We're an established group with three or four of the gamers already on board, so there's room for just one or two more. We're going into this one doing it as a proactive roleplaying campaign -- if you're not sure what that is, Gini Di did a video about this kind of game a few months back. At any rate, here's the details:
Game: D&D 5e (using the 2024 PHB) Group type: Online Experience: a few years or a veteran player is probably best Location/Timezone: Eastern time zone -- preferably, you will be based in or around the Durham/Peterborough region of Ontario, as we have been able to meet up in person sometimes and might try to do so again; but this is not required. Schedule: Thursday nights, 7:00-10:00 or 11:00 Roles sought: We have room for one or two more players Game style: We're playing a proactive roleplaying campaign which puts the agency of what we do and where we go (almost) fully into the hands of the players, so be ready for that! The group is heavy into role-play, but we do like our combat as well; some exploration, from time to time, with the occasional skill challenge. We're more of a casual group, but do stick to the rules (more or less) and prioritize fun above all else. We're still interested in creating a compelling and meaningful story, with characters who are engaging and interesting. No joke or gimmick characters, please! And if you're the kind of player who routinely says, "That's just what my character would do!" then you'd probably best find another group...
We usually keep it to three hours, but can go to four if the mood is right and everyone is on board with that. I always check in at the three hour point to see if people want to stop or keep going.
Just to let anyone who's interested know now -- there's a chance we might be switching game night from Mondays to Thursdays: sorry, this is a new thing that's come up due to life circumstances for a couple of the current players.
Sorry if this is a bit of bother question but i'm trying to wrap my brain around the term of "proactive role play" as something i would not at all ever call "a sandbox." Is it really something stand alone not at all a sandbox that needs a unique label? Or is this mostly a freshly coined to term to say the same thing as "sandbox campaign?"
As a GM i've done sandboxes now for a long time, and as player i also prefer them. And most of what i found online about this "proactive rp" kind of sounds like sandboxes. But then some it sounded as if maybe the GM has no known sandbox world at all? And the players themselevs are maybe even drawing the map and making up who the baddies are and what the problems are themselevs?
Which sounds rather odd to me, as i'm used to sandboxing where yes as the player i decide what to do, no GM prepared and driven main story. But the GM does have a realized world and does have world knowledge that there is a world that goes on with or without the players. Like from the player POV in "proactive" we decide that these town folk are being raided by orcs if we wish it to be that way? like we have way more say so about what the world is rather than being told? Or do we sandbox style gather info about what's going on in the world around us(that the GM provides), and make our own call about what to do/who to help, becaeu the GM is not main story driving anything?
Thanks for any time and attention you can spare to my wish for understanding if sandbox and proactive RP are significantly different or really the same thing. And if they are different, so what makes them different?
Hey man, not a bother question -- a good one! I've not actually run the game yet so I'm not entirely sure I can answer it definitively but I think that the big difference between sandbox and proactive is that the first is a bit more 'tactical' while the other is 'strategic' -- not in the sense of combat tactics/strategy but in how it's put together. Sandboxes are like you say, no set story and the players are free to do what they want, when they want, but kind of short term "What do we want to do now?" Proactive role-play starts with the players coming up with an overriding Purpose or Goal that is their character's meaning in life, or ultimate aim; the DM then takes these and crafts a story around those. Example:
Character A: "My sister has disappeared and I am searching for her"
Character B: "I want to be the head of my wizarding order"
Character C: "I need to prove myself to my clan"
Character D: "My homeland is threatened by an army of undead"
The DM then uses these to create the overarching narrative that will guide the whole campaign, or at least the beginning of it, usually by linking them in a single villain, like say: There's an evil mage raising an army of undead by laying waste to the land of Character D to create more zombies; he's doing this in order to destroy the wizarding order that character B wants to run and from which the Mage was expelled; Character A's sister stumbled onto the Mage's plan and is now held in thrall by him, and Character C's clan holds those heroes who face down and defeat a necromancer in defence of innocents in the highest esteem.
Every member of the party now has a defined and built in reason to go after that Mage! No 'hooks' or telling the players, "there's a bad guy and you need to find a reason to go get him". At no point do you have the players asking, "Why are we doing this?" because they're only doing what their own Purpose has told the DM to give them!
It's a lot like The Lord of the Rings -- every member of the Fellowship had a different reason to set out from Rivendell (reclaim a throne, save Gondor, help my friend, protect the Shire, keep an eye on that sketchy elf) but each of them could only get what they wanted by defeating Sauron.
The process also involves the players coming up with short term or mid-term goals for each of their purposes that form the first stages of this overall campaign. So, with Character B, say, the player decides that they might need to craft a new wand to prove themselves, and Character A's player suggests that they are seeking news of their sister where she was last seen, and Character D is looking for a weapon that can defeat undead....the DM in consultation with the players (or the DM on their own, the table can decide how collaborative to be) develops links between some or all of them: the sister went missing when she was searching for a tree that both makes good wands and has special efficacy against the undead(?), or the players can decide to tackle each of those short-term goals individually(?).
The point is, the players decide not so much where they want to go or what they want to do next, but what they want to accomplish as part of their own ultimate purpose, and the DM then creates encounters/adventures which let them do that, then incorporates that into the larger narrative. The DM still has a huge role in creating or maintaining the setting, and in coming up with a villain who counters the characters, but the villain's motives and desires come after and are drawn directly from the Characters' own goals.
Like from the player POV in "proactive" we decide that these town folk are being raided by orcs if we wish it to be that way? like we have way more say so about what the world is rather than being told?
Just to add on to what I've already said above, in reply to this; in a proactive campaign I think that the DM could still start a session by saying, "There are orcs raiding the town"...but when the players say "So what?" the DM can then add, "They've been sent by the evil Mage in retribution for the help the townsfolk have been giving you" or "their lieutenant is that bad dude you met a couple sessions ago...the one who knows how to find the Evil Mage".
Hello everyone, and thanks for much for the incredible show of interest in the game. Honestly, I think I'd like to sit at a table with everyone I chatted with or who completed the player questionnaire but in the end there was only room for three new players at the table, and we've found those now. Thanks again.
Hey there - I am interested in joining your Thursday evening game. I am a long term D&Der, last 45 years, and still learning 5th edition, been playing 5th for about 8 months.
What sort of character are you all needing? My Discord account is linked in my bio here.
Tuna
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FullMetalTuna
"Life and ink, they run out at the same time, or so said my old friend the squid." Jimmy Buffett
We're an established group with three or four of the gamers already on board, so there's room for just one or two more. We're going into this one doing it as a proactive roleplaying campaign -- if you're not sure what that is, Gini Di did a video about this kind of game a few months back. At any rate, here's the details:
Game: D&D 5e (using the 2024 PHB)
Group type: Online
Experience: a few years or a veteran player is probably best
Location/Timezone: Eastern time zone -- preferably, you will be based in or around the Durham/Peterborough region of Ontario, as we have been able to meet up in person sometimes and might try to do so again; but this is not required.
Schedule: Thursday nights, 7:00-10:00 or 11:00
Roles sought: We have room for one or two more players
Game style: We're playing a proactive roleplaying campaign which puts the agency of what we do and where we go (almost) fully into the hands of the players, so be ready for that! The group is heavy into role-play, but we do like our combat as well; some exploration, from time to time, with the occasional skill challenge. We're more of a casual group, but do stick to the rules (more or less) and prioritize fun above all else. We're still interested in creating a compelling and meaningful story, with characters who are engaging and interesting. No joke or gimmick characters, please! And if you're the kind of player who routinely says, "That's just what my character would do!" then you'd probably best find another group...
I. New to this but I’m leaning more I want to play my dc is timberwolf3407
interested in learning more, i am in ontario.
drubebe on discord. :)
I am interested and this sounds like it would be good continue building my RP skills. my discord is cosatoir
I may be up for this, depending on how long the game sessions play out.
We usually keep it to three hours, but can go to four if the mood is right and everyone is on board with that. I always check in at the three hour point to see if people want to stop or keep going.
I’m still learning/getting used to dnd but I would love to join this! My discord is om3nsz and feel free to add me if you want to discuss more!
Just to let anyone who's interested know now -- there's a chance we might be switching game night from Mondays to Thursdays: sorry, this is a new thing that's come up due to life circumstances for a couple of the current players.
Sorry if this is a bit of bother question but i'm trying to wrap my brain around the term of "proactive role play" as something i would not at all ever call "a sandbox."
Is it really something stand alone not at all a sandbox that needs a unique label? Or is this mostly a freshly coined to term to say the same thing as "sandbox campaign?"
As a GM i've done sandboxes now for a long time, and as player i also prefer them. And most of what i found online about this "proactive rp" kind of sounds like sandboxes. But then some it sounded as if maybe the GM has no known sandbox world at all? And the players themselevs are maybe even drawing the map and making up who the baddies are and what the problems are themselevs?
Which sounds rather odd to me, as i'm used to sandboxing where yes as the player i decide what to do, no GM prepared and driven main story. But the GM does have a realized world and does have world knowledge that there is a world that goes on with or without the players.
Like from the player POV in "proactive" we decide that these town folk are being raided by orcs if we wish it to be that way? like we have way more say so about what the world is rather than being told?
Or do we sandbox style gather info about what's going on in the world around us(that the GM provides), and make our own call about what to do/who to help, becaeu the GM is not main story driving anything?
Thanks for any time and attention you can spare to my wish for understanding if sandbox and proactive RP are significantly different or really the same thing. And if they are different, so what makes them different?
Hey man, not a bother question -- a good one! I've not actually run the game yet so I'm not entirely sure I can answer it definitively but I think that the big difference between sandbox and proactive is that the first is a bit more 'tactical' while the other is 'strategic' -- not in the sense of combat tactics/strategy but in how it's put together. Sandboxes are like you say, no set story and the players are free to do what they want, when they want, but kind of short term "What do we want to do now?" Proactive role-play starts with the players coming up with an overriding Purpose or Goal that is their character's meaning in life, or ultimate aim; the DM then takes these and crafts a story around those. Example:
Character A: "My sister has disappeared and I am searching for her"
Character B: "I want to be the head of my wizarding order"
Character C: "I need to prove myself to my clan"
Character D: "My homeland is threatened by an army of undead"
The DM then uses these to create the overarching narrative that will guide the whole campaign, or at least the beginning of it, usually by linking them in a single villain, like say: There's an evil mage raising an army of undead by laying waste to the land of Character D to create more zombies; he's doing this in order to destroy the wizarding order that character B wants to run and from which the Mage was expelled; Character A's sister stumbled onto the Mage's plan and is now held in thrall by him, and Character C's clan holds those heroes who face down and defeat a necromancer in defence of innocents in the highest esteem.
Every member of the party now has a defined and built in reason to go after that Mage! No 'hooks' or telling the players, "there's a bad guy and you need to find a reason to go get him". At no point do you have the players asking, "Why are we doing this?" because they're only doing what their own Purpose has told the DM to give them!
It's a lot like The Lord of the Rings -- every member of the Fellowship had a different reason to set out from Rivendell (reclaim a throne, save Gondor, help my friend, protect the Shire, keep an eye on that sketchy elf) but each of them could only get what they wanted by defeating Sauron.
The process also involves the players coming up with short term or mid-term goals for each of their purposes that form the first stages of this overall campaign. So, with Character B, say, the player decides that they might need to craft a new wand to prove themselves, and Character A's player suggests that they are seeking news of their sister where she was last seen, and Character D is looking for a weapon that can defeat undead....the DM in consultation with the players (or the DM on their own, the table can decide how collaborative to be) develops links between some or all of them: the sister went missing when she was searching for a tree that both makes good wands and has special efficacy against the undead(?), or the players can decide to tackle each of those short-term goals individually(?).
The point is, the players decide not so much where they want to go or what they want to do next, but what they want to accomplish as part of their own ultimate purpose, and the DM then creates encounters/adventures which let them do that, then incorporates that into the larger narrative. The DM still has a huge role in creating or maintaining the setting, and in coming up with a villain who counters the characters, but the villain's motives and desires come after and are drawn directly from the Characters' own goals.
Just to add on to what I've already said above, in reply to this; in a proactive campaign I think that the DM could still start a session by saying, "There are orcs raiding the town"...but when the players say "So what?" the DM can then add, "They've been sent by the evil Mage in retribution for the help the townsfolk have been giving you" or "their lieutenant is that bad dude you met a couple sessions ago...the one who knows how to find the Evil Mage".
Hello everyone, and thanks for much for the incredible show of interest in the game. Honestly, I think I'd like to sit at a table with everyone I chatted with or who completed the player questionnaire but in the end there was only room for three new players at the table, and we've found those now. Thanks again.
Hey there - I am interested in joining your Thursday evening game. I am a long term D&Der, last 45 years, and still learning 5th edition, been playing 5th for about 8 months.
What sort of character are you all needing? My Discord account is linked in my bio here.
Tuna
FullMetalTuna
"Life and ink, they run out at the same time, or so said my old friend the squid." Jimmy Buffett
Upstate NY, I am always here for just some fun #EducationFlower