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  1. #1

    Sandbox games in FG

    After looking at the Galactic Exploration Manual, I'm thinking of running a sandbox game in Starfinder. Any tips on how to improvise on the fly in FG? At the risk of trying to prepare everything because I don't know which way my players will go, my biggest concern is how to drop random NPCs and monsters in. I've got bunches of maps I can use, so that's not as big of an issue.

    So, does anybody run sandbox games, and if you do, what tips can you offer to help me keep my sanity?

  2. #2
    Biggest thing for "random" NPCs is to prepare them ahead of time, make a table of random encounters or something similar to have everything at hand when you really need it. You'll have a vague direction your players will follow when preparing your sessions so gather some stuff that they could encounter when doing whatever they are about to do. The Alien Archive 1 Tables about Aliens work wonders here as well. You can prepare basic version of all of them and then edit them on the fly to better fit the situation your players got themselves into. They are also great if you can't get a good read on your party and are basically doing improv right from the get go. Also, with running the game for a bit and having access to the sourcebooks you become familiar with some of the creatures and can start dropping those when the situation arises.
    I can also recommend the Deck of Many worlds, it can help you prep for some cool destinations and Adventure Hooks, you already got GEM so all the information and especially tables are already at your disposal. If you get DomW for FG it also comes with an extension that let's you keep notes about all the places you made up in your campaign, I use that quite a bit.
    One last tip I can give you; let the players do some of the work for you. For example if in between two sessions you aren't certain what your players want to do at the start of your next session just ask them. Either as a group or everyone on their own. That will not only give you the opportunity to gather some ideas of what to prepare but also make your players think about it a bit, which will make them more likely to follow through with what they want to do, because it's not just thought up on the spot.
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