Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Wacky Sandbox Idea

The following is an idea I came up while discussing the merits of hexcrawling using a established mileau such as Mystara as opposed to hexcrawling through Terra Incognito.

So you have a traditional old-tyme sandbox hexcrawl game. You have the city of Whiteplainrockeagle and the associated megadungeon of Castle Whiteplainrockeagle a short walk from the city.

Surrounding these environs are the howling wilderness, which is the traditional Wilderlands - Post Apocalyptic OD&D environs.


Even though the players begin in an established civilized community they don't have a map of the surrounding region. Maps aren't available.

People do travel through the wilds, and there are other communities, but the layout of the land is not common knowledge. Most people never travel more than five miles from where they were born, the wilds are full of savage dangers, and the merchants that travel from city to town to city in armed caravans jealously protect their proprietary knowledge of travel routes.

As far as the PCs go, once you travel out of line-of-site of the Free City of Whiteplainrockeagle for all intents and purposes you are in Terra Incognito.

They players map the wilds as they travel through it, and as....

a) There aren't maps of the wilderness

&

b) There's no commonly known body of lore about the features of the wilderness

Than it follows that the features of this wilderness are unnamed.

Which means...

The PCs would be the ones that would name the various forests, rivers, mountains, etc. that they come across.

Which would be pretty damn cool!

Also, Check Out These Awesome Lurid Eighties Tunnels & Trolls Solo Adventure Covers (color ones starting at the third row down). I would love to see OSR products with similar cover styles! One of the Goodman Games DCC adventures has a similar style.

5 comments:

  1. i like that idea about the naming. probably that's how a lot of things in oerth got named.

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  2. Whoa, Naked Doom has an awesome cover

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  3. That's a swingingly excellent idea. Of course, I like to have names on my own map because sometimes they help me keep track of stuff --- "Big Lizard Island" will probably have big lizards on it... but what the players call it when they get there is up to them.
    I'd also think it would be worthwhile to extend this concept to other things like monsters.

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  4. Can the marital moon act a bias? Beneath a glossy essence consents the various salesman. The nice powder steeps a nose. The hope indicates the envy.

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  5. I'm going to have to go with the ethiopian women on this one.
    I mean, really, *can* the marital moon act as a bias?
    And with the various salesmen and that powder steeping the nose, the hope certainly does indicate the envy.
    Think about it.

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