Have you ever been/run a sandbox rpg? What was it like and why

>>50176718
It was very cutthroat, it was good choice given the circumstances.

>>50176718
I GMed sandbox in homebrew S.T.A.L.K.E.R system, with huge map of zone and random encounter generator coded in bash. Had a blast for two session, first was just only sweeping the world, finding artifacts, fighting mutants, army, bandits and !Monolith. Second session was more serious, where players tried to took over faction.

After that session, group was disbanded and we never finished the world.

But every sandbox will eventually turn into small campaign. You are just forced to create set of adventures, that can be played in any order.

>>50176718
>tfw no ERPish sandbox where I get to play a little tiefling slut trying to avoid getting raped and/or enslaved

>>50176826
I would like to know more, please.

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>>50177137
>mfw I actually have that game and character going on

>>50177137
In the game of pretend you can be anything you want.

>>50178394
Wow, lucky you! Greentext time!

>>50178399
I just need to find that GM who wants the same pretend.

I run Sandboxes most of the time. I mean i have the world and plot threads going, but i'll toss out a lot of things and the players choose what they interact with. Rather than having one plot just run several that intertwine. As players choose to interact with one of the threads it leads deeper into the web and crosses with other threads. No matter what thread they pull it all eventually leads to the center of the web. If you players miss a thread, its no big deal spin more. Players feel in control and like it, and eventually all roads lead to Rome so there actually is a point.

>>50180529
I sorta do that though I generally only plan out the initial encounter or situation for a plot thread. Any developments after that, I make up as I go. For more detailed background changes, I do that between sessions.
Major plotlines tend to intersect with each other while smaller ones are more like sidequests and whatnot. My players describe it as "we're presented with three different plot hooks for every hook we actually have time to pursue. So the game ends up being defined by what choices we decide to make"

Lots of more planned out big situations, improv and random encounter tables. Stuff like that.

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>why was it the best choice you ever made?
Ha, Wut?
I tried running a sandbox RPG but my players just sat their looking at me and each other saying "What should we do" for probably an hour before I gave up and spoonfed them a plot to let them hurry up and get back to killing shit.

Players ask for sandbox. 99% of players can't handle character driven narrative. Most players need to have plots spoonfed to them and can't handle it otherwise.

Also lets take this scenario. There are two roads, one lead by a river and the other through a swamp. Either road their take they are going to encounter a set of bandits I stated. Because they only take one path they will never know it was the same bandits on both paths staging a similar ambush. In this way you as a GM compensate for limited time and resources by using things you planned interchangeably. Players don't know the difference.

>>50180702
The thing about these quantum ogre conundrums is that they ignore the idea of encounters having context. The bandits at the river might have a hidden skiff boat to escape on, they could be terrorizing an entire river system. The swamp will have far less travelers so it brings up a question of why the bandits are on the swamp road. Would the bandits use camouflage in the dense swamp forest? If you loot the bandits, will they have different kinds of loot from the different kinds of travelers they're attacking?

The key is to add the context to it. I've ran enough sandbox games that it's easy to tell the good improv gm's from the bad ones when their quantum ogres don't have context.

Everyone recycles content though. If the players never have an encounter you thought up, just reflavor it and use it somewhere else.

The big thing though that kills a sandbox is if the players can't investigate the roads, scout them, get some rumors, etc. If the players get info about there being disappearances in the swamp, there should be "something" there. If they can't get enough information to make decisions, then they're running blind. Without the ability to make rational decisions, you crush the ability of players to direct their narrative.
Though of course, until something is in play it doesn't really exist. Sandboxes tend to start vague and become very detailed worlds after enough sessions ime.