timelines worked out for my world... from this stock the world with some regular NPCs that the players will encounter as good guys - this is useful to be able to draw the players into the world and give adventures (mentors to the characters are good for this); as it usually takes a while for the PCs to find their direction within the world and it's history. 

2) If the PCs don't stumble onto a story line that you had planned, don't worry and track in your mind how that story would play out without their involvement. Part of the fun of these campaigns is that what the characters do affects them as much as what they don't do.

3) Plan to the scale you want them to play at.... ie: if you want the game all based in a small town, then you have to be aware that if their awareness of the world, and their concerns about what is happening go past the scope of the town then you are suddenly going to have to expand the world. 

4) Also the problem of one PC not socially fitting with the rest - it's easier to run a sandbox game if the PCs all have a reason to regularly be together. eg :A local - pickpocket/theif in a game that involves other PCs that are politicians or working on matters of state rather then survival are tricky to play. So as a GM you need to make judgement calls on what a player should or should not play. This sounds draconian but in a sandbox game it's not.... a player will just get frustrated if their character doesn't fit with the others in the party - and that's not fun for anyone.

5) I keep a stock of maps from various tourist places at hand... an easy and cheap way to create sensible building plans, and also a phone book (to come up with names). 

6) I make two types of NPCs generic no-name types that can be reused as needed - change name and presto a new bar keep appears in the new town. These are quick sketchs that maybe only have one or two skills (if any)flushed out. The other type is the major good guys and bad guys the players will encounter if they go that direction. These I actually do up character sheets for.

7) Make sure you are ready to give info to players for adventures through a variety of means.... if they don't get the info from the mayor be sure the barkeep has his version of the same info. Be ready to think on your feet, players in these types of games usually manage to sideswipe your plans. I've had this happen so often that about half the time I'll just basically toss all the work I've done on an adventure idea back into my bag and just follow along the storyline they managed to develop. (Eventually they have so much happening the players drive the game, and you just provide the background.)

8) Keep really good notes about what you are doing as you are running the game, I often keep my own notes; and have one player that acts like a secretary and take notes about what is happening during the campaign. This is very important, because typically you are tracking so much in a game that sometimes you will accidently break storyline continuity or give away something they didn't know. I always start a game by having the secretary give everyone in the game a recap of what happened... this gives everyone a chance to recall what was going on, and to settle back into the personalities of their characters. 

8) Relax, and have fun... there is nothing worse then getting tied up in a knot because the players aren't don't what you want them to. If you come to the game without an expectation that the characters are going to do something to play into your plans then you are more likely to have fun and so are your players.
-Sue