Thema: Die besten Kauf-Sandboxen

[Tegres]

Ich hab Scenic Dunnsmouth dennoch mal als Sandbox eingeorndet. Pollute the Elfen Memory Water hab ich unter sandboxiges Abenteuer einsortiert, ebenso Kidnap the Archpriest (allerdings unter "unbegründet").
Von City of Lies habe ich keine Ahnung. Mag da jemand was zu schreiben?

[tartex]

Noch was zu Carcossa. Das ist für mich genau das, was ich mir unter einem Hexcrawl vorstelle: jedes Feld wird beschrieben und hat (so weit ich mich erinnere) sogar zwei Encounter. Vom Setting ist es "Bronzezeit-Stämme treffen auf Lovecraft-Scifi". Es gibt nur Kämpfer und Hexer im Setting und letztere können nur über sehr ekelig und detailiert beschriebene Menschenopfer Magie wirken. Naja: in einem Setting mit Großen Alten sollte Magie auch kein Zuckerschlecken sein. Insgesamt eine sehr empfehlenswertes Weird-Fiction-Sandbox.

[Luxferre]

Kingmaker von Pathfinder/Paizo.

Ich finde das eine ganz wunderbare Sandbox, mit vielen schönen Geschichten, Encountern und einem guten Story-Arc.
Allerdings muss der SL darin viel Arbeit investieren, was die Bewertung für viele Leute wahrscheinlich ein bis zwei Sterne schlechter machen würde. Für mich ist diese Spielwiese aber eine ganz tolle 

Man beginnt auf einem kleinen, grünen und unerkundeten Fleckchen Flussland und erkundet, befriedet, erobert und erbeutet. Für mich persönlich triggert das alle Synapsen, die bei PF auch getriggert werden wollen. Erkundung, Kampf, Politik, Schätze ... Die naturnahen Themen sind ebenfalls etwas, das ich gern mag.

[D. M_Athair]

Ist "City of Lies" von L5R eine Sandbox? Die wäre ja schon empfehlenswert, nach allem, was ich höre.

Das Teil ist toll!! Es ist in erster Linie eine Stadtquellenbox mit vielen Geheimnissen, die man nutzen kann. Noch dazu ist eine kurze Kampagne drin.
Es bietet sich durchaus an das Ding als Sandbox zu bespielen. Troupe-Play geht (gerade in einer Magistraten-Kampagne) auch ganz gut.

In meinen Augen ist die Box ein vollumfängliches, gut ausgearbeitetes Settingstück (inkl. Plothooks, Abenteuer, Stadt-Karten, Fraktionen, Handouts, ...) das man - wie es ist - für Sandbox-Spiel nutzen kann. City of Lies ist aber nicht dahingehend durchdesignt. Man kann mit dem Material aus der Box auch "Sightseeing-Abenteuer" und "Railroads" basteln, wenn man will.


Irgendwie stimmt weder die Aussage "City of Lies ist ne Sandbox" noch "City of Lies ist keine Sandbox".   
Was ich sicher sagen kann: Es ist das beste Stadt-Package, das ich kenne (vor WFRP Marienburg, Vornheim, Ptolus, Carse, City State of the Invincible Overlord (d20), DSA1 Havena, Tharbad, Five Points, Blacksand, The Great Metropolis [Etherscope], Second City [L5R 4th], ...)

[CiNeMaNcEr]

Schande über mein Haupt das ich dies Meisterwerk vergessen habe.....

THE DREADFUL SECRETS OF CANDLEWICK MANOR (Monsters and Other Childish Things)

Sehr schönes Sandbox-Setting/Szenario um ein Waisenhaus und Umgebung. Hunderte von Optionen die genutzt werden können jedoch nicht müssen. Besonders herausragend ist, man spielt jeden Abend einen Teil der Erinnerung der Abnormen-Waisenkinder (mit Twist) aus bzw. spielt um Erinnerungen zurück zu erhalten. Reversed Story-Telling.

Ich kopiere aus https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14233.phtml


The Dreadful Secrets of Candlewick Manor (hereinafter “Candlewick”) provides a setting, adventure, and rules modification for Monsters and Other Childish Things. The whole purpose of the product is to enable sandbox play, that is play that doesn’t need carefully prepared material but where the characters can generally go and do whatever and the play session continues along merrily (or dreadfully). An enormous number of interlinked NPCs and locations really assist this, and the author’s reinterpretation of the kids from Monsters as being a little monstrous themselves is both charming and a little disturbing at the same time (in a good way).
If you enjoyed Monsters but weren’t quite sure what to do with it then Candlewick clearly shows you. For childish adventure with a strong dose of creep factor thrown in for good measure you can’t beat Candlewick.

The Good: The introduction of the kids as being a little monstrous themselves is very well done and its implication for what happens to a kid that loses all connections with the world is both fascinating and disturbing. The NPCs are incredibly well done, each with individual goals and quirky behavior that makes them memorable. The locations are just as interesting, with each one making a wonderful place for one or more adventures. On the whole Candlewick is everything that I had hoped it would be and more.

The Bad: My only complaints are production quality based. Too much white space and too little art both hurt the book a little bit.

The Physical Thing

From a perspective of production values Candlewick is a little behind. A 160 page black and white softcover for $24.99 isn’t unusual, and the artwork is just as charming here as it was in Monsters. However, the white space is really out of control and may be the worst example of poor layout I’ve yet seen. The book isn’t ugly, far from it. The font and background push forward a certain mood and the editing is fantastic. If the creators were to put out another edition, or to publish a game in a similar format, I would certainly encourage them to find a new approach to layout in order to try and avoid such annoying blocks of nothing.
As for the artwork, I simply wish there was more here. More pieces for the NPCs and monsters would really help to further bring them to life, and the locations could benefit as well.

Under the Cover

In Candlewick players take on the role of orphans without a past who have just been taken in by the Candlewick family and have arrived at the Candlewick estates. Character backgrounds are explicitly prohibited, and I’ll talk about why in a bit. When your orphan shows up at the enormous Candlewick mansion they are who they are at that moment and that’s all there is to it.
The orphan you’re playing isn’t normal. That’s why she was never adopted. The creepy little girl no one wanted, as it happens, was creepy for a reason. She may have had a long poisonous tongue kept coiled in her mouth, bones that could wiggle out of her skin and do things, or maybe hair that’s a little too alive. The implication of this, of course, is that the children have monster powers. Oh, not a lot of them. Well, not unless the player *really* wants a lot of them. Most kids have one or two weird and freaky things going on that amount to monster powers built by the player.

The reason behind the kids having monster powers is that they don’t have monsters! At least not starting out. The monsters in Candlewick are hiding and must be befriended through roleplaying in order for any character to have a monster buddy. I love this because it adds a lot of mystery to the monsters and provides a strong reason for some players to have their characters explore the area. It also provides for some really interesting revelations when the kids start wondering where monsters come from.

Speaking of revelations, one of the key parts of the game is learning about your character’s background. Unlike Monsters children the kids of Candlewick don’t have Relationships. Instead they have Echoes, faintly remembered things of importance to them. Funny Oatmeal 2d is an example of an Echo. What does it mean, though? It’s a fragment of memory out of context, a clue to your orphan’s past… and nothing more. At least nothing more until Illumination happens.

When an orphan encounters an Echo she learns more about who she is and where she’s from. A simple system is in place for these revelations to occur during play, and random rolls can be used to flesh them out if the players don’t already have a nifty cool idea in mind. Over the course of play, then, the mystery of the orphan’s tragic past is revealed. It’s not a happy mystery, and it’s probably one that will cause the orphan pain and anguish as the parts come back together. Isn’t that delicious?

To sum up, orphans in Candlewick do not have monsters, backgrounds, or relationships. Instead they have a few monster powers and the Echoes of a past that reveals itself during play. They’re creepy and strange, dumped in a small 1930s-ish town to mostly do as they please. They have adventures, meet monsters, help and fight with other kids, and ultimately learn some disturbing things about themselves.

Speaking of a 1930s-ish town, let’s take a look at the real guts of the book – the setting! Candlewick has been prepared so that once the GM has thoroughly digested its contents then little to no preparation is needed to run it from there on. Oh, you’ll want to glance back at the NPCs and locations you intend to prominently use in a session but most of it is unique and memorable enough that it will stand out in your mind.

The setting for the game is Candlewick Vale, named after the formerly influential Candlewick family that also happen to control the manor where the orphans now live. It’s a timeless location with the preference for radio and rural atmosphere of England in the 30s. It’s a marvelous setting filled with exactly the sorts of people and places that make for excellent childhood adventures. What sorts of people and places? Let’s take a look.

Forty six pages of NPCs are provided, each of which includes Name, Quote, Point of View (a paragraph on how the character sees herself), Role (where the character fits into the community), Description, Stats, Background, Vocation, and Passion. Taken together each NPC quickly comes to life while requiring only a small amount of reading each for the GM to appreciate who they are and what they’re like. It helps, too, that the writing is so pleasantly engaging. The NPCs are easy to read and fun to think about, and I have no doubt that they’re even more fun in play.

Let’s look at an example. My single favorite is easily Dr. Felix Redmongler. The good doctor’s quote is “And how are we today? Not well, I hope! Otherwise, this is a social call, and you know how I despise you.” He pretty much hates everyone and everything, but he still manages to be a very ethical man despite his irritation with the community. Any injured kid is likely to get the chance to interact with him, and just a short conversation is likely to add all kinds of flavor to the existing game. When his gambling addiction is taken into consideration, however, there’s suddenly an opportunity for adventure that could involve the kids.

Twenty eight pages of interesting places in Candlewick Vale are just as interesting as the NPCs. After a brief introduction a section on color helps the GM to frame the scene in the mind’s eye. One or more plot hooks for every single location means that you could run adventures in Candlewick for a long, long time without even having an original thought. What’s more, many of these locations are places where kids would want to go. They’re the Cellar that is every scary dungeon ever all at once and the Zitomer Institute where all the crazy people are kept locked away.

In addition to the enormous number of NPCs and locations Candlewick also gives us organizations and monsters that can be found in the area. The organizations add more color and also serve as useful political groups to introduce at times. Many of them have something a little bit… off… going on that would be perfect for some investigation, and the tone remains quirky and dreadful all the way through. The monsters are perfectly suited to the area and, on the whole, probably a little bit darker than some of the monsters in Monsters (but then, the whole book is a shade grimmer). My favorite is Farmer Magruder’s Prize Gourd which is a series of gourds all over his farm that have telepathic powers and seek to conquer all.

Seven ready to go children are provided in the event that you just want to make a couple of photocopies and start playing. It’s also useful, of course, for anyone who wants to get a feel for what the young protagonists should look like mechanically. What’s more, a host of support for running the game is included as well. The final chapter walks you through how to setup situations that kick the session into gear, and considering how much stuff you already have to play with this should be very easy to do. A variety of worksheets are included in the appendix to enable the interested GM to easily track NPCs and events as the game progresses, notably cutting down on paperwork and striving to maintain the game as a living world.

My Take

This is a charming, well written supplement that enables sandbox play through it’s easy to digest and remember characters and locations. Every aspect of the setting is connected thanks to careful consideration, and as you take it all in the setting will come to life in your mind. If you already enjoy Monsters but want an excellent setting to play in then pick this one up.

[Hotzenplot]

Oh ja, ganz großartig.

[eldaen]

Helft mir ml kurz auf die Sprünge - war nicht in irgendeinem Thread diskutiert worden, was eine Sandbox ist? Hatten wir einen halbwegs gemeinsamen Nenner gefunden?

Ich hadere nämlich schon länger mit mir, HârnWorld (insb. Die Insel Hârn selbst) hier als die wohl größte Sandbox zu posten. Da sind auf so vielen Ebenen Plot Hooks drin, von Bauerngaming bis hin zu epischen Konflikten. Sidequests wie auch Aufhänger für Metaplots. Riesige Karte mit Hexfeldern und lauter Orte und Dinge, die beschrieben sind...

Und dann stellt sich mir gerade die Frage, ob das nicht auch als Sandbox gelten kann und wo da die Grenzen liegen...

[Boba Fett]

Hat jemand eigentlich schon das „Gefängnisplanet“ von Traveller erwähnt?

[Tegres]

Irgendwie stimmt weder die Aussage "City of Lies ist ne Sandbox" noch "City of Lies ist keine Sandbox".   

Ich hab es mal unter "Detaillierte Ortsbeschreibungen" einsortiert.

THE DREADFUL SECRETS OF CANDLEWICK MANOR (Monsters and Other Childish Things)

Ist vermerkt.

Hat jemand eigentlich schon das „Gefängnisplanet“ von Traveller erwähnt?

Hab ich schon in die Liste von Nennungen ohne Begründung gepackt. Mgast du etwas zu schreiben, was als Sandbox so auszeichnet?

Helft mir ml kurz auf die Sprünge - war nicht in irgendeinem Thread diskutiert worden, was eine Sandbox ist? Hatten wir einen halbwegs gemeinsamen Nenner gefunden?

Im Rahmen dieses Threads soll mal folgende Definition gelten: Eine Sandbox ist eine ausgestaltete, offene Spielwelt. Im Gegensatz zu klassischen Abenteuern liegt hier der Fokus nicht auf einem Plot, sondern auf den NSC und Örtlichkeiten. Die Handlungen werden maßgeblich durch die Spieler bestimmt.

Ich hadere nämlich schon länger mit mir, HârnWorld (insb. Die Insel Hârn selbst) hier als die wohl größte Sandbox zu posten. Da sind auf so vielen Ebenen Plot Hooks drin, von Bauerngaming bis hin zu epischen Konflikten. Sidequests wie auch Aufhänger für Metaplots. Riesige Karte mit Hexfeldern und lauter Orte und Dinge, die beschrieben sind...

Und dann stellt sich mir gerade die Frage, ob das nicht auch als Sandbox gelten kann und wo da die Grenzen liegen...

Du musst es einfach nur gut begründen 

[Green Goblin]

Eine der besten Sandboxes, die ich kenne, ist das Abenteuer/Setting von Necromancer Games bzw. Frog God Games The Lost City of Barakus.

Im Buch wird die namensgebende, verschollene Stadt beschrieben, ein mittelgroßer Dungeon. Außerdem wird aber auch die nahegelegene größere Stadt namens Endhome mit verschiedenen Abenteueraufhängern dargestellt. Die Umgebung um Endhome, sowie die nahe Wildnis, in der man den Zugang nach Barakus finden kann, wird auf einer Hexkarte mit einer erklecklichen Anzahl Begegnungsmöglichkeiten skizziert.

In dem gesamten Band sind immer wieder Abenteueraufhänger eingestreut, die Endhome, die Wildnis und den Dungeon miteinander verbinden. Keiner davon wird als Haupthandlungsbogen behandelt, die Aktionen und die Neugier der Spieler bestimmen wesentlich über die Handlung des Abenteuers.

Das Abenteuer ist zumindest als PDF noch in der D&D 3.X Version und etwas erweitert als Pathfinderversion erhältlich.